We hired a long tail boat to take us around the canals for an hour today. It’s been rainy all morning so we bit the bullet and got the driver to come at about 11 and just hoped it stayed pretty light while we were out. The canals are a contrast there are temples, houses on stilts some falling down and others still looking pretty strong and then there are the new apartment blocks and mansions. As part of the tour we were approached by a hawker in a boat – she didn’t put up much of a fight when we said no. Some pictures are below.
We got dropped off at China Town rather than the hotel so we could walk through the wholesale market again. After wandering we caught a tuk tuk to River City which is a big shopping centre primarily focussed on arts and antiques. This wasn’t for us so we caught a free shuttle boat to Icon and went to the hawkers next to our hotel. I ordered two dishes and forgot to say medium. They came out “local spicy” and if certainly was.
After we cooled down we headed over to Asiatique which is open from 4pm. It is a mix high end restaurants, street vendors, market stalls and amusement park. It is in some old restored warehouses and docks. It really is something to be experienced. Stu and I walked through all the market stalls and went on the haunted house.
We ate from the hawker area which was tourist prices but not tourist flavours – the food was all pretty much legitimate (not aimed at tourists) from a spice and flavour level. They were even serving crocodile on a spit. The crowds were pouring off the free boat, so leaving at just after 8pm was a good idea as I imagine the return shuttles would just get busier and the wait longer.
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