Khlong Toey Market

It was an early morning in Bangkok, and my mom, brother, and I were about to cook with Poo.

Poo is the author a famous Thai cookbook called "Cooking with Poo", the owner of a popular cooking school, and something of a celebrity in Thailand. We had signed up for a morning cooking class, and I'll have a very special post all about our experience with Poo coming soon (with a very special guest author)!

The morning started with a walking tour through one of the city's many markets, and Mom, Kyle, and I sipped coffee and waited outside of Emporium, one of Bangkok's famous luxury malls, for our tour to begin.

We were picked up by Poo and her assistant, and we loaded up into a van along with the other members of our tour: a retired British teacher living in Paris, a couple from Jamaica, and a Bermudan guy. We drove a short way on to Khlong Toey.

Khlong Toey is a district in Bangkok, and it is an exemplar of contradiction. It's home to some of the most expensive shopping malls and residences in the cities, as well as to Bangkok's largest slum. The market is definitely a part of the world of the latter. Walking through it is really quite the experience. In fact, it was recognized by CNN Travel in 2010 as "one of the most authentic markets in Bangkok, as well as one of the places to avoid when hung over".

Presently, we arrived at the market and began our walking tour. Here's our experience:

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Talad Khlong Toey is the very definition of a local market. It's certainly not "touristy". 

When we arrived it was still early, and the local vendors were making their morning alms offerings to the Buddhist monks.

Entering the market was an immediate cacophony of sound, sight, and (most significant of all) smell.

The market sells everything... and I mean everything! Insects were among the less startling ingredients for sale.

There were seven of us altogether. Four people walked around with Poo, and Mom, Kyle, and I got a private market tour with the other guide (I really regret that I cannot remember her name!). It was super cool to have a private market tour, and she really took a lot of delight in spooking us with some of the more "exotic" foods for sale at the market - like this huge, deep-fried waterbug!

These eels are not meant to be eaten, but rather to be purchased for release in the river. This is considered an act of Buddhist merit making - building good karma through good deeds.

We passed a shop selling fresh frog. We were told that frog is a delicacy in the northeastern (Issan) region of Thailand.

If you are hungry, you can even get charcoal grilled frog on a stick right there at the market.

Even though I'm French, I think I'll pass on the frog.

If you want something a little more exciting, how about a whole filleted rat? Like frog, rat is sometimes eaten grilled in Issan. Our guide told us that many of the people who visit this market are laborers from Issan working in the capital. I guess when you think about it, there's nothing inherently wrong or dirty about eating rat... but the idea of it is a little offputting to me.

Most of the market, however, sold the fresh produce that you might expect - all sorts of fruits and vegetables from across the country.

The market opens around 4am every morning, and they sell out by early afternoon. If you want the freshest ingredients in all of Bangkok, you'll have to wake up early.

Poo told us that she dispatches her husband to the market before the sunrise every morning to buy ingredients for the day's cooking classes.

It's was good to know that we would be cooking with the freshest ingredients possible. This is certainly not a touristy market. This was one of the most authentic local experiences possible in Bangkok.

One area of the market was dedicated to meat. The butcher section was a little overwhelming.

Even though I've been living in Thailand for over a decade and eat the local food for nearly every meal, there are still a ton of ingredients that I am not familiar with. Thailand has such a vast and varied cuisine, that I think it's nearly impossible to try every dish in the kingdom.

 Banana flowers (the large red blossoms in the photo) are eaten in a variety of Thai dishes. Before coming to Thailand, I don't think I had ever seen a banana flower before.

The fresh fruit is one of my favorite things in Thailand. I don't think the fruit anywhere else in the world can compare.

It's rambutan season, and mountains of them were for sale along with bright pink dragon fruit, large, juicy grapes, and longan.

The vegetables looked great too.

If the market wasn't so far away from where I live, I might visit from time to time to buy produce.

Kyle, of course, was most interested in photographing the market cats.

Finishing our tour, we met back up with Poo and the other cooking students. After purchasing the last few ingredients for our recipes, it was now time to head on to the cooking school and begin learning how to make some amazing Thai dishes.