Bangkok Week 106 July 8, 2010 It's the week we've been waiting for. Barry's in Bangkok! View fullsize Barry's in Bangkok! Requisite first meal at MBK! View fullsize The boys give it two thumbs up. View fullsize Enjoying the Thai-style fluff-filled dessert tacos. View fullsize Checking out the street vendors on the walkway outside MBK. View fullsize No shortage of traffic on this Thursday night. View fullsize Why is his room so big?? It's not fair! View fullsize Quick stop at a photo shop for the new work permit. View fullsize The fruit trials begin! First test subject: a giant guava. View fullsize Verdict? Unclear. View fullsize Dinner #2 at Ari's famous Pad Thai institution. View fullsize The giant shrimp really make the dish a whole other animal. View fullsize Yay. Pad thai! View fullsize Flavouring to taste. View fullsize No need to visit the Golden Mount now! View fullsize Cubic desserts across from our apartment - bought one to try for breakfast. View fullsize Who Barry? You berry! View fullsize Decadent dessert at the ice cream store in La Villa. View fullsize Maturity is overrated. View fullsize I felt very short sitting on the couch side of the table. View fullsize Shopping for authentic curry pastes to bring back as gifts. View fullsize Test subject #2 fared better than its guavic counterpart. View fullsize Test subject #3 - the newly renamed "butt fruit". View fullsize And it's already breakfast time again! View fullsize The butt fruit make a timely return! These cheeks are a little bruised. View fullsize Still not sure about biting the cheeks. And still not entirely awake, either. View fullsize Ahh! A tuk-tuk! View fullsize Whizzing up the road to Chatuchak Market. Killing all the touristy birds with one stone! View fullsize A seller sleeps under the shade of his merchandise. View fullsize I guess we were just too early. Should let the vendors sleep in on the weekend. View fullsize No fashion too funky for Thai designers. View fullsize A more traditional souvenir. View fullsize Barry shows off the first two of the many bags he would go on to buy that day. View fullsize Instantly attracted by all the colourful toys. View fullsize Unfortunately, a 1-baht incentive doesn't seem to be enough for any Thai shopper... and no sellers bother either. View fullsize Checkin' out the chopsticks. View fullsize So colourful and fruity! Candy for the eyes. View fullsize Some are magnets. Some are just mini fruit. View fullsize A huge counter of fried meats tempted some... View fullsize ... despite the face, he claimed the mystery meats were delicious. View fullsize Lunch at a down-to-earth place at the edge of Chatuchak. View fullsize For us, the standard order fried rice. View fullsize Getting a lesson in how to wear fisherman pants. View fullsize The lesson gets a little hands-on! View fullsize Our new hats. Mine barely fits. View fullsize Porcupine popsicles (how DO they freeze?). View fullsize Refreshing in Thai Iced Tea flavour. View fullsize An extremely cute t-shirt design. View fullsize OMG! I found my watermelon shoes!!! Too bad they're 2 sizes too small. View fullsize Finally trying the fresh young coconut he's been waiting for. View fullsize Filled to the brim with fresh juice! Mmm. View fullsize Taking a more local route home, on the bus. View fullsize Barry single-handedly helps shop Thailand out of its political strife. View fullsize Checking out how the seller makes the food? Or that lady's rear? View fullsize A neatly-organised set-up to maximise efficiency when cooking on-the-spot. View fullsize A huge assortment of dishes to take home, which we usually ignore -- because they all contain animals. View fullsize Thinking carefully about what he wants for dinner. View fullsize Stopping at another seller, to pick up his long-awaited crab dish. View fullsize Not sure we have enough for dinner. View fullsize All revved up and ready to dig into Dinner #3! View fullsize Ye-aaah! Dinner time! View fullsize The crab! Before ... View fullsize ... and after. View fullsize On Sunday morning, riding the bus to Chinatown. View fullsize Can you guess ... we've reached our destination! View fullsize Who can resist a cute little box of mini-eggs? View fullsize Not this guy! Amused by how tiny they are. View fullsize All of China is out in Bangkok this Sunday. View fullsize A colourful array of reusable bags, at wholesale prices. Who can resist!? View fullsize A well-kept old branch of Bangkok Bank, practically hidden from view by all the umbrellas and shop awnings. View fullsize Creepy ghosts of fish past. View fullsize This man sells fruity drinks that he carbonates on the spot! View fullsize I got one to match my shirt ... and apparently my hat, too. View fullsize Whatever they're called, these melons seem to be in season right now. They're being sold all over the city. View fullsize More crab... these guys are less prepared than the ones at dinner last night. View fullsize A million dollars' worth of cashew nuts, just sitting out on the street. View fullsize A really old - borderline scary - movie theater hidden off a main street. View fullsize Another building competing for title of oldest-in-town. View fullsize A chestnut! My first chestnut! And it was delicious. View fullsize This building might just win for oldest-guy-still-standing. View fullsize First dates are always awkward! View fullsize Possessed and completely preoccupied stirring his magic potion of fire. View fullsize Colourful old buildings are hidden in an alley behind the main road through Chinatown. View fullsize We found a lady selling dishes-on-rice -- both seafood and vegetarian. View fullsize So we stopped at her shop ... View fullsize ... which has a driveway running through the middle of it. View fullsize The clams Barry had been waiting for. Isn't nature pretty? Tofu is boring by comparison. View fullsize This was one of many coffin shops along a particular stretch of the neighbourhood. View fullsize Going somewhere? Puzzled to find themselves at the train station. View fullsize Do I know this guy? View fullsize His namesake owns a Korean beauty parlour. View fullsize At the Thailand Creative & Design Center -- although only the permanent exhibit was open. View fullsize Hey, we found the original Circus Bike on display! View fullsize Mr. P, in a display case. The pride of Thailand's design heritage. View fullsize And the center's security guard is a live embodiment of Mr. P himself! View fullsize Uh oh, the upcoming exhibit is gonna be a weird one. View fullsize Delicious donuts -- too tempting to pass up. View fullsize Wasting no time! View fullsize Back at the apartment, trying the old classic - Granny's Hair Dessert. View fullsize Hmm. Only so-so? View fullsize Finally getting to try test subject #4 - the "eyeball fruit" (aka long gong). View fullsize See the resemblance to eyeballs? View fullsize Peace! Dinner #4 is at home again, with more new dishes to try (and plenty of leftovers, too). View fullsize Tempted by the fresh fish cakes. View fullsize A dessert I've been wanting to try -- but how to describe?? (Coconut cream on top of gel-like rice flour base...) View fullsize Spank - spank - spank - spank! View fullsize Yay! Dinner #5, and still going strong! View fullsize The pad thai and fish cakes that Barry made at his cooking course earlier that morning. View fullsize Last but not least -- test subject #5, the custard apple! View fullsize Filled with dragon teeth inside! Rawr! View fullsize And he's off bright and early Tuesday morning. Back to HK. Bye bye, BKK.
