After a 7-hour bus journey spanning Cambodia and Thailand, the Sticky Rice Family has made it back to Bangkok to conclude our amazing tour with G Adventures. But wait, there’s more! Our incredible CEO/tour guide is from Bangkok and wanted to treat us all to one last tour through the streets, experiencing Thai food like locals do. So, after dropping our bags at the hotel in Chinatown, Puna led us into the street market for a fun and flavorful journey.

Our first stop was a Michelin-recommended street vendor that specializes in fried dough, which is meant to be dipped into a delicious pandan custard. Puna explained that while this is considered a dessert, Thai people often eat it as a breakfast item—something I could definitely get used to back in the States. Our second stop took us further into Chinatown to another Michelin Bib Gourmand, Guay Tiew Kua Gai Suanmali. This family-owned stall serves a hallmark dish of crispy fried noodles tossed with your choice of meat and egg. I opted for pork while Jeff chose chicken; both were incredibly juicy, crispy, and seasoned to perfection. Since Puna knows the owners, we got a tour of the outdoor kitchen where all the action happens. Kudos to Jeff for capturing the amazing photo below of the wok engulfed in flames.

Our next stop featured another main dish with four different options. The first was fried morning glory with garlic, the second was chili-spiced sea bass, the third was Tom Kha Gai seafood soup, and the last was a crispy chicken dish. Each dish had typical Thai spice, albeit toned down thanks to Puna advising the kitchen that we were foreigners. Our last food stop before drinks was at a pad Thai shop known for its unique twist on this national dish. Instead of steamed noodles, they serve it on a bed of crispy noodles. By this point, I was so stuffed that I just nibbled bites off Jeff’s plate while enjoying a Chang beer (there’s always room for alcohol!). A short walk later, we arrived at Swing Bar, which overlooks a large swing (known as a gate) and an adjacent temple. It was here that the goodbyes began among the Sticky Rice Family we’ve come to adore. I definitely welled up saying goodbye to our new friends from Australia, Ireland, Great Britain, and Thailand. For those in the group reading this, expect a later post dedicated to you amazing humans—we can’t wait to stay in touch and hopefully visit your countries in the future! This also meant bidding farewell to Puna, our extraordinary tour guide whom we now consider our Thai sister. She made this trip so enjoyable, seamless, and fun—thank you, Puna!

As the group dwindled, those of us staying in Bangkok for additional nights decided to visit Khaosan Road. Known for its street market, vibrant cocktail bars and clubs, as well as performers and food stalls, it was quite the scene. However, it wasn’t exactly what we wanted to wind down our night, so we skipped over to Silom to show our Australian and Irish friends the gayborhood. The drag performances were exceptional, with many queens dressed to the nines while they lip-synced and death-dropped, driving the crowd wild. We had a blast and ended up closing down the bar at 1am. In our drunken state, we thought McDonald’s was a great idea and ordered a ton of food; check out the photo of Ronald with Jeff and LouLou.

Surprisingly hangover-free the next morning, Jeff and I packed up and headed to the first portion of our AmaWaterways pre-cruise itinerary—checking into The Peninsula Bangkok. For those into hotels, you’ll know how excited we were that this would be our home for the next three nights. We received a deluxe corner room that overlooked the city of Bangkok along the Chao Phraya River, and it did not disappoint. Pardon my humor in the video below, but after backpacking across four countries with interesting accommodation styles, to say I was jazzed to get to luxury is an understatement.

This brand of hotel is known for its impeccable service, world-class design, and over-the-top accommodations. We spent the day enjoying lunch at their riverside restaurant, browsing their shop where I snagged a Peninsula bear to add to my collection (I have NY and Tokyo), and then got to enjoy one of their most famous perks—The Peninsula Boat. The brand is known for its signature green color and typically has a fleet of Rolls Royce cars available for guest transport. Since this hotel is on the river, they have beautiful Thai boats, clad in wood with chairs and tables on board, topped with signature green roofing; at night, they also light up. The boats can take you across the river to their pier, which gets you into the Bang Rak District, or down the river to the IconSiam Mall, which is more than ‘just a mall’. I also have to mention another travel perk they provide—a stunning green tuk-tuk to take you to the mall.

