Detour: Bangkok

2 minute read
ARYN BAKER

RIVER BLEND The stilt village of Bang Yai, 12 km to the northwest of Bangkok, may seem like a long way to travel for coffee but Poon, my taxi-boat driver, promised me it was worth the trip when I stepped into his boat nursing a cup of Starbucks, of which he clearly disapproved. That’s how my erstwhile tour of the old klongs of Bangkok was transformed into a quest for authentic kafae thung, or Thai bag coffee. We took off from Nonthaburi, a small town just north of Bangkok. As we quietly chugged through the network of canals in Poon’s canopied, motorized canoe, he watched for the itinerant vendors who sell coffee and other necessities to residents who live in the weathered stilt houses lining the waterways. At times we plowed through clumps of water hyacinths so thick we almost stalled, until Poon cut the motor, lifted the propeller out of the water and drifted through the flower-flecked foliage. This route was a glimpse into the way Bangkok used to be, he told me, before the canals were paved over to make room for cars.

After passing banana plantations and coconut groves, we turned into a canal called Klong Bangkok Noi, where Poon spied a hawker in a boat piled high with soap, snacks and sodas. The long-sought coffee peddler set a pot of water boiling on a tiny gas stove. He carefully poured steaming water through what looked suspiciously like a gym sock filled with ground coffee. It dripped into a can already laced with two generous spoonfuls of sweetened condensed milk. In one practiced motion he scooped a plate of ice into a plastic sack, poured in the steaming coffee, stabbed it with a straw and deftly secured the bag with a rubber band. Poon triumphantly handed me the kafae thung and eyed me as I sipped the potent, sweet brew. “Very good Thai coffee,” he said, scowling at the empty Starbucks cup rolling around the bottom of the boat. I agreed.

More Must-Reads from TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com