The Bangkok heat was oppressive, so we chose to take a nap at it was midday and there wasn't much shade in the city. Bangkok is a huge city of about 10 million people. The weather felt similar to NYC in August, it was hot, humid, and stinky, but Bangkok has a lot more poor people than NYC. After our nap, we ventured out to get some food and see some sights. I had a little trouble churning in my gut so we opted for a Subway lunch as opposed to some unknown food from a street vendor. Our guts were pleased but they were expensive sandwiches. After our feed, we did what all tourists do, went to the mall. Bangkok is known for shopping and crazy traffic. We decided to take a tuk-tuk to the mall. A tuk-tuk is like a 3-wheeled motorcycle in which the driver sits on a saddle in the front and there is a small bench seat in the back. All occupants are covered by a small awning. The benefit of a tuk-tuk, over a taxi, is they are better able to break the law by driving on the wrong side of the road and they can use more back alleys unavailable to taxis. The draw back of tuk-tuk's is that they are open and among the smog and exhaust of all the traffic in the city and thus likely are 16-17 times more carcinogenic than cigarettes. The ride was intense but I was too tall to see the oncoming cars and other hazards, so it was worse for Katie.
A Tuk-tuk
Our driver dropped us off at MBK which is Thai for something like huge ass mall. There were 6 floors of mayhem and almost everything you could ever want in a mall was there. We spend some time looking at every cell phone ever made, right next to every cell phone that was ever made. I am amazed that so many vendors selling the same thing could stay in business. Nonetheless, we were enjoying the air conditioning and wandering among the sporting goods and souvenirs sections. We didn't make any purchases but were awed by the massive purchasing capabilities.
MBK
Our wandering then took us to Khao San Rd. Khao San is known to be a backpacker haven of cheap food, cheap accommodation, and cheap alcohol. The road isn't very long, maybe 1km, but it's closed to vehicles and there are street vendors and food stalls intermixed with restaurants and hostels. It's possible to get a meal, a room, and pretty drunk for around 20 bucks. We chose to venture again, albeit mildly, into street food. We downed a few spring rolls and a banana and chocolate crepe. I wasn't satisfied and had a bland pad thai, but for $1.50 who can complain.
Buying some Fresh Fruit on Khao San
The next day we planned on going to the Grand Palace and to see the Temple of the Emerald Budda. That was the plan. We had a decent breakfast sandwich from the hostel and hit the streets. We walked for almost an hour until we got the to the Grand Palace, or where we thought was the Grand Palace. We explored a huge temple with dozens of Buddhas. We were surprised that nobody was at the biggest tourist attraction in the city, which was false. We were the only ones not at the Grand Palace. The temple which we did tour was pretty and provided some nice views of the city. We tried, without success, to get directions from non-English speaking locals. We also failed to establish our location on the tourist map and after visiting another unintended temple, we got a cab to drive us to the Grand Palace.
Not the Grand Palace
Also Not the Grand Palace
It is called the Grand Palace because prior Kings of Thailand lived on the site. It is now a huge complex of Temples and other Buddhist architecture/shrines. It is hard to describe how ornate the temples are. Generally, they are covered in small tiles which create drawing or murals on the outside. Many of the columns and railings are gold coated. Red, green, and blue tiles make up the colors of the roofs. Check out the pix to see what I am unable to portray. We were able to go in and see the Emerald Buddha. It was about a metre tall and made of jade. It was in a case atop of a pyramid of gold shrines and offerings and was really beautiful. When in a temple or facing a buddha, you are not allowed to wear shoes or have your feet pointing toward the Buddha. This is why Thai people kneel while praying or sit cross legged while meditating. Also, many temples do not allow pictures. We have a few pix of the Buddha from outside though.
Previous Kings Castle
Elephant Shrine
Guardian Giants
Katie before the Golden Gates
After we had our fill of the Grand Palace we grabbed a bite at a market while waiting for the riverboat back to Thewet. Lunch was, as usual, a mystery. We chose a vendor with a lot of meals prepared for viewing and chose the best based on visual inspection alone as no common language existed between us. The street food is really good and cheap. I would be glad to eat it most days if I was assured my stomach would be agreeable. Katie enjoyed a sweet and sour vegetable type dish. I don't know how to describe my meal, but it was tasty. After lunch we struggled to find the proper dock to get on a ferry boat upriver to Thewet, where our hostel was. After going to several incorrect docks we boarded a long covered boat and headed out. We were almost stowaways as we did not understand the system on how to pay and once we figured it out, we couldn't understand the collection process. Fifteen minutes later and a dollar broker we wandered back into our hostel.
The afternoon heat convinced us to have a siesta until it cooled in early evening. That night we returned to Khao San Rd. for some cheap eats and people watching. After having a night of food scouting, I knew where I was headed. I was excited to try something new and spicy. The food vendor spoke pretty good English and I ordered some spicy chicken and minced pork with veges and chilies. Katie was content to watch me sweat while enjoying my food at that vendor. She dove into some spring rolls, cooked sweet corn, and ice cream. I helped with the ice cream. We wandered for the rest of the evening taking in the atmosphere and enjoying the warm summer nights.
Corn Anyone?
Friday morning we booked a half day tour to the Damnoen floating market. This is about 100km from Bangkok. A bus arrived at our hostel and scurried around town picking up others from their hotels etc. After we shuffled from one bus to the next we arrived at the floating markets. This is how traditional Thai people would exchange goods. We boarded a canoe of sorts and floated along browsing other canoes for fresh fruit, cooked food and souvenirs. The banks of the canal were lined with other vendors selling local goods and chochki gifts. After we floated through the markets, we toured around the miles and miles of canals on which the locals live. These canals were the streets of the past and similar style markets with everyday goods, not souvenirs. The houses were mostly on stilts and many people were doing laundry or cleaning themselves in the canals. It was a cool look into the way things once were.
Floating Market
A Shopping Pose
That afternoon we headed to the Jim Thompson House Museum. Jim Thompson was an American architect who started exporting silk from Thailand. He used his riches to transport 6 traditional Thai houses into Bangkok and combine them into one huge house surrounded by ornate gardens filled with sculptures and native plants. He flipped the walls so that the outside was now in, and vice versa. The house was decorated as you expect from a millionaire architect interested in traditional Thai style. This was one of the highest recommended tourist sites and we were glad to have visited. After that we switched hotels and met our tour group. Check the next update for the beginning of the tour.
Katie in the Gardens of the Jim Thompson House
A Sneak into Jim Thompson's Living Room
Bangkok Photos
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1 comment:
craig you appear to favor a fanny pack. it took me years to convince becky and sandi this was a bad idea! all that hard work down the drain. hahah. i want to see these monkey photos!
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