When it comes to dining, Bangkok is a minefield of choice. Not in a bad way, more in a too-many-choices-too-little-time way. After photographing a seafood market one afternoon, all we knew was that we had a hankering for local river prawns. It took about three seconds for Phitak Srisawat, Assistant Chef Concierge at Bangkok’s luxurious Four Seasons Hotel to point us in the right direction… ‘Go to China in Bangkok,’ he smiled, “Take a tuk tuk to Chinatown’s Seafood Street.’ Yaowarat Road is Chinatown’s main drag but we were headed to Soi Texas (Texas Street), a narrow lane lined with scores of makeshift pavement seafood cafes where happy diners perch on little plastic stools at utilitarian stainless steel tables. There’s no decoration or pretence here, it’s all business: people are here to eat and eat well. All manner of sea creatures sizzle away on open air grills, woks hiss and clang,…
Getting up at 4am to visit the local market is well worth the effort in any country you visit. While visiting Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand it was…
The friendliness of the locals is what strikes you in Cambodia. On a visit to Wat Hanchey – an ornate 8th century hilltop temple overlooking the Mekong River in Kampong Cham province – we were met off our long boat by a cheerful clutch of kids who climbed the 291 steps from the river to the top with us. Rather than follow our guide we opted for the kids tour. They showed us around the red brick temple, the pagodas, stupas and shrines and pointed out monkeys in the treetops and where the monks do their washing – dozens of orange robes flapping in the breeze. All the while they fired questions at us … “Where do you live madam?” … “Are you Buddhist?”… “How old are you?” …”It’s hot… do you want to rest?” It was a lovely exchange in a truly peaceful place – a precious keepsake of…
Cambodia The first morning of a cruise down the Tonle Sap River, I awoke to the sound of a boat chugging past. I opened my eyes to see…
Walking back from dinner on our last evening in Saigon we were caught in the most outrageous traffic. The city was in mayhem as everyone was trying to get to s spot to watch the fireworks.Your browser does not support the video tag