today we're in an old neighborhood in Bangkok called Bang Lamphu which is home to
the popular tourist attractions like the Grand Palace and Khao San Road but this charming area
has so much more to offer in terms of history culture and traditional snacks
there's so much coconut in there we'll be your student guides for
the day so join us as we experience what old Bangkok life was like [Music]
so firstly we need to give you some context as to why we're dressed up as Thai students today
so there's been this trend in Thailand that some countries like Taiwan China Korean tourists like
to come to Thailand and dress up as students and to explore the city because they fell in
love with some Thai movies and Thai dramas and what's really unique is that we even can get our
names on our shirts as souvenirs as well and they usually come to this area Bang Lamphu first because there's a
lot of student uniform shop in the area and also it's very photogenic I think you look really cute
can I take a photo with you
three two one
can you guess how old I actually am I think maybe lower than 20
do you want some snacks first
yes please
how much are these?
10 baht
can I have two please
thank you
every time I see this I have to buy it it's pretty much
it's grilled sticky rice dipped in egg and with salt right or soy sauce
this is the perfect cheap snack for students
10 Baht each
it says eventhough the good old days in our area is threatened
by the development of economic cultural and changes in lifestyle that the community is
trying really hard to remain as it was I think that's why we find some of these
kind of cultural pieces down some of these small alleys in Bang Lamphu
Bang Lamphu is famous for some traditional snacks and we are just coming up to one that sells "khanom bueang" and
it is one of our favorite Thai desserts we'll show you exactly what it is wow look at that
whoa
no this looks like there's a lot of fillings inside it's super loaded
but what is the difference between these and the normal ones so we ordered two flavors
one is Savory and one is sweet so the Savory is
dried shrimps and dry coconut inside and the sweet one is coconut and egg
such a mouthful you know the original one is almost like
Airy yeah the stuffing is very little and it has the white cream like the
meringue yeah but this is so full it's sweet but it's not too sweet
so much coconut in that it tastes like a macaroon you know the
shredded coconut kind of cookie [Music] I'm gonna try that one too so this one
does smell kind of peppery I would say has like green onion and cilantro in there
this one is really nice which one do you like more I find
this one not even as strong in shrimp taste than the original one oh we haven't quite seen anyone
else do that crispy pancake khanom bueang the same way as this place called "Mae Prapha"
we'll link their place in our description box below if you want to come and check them out
we are actually only 30 minutes away from the main Sukhumvit area
and out here you can see all these local Street vendors that you don't get to see
inside Bangkok which is so neat because it feels like you're going back in time people
are still selling what they used to sell years back like look at this store here oh this is the
this is the bag I used to carry in high school that's so formal it's like a briefcase yeah it's like
this you can fit your books in there just one or two books oh my goodness and these are the
shoes these are the shoes I used to wear you can wear these ones to school yeah yeah it's
not like leather shoes that you have to wear no it's this like girls have to wear these right
it depends on the school sometimes it's black sometimes it's brown like this but I remember
one of the schools that I went to I have to wear brown shoes like this oh but I don't like the
look of it it's not cool so I bleach it so what would it look like pale Brown like kind of whitish
because we just wanted to stand out so it looks cool but it's illegal against the school rules
she said do you want the student shoes
I'm so surprised that you only carry that small briefcase to school I
remember carrying a huge backpack with so many textbooks in there
don't you have a locker to put them don't you have to bring it home to study oh you study
I didn't back in high school I didn't study
I was a bit of the nerdier one in high school and I guess you obviously were the loud playing one
when I was in Thai Junior High School I didn't pay attention in school if there
was an exam I would be the first one to finish the exam yeah and would you do
like would you just not fill out your paper no just uh yeah guess yeah I would just
put whatever in there but surprisingly I never failed a class that's so crazy is it
luck or are you actually kind of smart you know secretly smart I'm smart at guessing
this is such a beautiful building which one is it I think it's this one here oh
Singaporean inspired townhomes yeah they have this map
that they give you at the Bang Lamphu Museum which we went and had a little walk
through but we couldn't film inside so we can't show you so you have to make your way over there
and see by yourself but we did take one of these walking maps and unfortunately it's all in Thai
but they do give you all these locations of the unique buildings you can see in this area
so this place is called Patonggo Cafe and it's been here since 1968 so it is a staple in the
area of Bang Lamphu I think we need to go try it oh look it has a Michelin guy don't remind
him they only got it for two years oh they lost it the last four years but it's okay maybe it's
gonna come back let's go try it it is so hot I can't wait to get an iced coffee or something
because we're still in school we need to eat a lot to feed these brains you know
does your parents know that you're here with me today or do they think you were still in school
they probably think I'm still in school back when I was in Thai high school we used to go
out and look for food to eat all the time after school all the three vendors will be there
we'll gather around the vendor selling fish balls or meatballs like cheap snacks I remember I used to
go get like one dollar Slurpees or something but then I'm pretty much like I'm gonna go home I
never stay in my uniform and go out and explore with friends or anything you pretty much go home
and maybe go to a friend's house but in Thailand you see students in uniforms until like 10 11 at
night still eating dessert on the street or something like that or maybe they're helping
family business or they just wear this from day to night we don't take them off until you go
to bed so you don't need any other clothes if you are a Thai student
do you want to feed the fish
yeah let's go feed the fish will the fish like this fish love bread [Music]
so this is our last stop of the day this is the Phra Sumen Fort which is an 18th century Fortress
that's inside this beautiful Park right next to the Chao Phraya River do you know one of these
trees behind us is called lampu tree and that's why this District here is called Bang Lamphu
because lampu means Mangrove Apple there used to be a lot of Mangrove apple trees around here
but because of the flood they're all gone now I think there's only one or two left
well let's go check out the riverside and see what's happening over there I hear some music
thank you so much for watching and joining us today we're just going to enjoy this dancing and
also the view of the Chao Phraya River we will see you in the next one have a wonderflo day [Music]