Noodle Time at Victory Monument

Victory Monument is not much of a tourist attraction. Tourists don't go there to marvel at the tall obelisk in the middle of the rotunda. They go there either to ride vans going to the provinces or taste yummy Thai foods.

Victory Monument is a busy place, thanks for its being a transportation hub. Thus, it also became a sort of Thai street food hub.

The busy Victory Monument.

One of the stall that I noticed is the one located near the escalator.

I had a hard time communicating with the lady at the food stall. She couldn't understand English so I just pointed at the food that I wanted. The lady just motioned me to go to the tables near the stall.

I'm ignorant of the scheme when eating at this place. I actually didn't need to go to the stall. All I need to do is to sit at the table and then somebody will come to get my orders.

The waiter immediately brought a metal cup with crushed ice. There is no free water so I was forced to buy a bottle of it.

It was about an hour before the usual evening rush so the place is not yet crowded. I bet that this restaurant has plenty of customers, based on the number of tables that they have.

My short wait was over and this is what I got:

Looks yummy!

I noticed some chicharon (deep-fried dried pork rind) on my table.

I'm sure that it is to be mixed with the noodles. I know, however, that I have to pay extra if I'll open a pack of chicharon. So, as a cheapskate, I didn't try chicharon with my noodles.

So what's the verdict? I say that it tastes good! The soup is not spicy but just perfect to my palate. It has pork meat and coagulated pork blood (in Philippines we call it betamax). At first, I thought that the white things in the dish are squid meat. I realized then that it is the noodles, which are short and fat but tasted bland. The soup tastes OK but I think I tasted better ones in a noodle shop inside a mall also in the vicinity of Victory Monument.

I paid around 50 Baht for the noodles and the bottled water. I guess it is still cheap for this kind of street food.

I am not sure if this dish is the famous Thai boat noodles. Maybe I had to go to certified Thai boat noodles shop near Victory Monument to see the difference with this noodles that I just tasted.

Passing By Victory Monument

There is one landmark that I almost never miss whenever I go to a tourist spot in Bangkok. This landmark stands conspicuously in the midst of busy traffic and no tourist in the area will not notice it. 

This attention-hogging landmark is the Victory Monument.

I was surprised when I saw a commenter (from Bangkok) at TripAdvisor saying that the Victory Monument “should be demolished” because it is “a monument to celebrate a great victory that actually was not really that great.”

This comment from a Thai compelled me to make a little research about Victory Monument.

Victory Monument was erected in 1941 to mark Thailand's victory during the Franco-Thai War. This monument was built during the dictatorship of Field Marshal Plaek Pibulsonggram, who is the militaristic prime minister of Thailand. The war occurred during the Second World War at the time when France already fell under the rule of Nazi Germany.

Thailand, during the time Victory Monument was erected, was in a chaos. The absolute monarchy was just recently removed by a coup d'etat and was replaced by a parliamentary monarchy. King Rama VIII, the king during that time, was not in Thailand. Thus, it is Pibulsonggram who virtually ruled Thailand at the time. This dictator brought Thailand into an alliance with Japan.

The Victory Monument became a “monument of shame” when Japan was defeated during the War. Thailand was forced to return all the territories that it gained during the Franco-Thai War. The Victory Monument became a reminder of the militaristic regime that many Thais don't like.

The most loved king of Thailand.

This historical tidbit helped me understand why the Thais have high regard to the monarchy. It is their king, the then King Rama VIII (older brother of the current king), who brought stability to Thailand after the war. This respect was also inherited by the current king of Thailand that's why he is loved and respected by all.

The Victory Monument is at the center of the busy rotunda. Many public vans going to provinces can be found around this monument. This is where we rode a van to Rayong for our weekend trip to Koh Samet Island. There are vans here going to Pattaya and other beaches in Thailand.

The place is also a good place to eat yummy Thai dishes. This is where I ate the delicious boat noodle soup or kao lao.

I was happy that I have a new camera that has 10x optical zoom. I managed to take a zoomed-in shot of Victory Monument.

Victory Monument has a feel of being copied from the monuments found in communist or fascist states. It doesn't have a hint of Thai architectural style. This monument is composed of an obelisk surrounded by statues representing the army, navy, air force, police and bureaucracy.

The area around Victory Monument is always a busy place. I saw Thais rushing to school or office. I saw tourists also rushing to their destinations. I guess Victory Monument is a good place to watch people.

Victory Monument is a good place to take photographs. I think that this monument has the most photos in my camera.

The photo below was taken after my visit to MBK and Siam Center.

Be it a monument of victory or shame, the Victory Monument is still an important relic of Thailand's past. It is worth your visit.

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Information for this post was obtained from the Victory Monument page and Franco-Thai War page of Wikipedia.

Do you have a monument in your country that is not liked by many people? Tell us about it by leaving a comment.