We opted to go down to said mall via the boat and were immediately greeted with their outdoor fountains that perform an evening show we planned to return another night to see (next post you’ll see the video!). This mall has it all—an entire section for luxury brands, a department store spanning seven floors, a cinema with IMAX, a Starbucks Reserve overlooking the river, more food options than you can count (including a 1-star Michelin restaurant), and an underground “street market” representing the four regions of Thailand. We purchased some linen pants for our temple tour the next day, got back on the boat, and headed to the hotel for a quick nap before our main event of the day. In planning this trip, Jeff knew that I wanted to visit at least one Michelin-starred restaurant in every country possible (none in Laos or Cambodia). So, back in Bangkok where Michelin restaurants are plentiful, we had a reservation at the two-star Michelin restaurant Baan Tepa.

Baan Tepa was built in the 1980s, owned by Chef Tam’s grandmother, Lady Suwaree Debhakam, a home that has been in the family for 3 generations. The compound has now been converted into an urban food space with three key sections; Tepa Kitchen, Tepa Garden and house itself. One of the few female Thai chefs recognized by Michelin, Chef Tam Chudaree Debhakam crafts innovative cuisine that celebrates her country’s culinary heritage. We chose the nine-course option with beverage pairing known as the Baan Tepa Experience. You’ll see the menu with each course listed, and might notice it’s actually more than nine since there’s a “pre-dessert,” a course split into two servings, and an optional bread with chicken pate dish we added on. We started the evening with two signature cocktails that were well-balanced and went down too fast! Next was a tour of the incredible kitchen, followed by a fresh amuse-bouche made of local fruits and honey.

Of the dishes, my top three favorites were the Anatomy of a River Prawn, Tomatoes of Thailand, and the Dong Dang Noodles. River prawns are renowned in Thailand for their huge size and delightful taste. It was amazing to see how Baan Tepa recreated a prawn body using the head as a vessel for a spicy shrimp head sauce, the body as the actual prawn, and the tail as orange crackers with black garlic paste. The Tomatoes of Thailand dish was probably the best tomatoes we’ve ever had. And for me, the Dong Dang Noodles had a perfect chew, great flavor of spice without too much heat, and a delectable salted duck egg that paired incredibly well with the dried squid for flavor and crunch. But to be fair, every single dish at Baan Tepa was mind-blowing in flavor, style, innovation, and taste. The wine/sake pairings were also impeccably done to complement the food—some toned down the spice, others highlighted the herbs, and one balanced the sourness of a dish, making me appreciate the wine more with the dish than without.

After four hours, we concluded our culinary journey and Baan Tepa staff member Noon took us on a tour of the two-story house filled with abstract art, beautiful images of Chef Tepa’s family, and ornamentals reflecting Thai heritage. The last part of the tour took us into their garden where we got to taste the herbs and greens used in our dishes. It was a fun game guessing the herb and which dishes they were in. Adjacent to the garden is an outdoor café and seating area where we got a photo to capture the night. We highly recommend Baan Tepa to anyone visiting Bangkok and looking for a culinary journey through modern and innovative Thai cuisine.

After returning to The Peninsula, we hit the hay for an early departure on one of the arranged tours by AmaWaterways. I’ll detail that tour, along with the next day’s activities and our final night in Bangkok, in another post.

Signing off for now – Andrew

P.S. – Puna is so amazing that when we arrived in Chinatown she had already arranged a Bangkok Hard Rock Cafe shot glass to be waiting for Jeff. We tried to get it when we started the trip but they were sold out. In hearing this, Puna got someone to pick one up and have it ready for us. Again, the service and thoughtfulness of G Adventures’ tour guides is unparalleled