My Grand Tour Experience: A Taste of Thai by Joshua Pratama

My Grand Tour Experience: A Taste of Thai by Joshua Pratama

After two weeks in Thailand, our fellow student and traveler, Joshua has found the authentic taste of Thai cuisine and experienced the Thai weather. The experience reminds him of the 'Hunger Games'! Why? Check this out!

This is HUNGER GAMES!

Who does not know Suzanne Collin’s bestseller The Hunger Games trilogy? Well, you may be wondering why I relate this to my Thailand experience. The answer is because both of them are about SURVIVAL. Two things that make me survive are, surely, food and shelter. Otherwise, you may also be “hungry” after taking a little insight into my culinary journey especially when you are reading this at night :p. Let me tell you my story of exploring Bangkok as I spent my weekend in Thailand’s metropolis. 

Food

With more than 4,000 Instagram photos that are mostly food, I can proudly claim to be a food traveller. Being an essential part of life along with water of course, Thai food is probably one of the most exquisite, mouth-watering Asian cuisines that is rich in spices and herbs. Pad Thai, Tom Yum Goong or papaya salad are just a few dishes out of many spectacular traditional Thai fare. 

Highlights of my culinary experience during my 3 days and 2 nights in Bangkok are a luncheon at a beautiful riverside restaurant by Bangkok’s most important river, Chao Phraya as well as a Valentine’s Day dinner at an Asia’s Top 50 restaurant called ‘Eat Me’.  I should thank Pooy, Stenden’s alumna from Thailand, who recommends some of the best restaurants and cafes in the city, and so far my experience with her choices have been fantastic!

Shelter

Moving from Bali to Thailand is like “same-same, but different” (another popular term in Indochina countries such as Thailand, Laos and Cambodia) especially in terms of the weather. One word to describe this is BLAZINGLY SCORCH. On one side, this is good because I can travel and walk the whole day, especially within the campus complex, without worrying about getting wet. In fact, there has been no rain so far neither in Rangsit nor Bangkok.

I bet many of the Europeans are really in favour of this kind of weather. On the other hand, it can be very exhausting especially when I wear shirt, trousers and shoes which happens to be the dress code visiting different temples in Bangkok and the world famous ‘Grand Palace’. Every time I found shade, I was quick to rest and it was an added advantage that my friend always carries an umbrella as my “shelter”, for I will not allow the heat to ‘ruin’ my sightseeing tour. What can I say more about tourist attractions in the “Big Mango”? Under a scorching sun, my trip was simply stunning witnessing the magnificent history of the Thai monarchy and sacred temples. In conclusion, I totally agree with the motto of “Amazing Thailand” because it really is!