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It all comes down to today! Not only is it our last full day in Asia, but it's Andrea's 27th birthday and we have so much to see in Bangkok.When we hear Thailand, we think of spicy noodles, curries and scrumptious coconut accented dishes. With hopes of being able to properly recreate a few of our favorites back home, we headed off to Silom Cooking School. Luckily we found Non, our culinary guide, at the metro station meeting point along with our fellow classmates. Baskets in hand, we were led into a local fresh market to pick out the necessary ingredients. A few blocks down the road we entered the three story homey classroom. Each floor is decorated with impeccable style and we couldn't help loving this place before we even started! From scratch, we created a five course feast. The line-up was Tom Yum (spicy sour shrimp soup), Shrimp Pad Thai, Laab (minced chicken salad), Green Curry with Chicken and Mango Sticky Rice. Squeezing shredded coconut to make coconut milk, grinding herbs and spices in a stone mortar to make curry paste and chopping the key ingredients; lemongrass, lime, chiles, ginger and coriander were a few of the tricks we learned. It was Team America vs. Team Hong Kong and we held our own as good Thai housewives would do.
Making our way back to The Dream, we stopped briefly at MBK. MBK is a legendary shopping center frequented by both locals and tourists. With eight floors and 2,000 shops, it seems to be more of an indoor flea market than a mall.
To ease the pains of a strenuous day, we laid down for our ultimate Thai massages of the trip. These sure will be missed!
Knowing our day was only half over; we picked up a few strong coffees before getting dolled up for the night ahead. Pleasantly surprised, we walked in our room to find a berry topped chocolate cake and birthday card wishing Andrea a happy birthday.
Racing against time to make sunset at one of the world's highest open air bars, we arrived at the State Tower with moments to spare. Zooming up to the 63rd floor, we were left speechless with butterflies in our stomachs when we saw for our own eyes the stunning panorama of Bangkok and the Chao Phraya River. The Hangover Part II has made the Sky Bar even more recognized but it didn't need any help. The tower was obviously swaying as we sipped on swanky cocktails and admired the view.
The yogi couple from Indonesia said that we must go to Maggie Choo's following the Sky Bar. Trusting their guidance, we were pointed in the direction of the once underground vault for East India Company. Years later this underground bank vault was converted into a cabaret. Walking down the stairs you are intrigued by the history and sexiness of this venue.
After watching a cabaret show, exploring the vault lined walls and having a creative cocktail we hailed a taxi to bring us to the famous Khao San Road. This 1km strip is known as the center of the backpacking universe. The neon signs glow brightly and the air is scented of sweat and beer. To the left, T-shirts, sandals and knick-knacks are being peddled while on the right a blind man begs by singing through a distorted loudspeaker. The street is a collision of cultures and a place of mayhem. A cart rolled past us full of insects including grasshoppers, worms, cockroaches and scorpions. To cheers a birthday and wild ride of a trip, we clinked scorpions and chewed them down. At this point, there wasn't much we wouldn't try!
Our final ride on a tuk-tuk whipped us through the night streets of Bangkok to a seedy setting for our last enlightening experience of the evening.
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