Monday, November 5, 2007

Bangkok, Thailand - Night Events: Khao San Road

Khao San Road

Khao San is a street filled with little bars and restaurants and lined with vendors as well. You can buy anything from frames for your glasses for $5, to hair clips and earrings, to bugs. That's right, bugs... you have a choice of worms, maggots, and some type of beetle. We opted for the tourists variety pack (tourist in that the locals won't come close to this snack). They are baked, probably in the sun, until they are crispy.


Bug Buffet

They are kept in metal containers under a heat lamp to make you feel as if they were actually cooked. Just before serving the tourist these lovely treats, they are sprayed with a brown liquid, which I think is something like soy sauce. Then they are doused with salt. All I will say is... if you are going to try these, be sure to have some water on hand, because they don't go down so smooth!

Khao San is a backpacker's paradise. This has been the meeting grounds for backpacker's exploring South East Asia for some time now. The street is about 1km long and has everything from hotels, to travel agencies, to clubs, bars, restaurants, and market stalls. You can find the entire inventory of a clothing store on display. I can't imagine how long it takes to assemble and disassemble the "store" as it is only on the street for night sales.

This was a fun place to go because everything you could ever think of is within reach. If you are looking to meet fellow tourists, this should be your first stop!

4 comments:

Ted said...

I LOVE your blog. Um, don't love the idea of crunchy insect finger food... but this is fun. In fact I want to find a movie theater with those biggie seats. Or maybe I don't what is the exchange rate on the bhat these days. And BTW, what is the language of Bangkok? In what language do the movies play?

You mention "silk items" for sale. Do these include tailored things like women's blouses? My wife always wanted an elegantly tailored, emerald green, silk blouse. Not that I wanna order, just curious re. relative pricing. Hmmmm.... didn't guys used to wear silk suits? I wonder if they still do in Thailand? Or in fact is most of the silk exported. I recall in Columbia that they produced some of the world's best beef, but little was available locally since it was a principal source of international credit.

Glad to discover your insights.

Ted

Chefspiration said...

Thanks for visiting my blog! I hope you come back :) 10 pounds of apples is a LOT! Good luck with the crumble...it's such a good treat to have around the house...

As for snacky insects...hmm I'm not too sure how I feel about it...but I guess you can't knock it till you try it...

Frasier said...

Hi Ashley
We read thro yesterday but forgot to leave comments!Its been very interesting
Frasier and mommy

Frasier said...

Hi,
also linking this under the doggy parents blog list