WUMS4 & Chef in Thailand: Excuse me, Mr. Short Pants

As long as we're spending three weeks in Bangkok, we figured we might as well spend one weekend as real tourists.

We arrived via public transit (obviously, right?) and walked to Wat Traimit, home of the famous golden Buddha, which was only discovered in 1955 in the process of being moved! It was encased in stucco and they discovered that it was actually solid gold - valued by weight at over $10 million. Shockingly, not much security here :)

Walked up a quiet road looking for interesting shops. Mostly found specialty hardware shops - for your castor, screwdriver and other miscellaneous item needs. Nothing too helpful for us here.

Then we found the craziness - just a few blocks away. Junk, junk and more junk. All of David's favorite stuff here - made in China, of course. (or perhaps Thailand)

2 main choices in Bangkok - Khao San Rd for the backpackers and Israelis (with recent thwarted terrorist attack), or Sukhumvit for the expats and business travelers. We opted for choice 2.

Typical Chabad services.
Atypical/amazing dinner with homemade challah and lots of salads. We stuffed ourselves silly.
Incredibly eclectic group of expats and some travelers. Our hat goes off to Rabbi Kantor for creating such a great community.

The Wat is home to the emerald Buddha, who wears a different outfit depending on the season and whose clothing is only changed by the King of Thailand. Strict dress code for humans to enter - capris not allowed!
When you enter the grounds there is a woman with a loudspeaker, who calls out if you're wearing inappropriate attire, thus the title of this post.
The grounds were uniquely beautiful, unlike any other architecture we've seen. Amazingly clean, as well.

The rest of our lunch consisted of a delicious vegetarian stir fry, which was most definitely topped off with some MSG. Just our style.
Nice walk through two universities, where Eli cooled off with the requisite $.50 young coconut.
We walked through the amulet market, where you can also purchase dentures at ever other stand.

We met our new Thai medical school friends: Napatt & Oil
They had never been here so David was the tour guide, but unfortunately torrential rain started and our tour was cut short
Home to many Buddhas, including the famous reclining one

Off to the mall! Brought mangosteens, our new favorite fruit, to our dinner hosts.
Expat Dinner

Lovely dinner with embassy employee + family, sommelier & international moving consultant. Good old American cooking. We had a great time.

Vimanmek Mansion - the largest entirely teak house, with no nails in construction. No photos allowed. No shoes allowed either, but that's normal here in Thailand. Contains country's first indoor ballroom & Thai typewriter.
Some other small museums, not worth writing home about.
Dusik Throne Hall - AMAZING showcase of Queen Sikrit's charity project, which involves the revitilization of the Thai arts. Incredibly intricate gold and stonework, silkmaking, and woodcarving - all made within the last 15 years. Well worth the visit.

Next up: Wat Benjamabophit, known as the marble temple
I'm tired just writing about all of this!
Jim Thompson's House - the not-so-humble abode of the man who re-invigorated the Thai silk industry

Eli ran into an Eat with Eli client at Jim Thompson - to both of their surprise and delight!
Amazing how quiet it can be in the midst of the crazy city.

Following an uneventful dinner, Dave grabbed some waffles on his way home. These made him quite happy.

WUMS4 & Chef in Thailand