Bangkok
23 February 2019
Alison Byers
We arrived in Bangkok and were able to take the Skytrain right to our hotel. Saved us time and money. It is pretty easy to get around the city using public transport and much cheaper than using taxis. The city is home to 8M+ people and is a melting pot of mostly Thai, Chinese and Indian nationalities. While Buddhism is the primary religion, there are also Catholics and Muslims. We found the people to be very friendly and helpful and most spoke either a little English or very good English. The city is typical of any large third world city. There are the very poor, the middle class and the very rich. The city is dirty, noisy and full of energy.
On our first day we decided to go pick up our train tickets for our trip to Chaing Mai and figure out the transit system – piece of cake!! On our way out of the train station we ran into a teacher who told us where to go to get a cheaper river cruise than the touristy ones. Well, even though it was cheaper, our driver couldn’t speak any English so we basically just got a ride up and down the river. He dropped us off at Pho Wat which is a Buddhist temple complex in Bangkok. It was completed in 1778 and is home to the Reclining Buddha with is deemed #11 on the worlds must see tourist attractions. We spent a couple of hours touring the site but it became overwhelming so we left. We then took a tuk tuk (Pat’s new favourite ride) to Chinatown. We spent many hours wandering through the streets and streets of stalls and then found a place to stop for a beer. It was a seafood restaurant and the fresh seafood was amazing. While this Chinatown was very similar to those around the world, it was its sheer size that made it different. We found a small Thai restaurant close to our hotel for dinner and then back to the hotel to watch a movie.
The next day we took a foodie tour. We met our tour guides at 10:00 am and spent the next 4 hours wandering the streets of the Bangrak neighborhood tasting everything from satay and fried bananas on the streets, to green curry in the restaurant owned by the Royal Family, as well as some local dishes. We tasted some good stuff and some not so. We also visited a fruit market, a wet market (because the floor is always wet from the ice used to keep things cool) and a local grocery store. Although we ate almost no breakfast, and we shared food on the tour, we were stuffed by the end. We then took a Tuk Tuk to the pier and took a long boat to the flower market. When you enter, there is nothing but rows and rows of stalls selling roses, orchids, marigolds, chrysanthemums and more. Many of the flowers are used for ceremonial purposes and they string the flowers together to make wreaths, centerpieces, bracelets and more. We then took the Skytrain back to our hotel and found a local pub for dinner. The food was okay but the beer and cider were good.
On our last day in Bangkok we headed to the Grand Palace and National Museum. We took Skytrain to the river and then took an express boat, which is part of the public transportation system, to the Grand Palace. A much smoother ride than the smaller river boats. The Palace was established in 1782 and sits on 60 acres of land. The site is a collection of buildings including the royal residence and throne halls, government offices as well as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and is all surrounded by four walls. We spent about 2 hours wandering around the site but decided to leave due to the heat and the number of people. This is the busiest and most visited attraction in Bangkok. We took lots of pictures but they really don’t do any justice to the beauty and detail of the structures. We then walked to the National Museum and spent a couple of hours wandering through the artifacts. Even hundreds of years ago, they created very ornate objects of great detail. We were on our way out when we stumbled onto the royal carriages. There are no words to describe the structures and while we took some pictures, they in no way show the magnitude and opulence of them. They are definitely over the top. We then took a tuk tuk to Chinatown and found the Jumbo Lobster restaurant for a much needed rest. We ordered large beers and jumbo prawns to start. They were amazing. We then had a small lobster and some Babylons which are a mollusk of some kind. While the lobster was good, the Babylons not so much. We had a papaya salad (one of my new favorites) and couple more beer. Our bill was only about $100 for everything.
We were up early and off to the train station as we were taking the train to Chaing Mai which is in the north of Thailand. The adventure continues…….
