True to form, the last two days of our journey revolved around food - specifically, sticky rice and mango, "superb" pad thai, coconut ice cream with peanuts from Nattaporn, Chotechitr's mee krob, radna (crispy noodles with pork and gravy), and this delicious pulpy orange juice.The sticky rice at Kao Neeo Kor Panich has been prepared the same way for 75 years. It's so good there's a line down the block at any time of day. Women selling fresh mangoes hover outside ready to slice up fruits so ripe and beautiful they cut like butter beneath our plastic spoons. We were here for less than 72 hours and I managed to down three helpings.
Meanwhile Thip Sammai Thai is the Father's Office of Bangkok. The pad thai is three times the price Thais usually pay, nevertheless there's a wait for the tables and a constant stream of steaming plates flowing from the street-side kitchen. Aaron went for the basic version, while I ordered the superb, which is covered with an egg:
We tore ourselves away from the eating just long enough to catch the sunset over Wat Arun and to check out the wonder that is Chatuchak Market. 15,000 stalls selling everything from knock-off Gucci to hedgehogs. All of it at rock bottom prices. I picked up a watercolor (400 baht/$12) and sandals (100 baht/$3). Iced coffee with condensed milk was mixed while spinning. Totally mesmerizing.One of the more amusing sights was the section of stalls devoted to western wear:
Needless to say, our bad travel karma has dissipated. Just a few days ago the city was brought to a standstill by political protests and had we been scheduled to head out of town then all this would have been impossible. There was still evidence of the unrest on view. Hijacked buses, road blocks, and the military personnel were all still on the street. A protest leader from last fall's demonstrations was gunned down in the street our first day in town. Still we felt very fortunate to see Bangkok when we did. 
So that's it. Tomorrow we head home. I've got one or two more posts in me, and then ...xoxo Jessie
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