***This vacation was taken before I started blogging and before I started photos of my meals. It still contains relevant info on sightseeing and dining.***
I arrived in Thailand as part of a Gate1Travel adventure. My tour group had a full itinerary from the wee hours of the morning until the evening. That said, I had to rely on my local tour guide often to translate and to request that the restaurants where we dined would prepare vegan options for me. It was not a huge hassle as the cuisine here includes alot of curries, pad thai, noodles, rice, and veggie dishes. The waiter just had to request that the chef does not prepare my portions with fish sauce, shrimp, or anchovies. Dairy is not usually part of the Thai cuisine. Some of the larger hotels have very nice restaurants. They will usually accommodate vegans. I chose to eat at my hotel’s restaurant in the evening for dinner and had a really scrumptious, gourmet veggie curry. The local, popular beverage is Durian juice. The Durian fruit is quite reputable in all of Asia. It is known for emitting the foulest scent but the sweetest flavor. Because of the smell, it is not permitted in hotels or on public transportation. Alot of people (especially tourists) detest it. I absolutely love it!

Bangkok is popular for its street vendor food. As a vegan, you must exercise extreme caution here. You would not want to have a pig intestine in your meal now, would you my fellow vegans?! I actually purchased some local fruit juice from a street vendor stall and did not get ill. I do caution against this in general. As for the cooked food that the street stalls are selling, I would say avoid most of them like the plague!

There are a few street vendor stalls that will “veganize” a meal for you. You need to request “jay” food, that is “leaving the meat out”. Street vendors typically use fish or oyster sauce to cook noodle dishes. You can ask them to omit that sauce or replace it. If you see a popular dish that you like such as Pad Thai, simply request to have the vegan/vegetarian version. Some street vendors have been known to accommodate vegan wishes.

You can find a vast array of vegan restaurants in Bangkok. Some choices are May Kaidee, Aim-Boon, Ariya, Chai & Louie, and Food Court TOPS. Vegans will have no problems in this city!

THE most popular attraction by far in Bangkok is The Grand Palace. This massive, ornately decorative structure encompasses the palace itself and three temples (Wats). In the 18th century, it housed the king, royal court, and administrative branch of the government. The revered Green Buddha resides in one of the temples. Its an impressive attraction not to be missed.

Another favorite stops on my tour was a visit to one of the nearby “Floating Markets” on the river. Tourists are taken by these long boats that look like canoes with an awning. As you cruise through the waterways, you glide past villages and teak homes built up on stilts. You get a good vision of the culture and local peoples. The market itself is a plethora of amazing souvenir goods. You can purchase crafts, spices, clothing, statues, and other Thai products. When the boat returned to its original landing, my tour group headed to another adventure.

Next stop….Thai boxing. We ventured a bit further north from Bangkok by driving past fields of rice paddies. You see mile upon miles of these as drive north. The tour group arrived at an outdoor center to watch a Thai boxing match. It was basically a boxing round with dance-like moves. Very entertaining!

The rest of my time in Bangkok was spent shopping and exploring. I wandered over to the open air markets. There were more than enough varieties of statues, clothing, teak products, and thai logoed items to select.

All in all, my Thai experience was a great one. The temples, landscape, elephants, and vegan dining options were much to my satisfaction!