FIVE NIGHTS IN BANGKOK AND THE WORLD’S YOUR OYSTER

The next stage of EAT MY GLOBE is very much under way and I have been in Bangkok for four nights with one more to go.

If you have never been, it is a hard city to describe. The noise, pollution and humidity is offset by the warmth of the people and the incredible friendliness they show at every turn. Of course, like every Asian city, there is always a hustle going on, but unlike many, Beijing for example, there is little or no aggressiveness or it is hard to recall a city where I felt more safe or at ease.

It does present its challenges. Despite the SkyTrain and the MRT systems, it is still a bugger to get around and I am afraid I find the streets full of girly bars with their glassy eyed hostesses and fat euro trash punters hugely depressing.

However, it is definite a city I could spend a considerable amount of time in without getting bored and I am sorry to be leaving so soon.

The food ,of course, was my reason for coming and I have not done too badly given the limitations of eating on your own. I have crouched down at street stalls for some sweet sticky bananas, slurped green curry at a Suan Lum night market and fish ball soup in Chinatown, devoured crispy fried chicken at the weekend market of Chatuchak and guzzled enough cold beer to make me permanently gassy.

It is not all good, obviously and I have found the food courts to be a disappointment and some of the high end meals to be mediocre, particularly one at Bussaracum where everything lacked freshness except an excellent plate of frog’s legs.

Two meals, however, stand out. Baan Khanita on Soi 23 filled my first night with smells of shrimp cakes and soft shell crab while a meal yesterday at Chote Chitr made me realise just how good Mee Krawb and red curry could be.

I am heading off to Chiang Mai tomorrow to try some of the food from The North. I am not sure when, but I am 100% certain that I shall be coming back to Bangkok