Jungceylon Mall and Banzaan Market

It rained today, so we postponed our elephant-riding excursion (there's a place about 10 minutes from us, so it's no biggie).  Instead we did a bunch of booking flights and hostels for our trips to Cambodia and Vietnam next month (more details to come!).  After hours of being online, dealing with airlines and credit card companies (both put a block on our cards thinking we'd been jacked), I was going insane.  It's a miracle Aaron didn't punch me in the face because I was just spewing complaints and cynicism all over him (to be fair, the Air Asia website could do that to anyone).  At one point, he forced me to take a much-needed break, so we went downtown to the Jungceylon Mall and Banzaan Market.  This sun was already setting when we left:

I don't know why, but our phones just can't capture the colors of the sunset.  It's a coral pink color, sometimes even a darker red color that just looks like paint strewn across the sky.

The Jungceylon Mall (I just learned the name today) is where our favorite grocery super store, Big C, is located.  We go to Big C all the time, but have never really walked through the actual mall, so today was the day!

There's this outdoor section, with tons of stalls and restaurants, not to mention this fountain:

Every night they do a small fountain show:

It wasn't great, but I think we're spoiled after the fantastic fountain show we saw in Barcelona.

Let's head inside the mall:

It was at this point I realized my camera phone was completely fogged up because I had been stuffing it into my bra.  Oops!  Let's use Aaron's phone:

Aaron always makes me take ridiculous pictures.  More proof:

The mall was really vast and almost intimidating.  There were a bunch of expensive shops, a movie theater (YAY!) and an electronics department.  It's cheaper than home, don't get me wrong, but it's still not the spot for cheap shopping.

We walked across the street to the outdoor market called Banzaan.  It was already nighttime, so the indoor part was closed, but the outdoor part was open and it was so cool!  I love outdoor markets!  There were sections for both food and goods and I'll admit we mostly stayed in the food section.  There was just so much more to see...and eat!

"Thai pancakes":

Looks weird, but so yummy!  It's a little fried crepe-like shell, with coconut and either corn or green onion inside.  They were both sweet and savory, and oh so delicious!

Sushi:

Live seafood:

Assorted meats and veggies on skewers:

Oyster omelettes:

Tons of noodles:

A giant vat of hot and sour soup:

Yummy!!

We also got some noodles and chicken:

Then Aaron got a banana and mango pancake with chocolate sauce:

We saw this weird ice cream and had to try it:

We got strawberry and raspberry:

They basically pour the cream and the fruit of your choice on this frozen stone and mash it all together (think Cold Stone).  Then they spread it and scrape up strips into curls and put it into a cup with whatever toppings you want (we opted for no toppings).  The ice cream was decent.  It definitely tasted homemade, but not super creamy and not overly sweet, probably making it more healthy than normal ice cream, but also not as tasty.  My stomach is still craving fat American ice cream.  In case you want to see these guys in action, here's a video:

This wasn't our exact ice cream, but this is the process.

I have to say, a few people have asked me about the street food in Thailand and if it's safe.  In our experience, not only is it safe, but it's delicious and cheap.  There are definitely rules I follow though:

1.  Find the crowd.  Go to the stand where every one else is going.  The faster the turnaround, the less time food has to just sit.

2.  Make sure the food looks/smells good/fresh and that the stall looks clean.

3.  Majority of the stalls cook/prepare the food right in front of you after you order, and it might take longer, but that's what I look for.  I want it super fresh and hot (or super cold if it's ice cream or a smoothie)!

Following those rules, we've been safe so far.  There's nothing I won't try (I've even eaten a scorpion, so I obviously have no limits).

So, that was both the mall and the market.  Two totally different shopping experiences. but both equally fun.  I'll admit, the market is way more my scene.  I like that it's outside and less pretentious and has tons of variety.  There are a few markets in our area and I will be checking as many of them out as I can.  

For the next couple weeks, we'll just be staying on our island, exploring and living life because next month is going to get pretty hectic.  Not only are we going to Cambodia and Vietnam, but we will be exploring more of Thailand as well.  We're going to a few of the different islands, up to the north and back to Bangkok.  My brother is coming to visit from November 3-17 and we're so excited to show him around.  He'll be spending his birthday with us, so it should be great!
The calm before the storm...