I finally made a trip up to Bangkok, Thailand early this month, for my very first encounter of our northern neighbour. There had been much going about in this country, more often characterized by its political turmoil and social unrest for the past couple of years.

Thailand is also well known for one of the world’s most vibrant and rife “night life” a.k.a. prostitution and transexualism. Thailand is also synonymous with superb tourism, one of the many industries that drives its economy.

My very first impression of the country was one of awe and respect. It’s so much better than Malaysia in various aspects. It has an excellent transportation system (e.g. affordable, fast and efficient train ride that connects the airport and city centre). Cab rides were relatively cheap, and they were all running on meter unlike in Malaysia.

Food was simply amazing. Most of the street food was so much better than KL. The quality gap between one stall to another wasn’t that wide, unlike in Malaysia. Even then, you may not actually get the real deal in Malaysia unless you’re in Penang, Ipoh or in some small town. However, embarking on a gastronomic journey down the streets of Bangkok proved to be a far more satisfying and humbling eperience.

Almost all the food in city centre was good. I’ve yet to try food in the suburbs, but logic clearly holds that if a metropolitan boasts of such great food, what more supposedly authentic tasty treats away from modern life? For the record, phad thai in the food court here tasted so much better than in classy Thai restaurants in KL!

This trip coincided with the newly appointed Thailand’s first female prime minister; Yingluck Shinawatra. As it was just a short 3-days trip, all of my time was spent in Bangkok, with a day trip out to Damnoen Saduak floating market, which turned out to be a highly commercialised touristy destination. Nevertheless, it was both an interesting and eye-opening experience cruising through the many narrow waterways of the floating market.

Here are some of the pictures from this trip.

One of the few things that caught my attention and never ceased to pique my curiosity was Thai’s insatiable appetite for Pepsi. There were just so many delivery men with huge carts of Pepsi bottles!

For more pictures of Bangkok, Thailand, do check out the entire collection here.