Day 2 - Bangkok

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Well day two and to say Bangkok is an amazing place to go to would be an understatement with its fusion of cultures blending ancient Thailand with its modern counterpart in a strange exhilarating and yet exasperating way. Exasperating in the way Tuk-tuk drivers driver through the heavy traffic without a care in the world for other road users. There is also a common expectancy with Tuk-tuk drivers, and that's to end up at either tailors or a Gem shop or both. We managed to get out of going to the gem store but ended up getting measured up for a suit, so I might look a little smarter now I am 40. And I feel I got it at a reasonable bargain after knocking him down a couple of thousand Bart. Plus having a shirt and tie thrown in.

Well back to the beginning of the day and a slow taxi drive to Central Pier, the traffic as possibly mentioned before is like rush hour but all the time and possibly worse. Just as well the taxis are cheap. Well everything is cheap.

Once we got to central pier we caught a private flat bottom boat for 1200 Baht which took us on a tour along the river Chao Phraya River, giving us an excellent view of the river side huts and some amazing buildings. On our travels along the river a riverboat trader tried to sell us some trinkets but only managed to sell us two cans of beer, one for me and one for the woman piloting the boat.

Our first stop was a brief visit to Wat Arun or the Temple of Dawn. But as we only had 10 minutes here it was a flying visit.

Our next stop and last stop was The Wat Phra Kaeo and Grand Palace which by the time we got there was closed. So we are going again tomorrow. If you decide to visit Bangkok make sure you get to the Grand Palace before 15:30, also watch out for all the scams going on around the palace. But don't let the scamsters put you off after all some scams might be worth falling for just to experience Bangkok at its best.

In between the river and the Palace is a lovely market that sells some strange and bewildering foods that anyone with a sense of adventure and a good stomach will want to try. We stopped at one stall that didn't look to scary and tried something a little on the tame side. I have no idea what it was but it was nice. And that was served with a nice cool beer as they said it would be to hot for me, but it just left a slight tingle in my mouth.

Then we up to the Tuk-tuk ride which was the scam we fell for he took us to the Standing Buddha which was fine, I took a wrong turn whilst looking for the toilets and saw monks sitting cross-leg using laptop computers. To me that seem such contrasts in culture with incense burning all around people praying and there sitting cross-leg on laptops.

If you want to experience a restaurant that will take your breath away then the Vertigo open roof-top restaurant at the Banyan tree will certainly do that. The roof-top restaurant on the 61st floor has amazing views over Bangkok especially at night and has to be the most romantic place anyone could dine. The only way to describe the food is astounding if not a little pricey, but then this is a must once in a lifetime experience but check the price of there steak first before you decide to order.

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