MyBKK

Even though it might be a festival, you shouldn’t tell these girls waiting to be dunked that they should be having fun.

There are only a few rules when visiting Thailand’s sacred ruins of Ayutthaya: don’t climb the monuments, dress modestly, and please, please, please don’t pose as the head of the Buddha.

Durian season is fast approaching its end here in Bangkok. But before you rush out and get some to add to your fruit salad, consider a few things about this strange fruit. Though loved throughout Thailand and most of Southeast Asia, the durian has a flavor that most foreigners compare to turpentine and rotting garbage. And most significantly, it smells- so strongly that you can detect its presence long before you see it. Despite that, many people come to love it- its creamy texture, its complex taste. And hey, it’s great with coconut sticky rice.

One of the most distinctive features about Bangkok’s roads (aside from the congestion) is the multi colored taxis. Cabs come in almost every color, from bright pink to neon green to subdued shades of midnight blue. At the very least, it makes getting stuck in traffic a more colorful affair.

Spirit houses are an important site of devotion for any Thai home. When the spirit houses look run down, or a homeowner decides to go for a more glamorous model, the old spirit house can’t simply be thrown away. Instead, it must be taken to specific holy grounds- graveyards for spirit houses.

Don’t let the sight of green goo oozing out of your pastry make you lose your appetite- it’s just pandan cream. A tropical plant with long green leaves, pandan is used in Southeast Asia to flavor many different foods and drinks. Called ‘Thai vanilla’, it has a sweetness that lends itself particularly well to making desserts. One of the most popular uses in Bangkok is to make it into a rich green pandan custard, which can be eaten inside rolls (like in the above photo), or slathered over toasted white bread.

A sign outside of Wat Phra Kaew at Bangkok’s Grand Palace points the way to the Emerald Buddha, one of the holiest icons in all of Thailand. Though, given the crowds of tourists that line up to see it, you probably won’t need the sign to help you find it.

This shop at Bangkok’s Grand Palace stocks all the tourist essentials: film, batteries, and, importantly for a sweltering Bangkok day, cool towels.

With knock-offs of the famous ‘I am not a plastic bag’ tote becoming the latest fashion trend in Bangkok, the days of getting a plastic bag for every item bought at 7/11 may soon be a thing of the past. But while this conservation fad will hopefully cut down on unnecessary waste, there’s one job plastic bags will still have to perform. Rather than serve their iced-tea or orange soda in plastic cups, sidewalk drink vendors in Bangkok often opt instead for using a plastic bag. They scoop in some ice, pour in the drink, and insert a straw. And while it may not be terribly stylish, it is actually less wasteful than buying your drink in an individual aluminum can or a plastic bottle.

Not Pepsi One, not Miranda Cream Soda, not even Coca Cola classic… the soda that the spirits of Bangkok resoundingly prefer is sugary pink Fanta. But whether it’s because they like the fruity flavor or that the pastel color matches their sticks of incense is a mystery.