well deserved dim sum

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As the school year winds down, the kids are acting more monstrous than ever.. constructing (and field testing) elaborate paper airplanes, riding on each others' shoulders wielding cardboard swords, swinging large sticks (and often hitting the ceiling fans, to their glee), biting classmates (and faculty), eating assigned homework.. I had every intention of going out last Friday night but after a week of playing disciplinarian, it wasn't going to happen. What I ended up doing with my Friday night: slumping on my living room floor with a cup of chocolate milk, a bowl of rice and soy sauce, 5 steamed bbq pork buns and no shame. Fell asleep on the floor before i could finish my dinner. Staggered upstairs to my bedroom at around 8:00 pm. Fell asleep again - this time in bed - at about 8:01 pm.

To redeem myself after a pitiful Friday night I resolved to do something new and interesting on Saturday. So at midday, along with teacher Katie, I headed into Bangkok's Chinatown.

The trek to Chinatown on Saturday involved a van ride through our flooded neighborhood, a hot damp ride on the public bus (with windows that were, to my horror, impossible to open), a few minutes on the Bangkok skytrain, another few on the subway, and finally some confused wandering around city streets. After 9 months in Samut Prakarn, Saturday was my first visit to Yaowarat Rd (Chinatown). It was a frenetic and amazing jumble of street vendors, honking stand-still traffic, hurried pedestrians, jam packed restaurants, bustling narrow alleyways - not far off what I'd imagined it to be.

Yaowarat Road in Chinatown

With a hankering for some real Chinese dim sum, we explored the major thoroughfares, the hot winding alleyways, the rows upon rows of umbrella-shaded vendors and finally came across a restaurant (boasting, like 100s of its neighbors, the best shark fin soup in town) with a small steamy case out front, brimming with little dim sum morsels in varied shapes and colors. Once we were seated inside the tiny bustling room, sipping a Singha, our waitress brought out a towering stack of round bamboo steamer baskets and arranged them around our table. They held different varieties of hot little dumpling parcels. we pointed to a few (emerald dumplings, dragon's eyes and a shrimp/crab/pork wrap thing, i believe), she scooped up the rest and we dug in..

dim sum and a brewsky

Yaowarat again, as we attempt to cross the street

Lanterns strung over the streets in preparation
for the upcoming Chinese New Year