A different way to do dinner

One of the things that I looked forward to most about coming out to Thailand was the fact that I'd be able to afford to eat out more. Whether it's at cheapy street vendor places or by treating ourselves to a night out at one of the many slightly more expensive (but still ridiculously cheap) restaurants in our area, we have been eating at least once a week. We have been trying to do something I've never been able to do elsewhere, and that's work our way down the substantial list of local restaurants.

As Nick and I recently passed our 2 year milestone, we decided to do something a little bit different to celebrate. When I first came to Thailand many years ago, my dad took me on one of the old Thai rice barge dinner cruises. You get a set Thai food or Seafood dinner and it is served to you while you slowly chug up river past all the illuminated temples, hotels, and the Grand Palace.

Nick and I booked ourselves onto one of the small traditional converted teak rice barges called the 'Wan Fah' boat. We met the boat at about 18.45 (unfortunately just too late for sunset at this time of year), and were taken up river to see all the sites while food was served. Dinner was accompanied by a smiling Thai percussionist positioned at the front of the boat, who was subjected to paparazzi style photography when we had passed all the temples and stuff.

After dinner was finished and we were on our way back down river, a traditional Thai dance show was performed, where both male and female characters wear the most glittering and ornate costumes and masks. The show was great, the touristy part at the end where they try and get you to dance was not. I managed to avoid this, but was subjected to that cringing embarrassment of others making idiots of themselves.

The trip was lovely and is a must for those visiting Bangkok, if only to see the river lit up at night. At that time of day you can't see the brown milky colour of the water so it looks quite pretty. The only downside of the night was the fact that the dinner was so rushed. We were served our first dish before we'd even left the pier, and all the other dishes were served at speed. We were trying to eat at a relaxing pace and every time I put my spoon back in my bowl someone tried to whip my soup away. I ended up having to wave my spoon in the air every time anyone neared the table.