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Published: January 26th 2008
Wat Pho Chedi
Inside Wat Pho, the sun creates a bit of a halo behind a chedi.Our final stop for our New Year vacation was Bangkok, Thailand. Based on past vacation destinations, I think we were both a bit skeptical on how we would enjoy Bangkok. We’ve started to recognize that for our preferences a big, modern city typically feels too much like home, and therefore fails to deliver that inspiring feeling of experiencing something very new. Kuala Lumpur and Stockholm are two past destinations where this held true. Fortunately for us, for a large city, Bangkok had a good measure of uniqueness that never failed to entertain during our visit.
We arrived in Bangkok on Friday afternoon. After a 45 minute taxi ride into the city, we checked in at Citi Chic Hotel. We chose Citi Chic hotel for several reasons. First, it was a fairly new hotel which we correctly counted on being clean. Second, it was a 10 minute walk to either a skytrain or a subway station. Third, there were many options within walking distance for shopping, eating, or socializing. I cannot say enough nice things about our stay at Citi Chic. We were very pleased with our stay at the hotel,
as the staff and rooms absolutely exceeded our expectations. They even allowed us to use their pool on Tuesday evening before heading to the airport at midnight. This seemed a nice gesture since we had already checked out at noon on Tuesday. I believe our fellow plane travelers on the way back home owe a great thank you to the hotel. We certainly needed a good rinse off after our long Tuesday of trekking outdoors in the hot streets of Ayuthaya.
Friday evening we headed to a congested area surrounding Victory Monument. Our travel guide had mentioned this as a place to enjoy live music while sitting in a beer garden. Unfortunately, this was one of the few times our travel guide really let us down cause we never really located a good place to soak up some live tunes while enjoying an ice cold brew. The area was severely congested, as the Friday after work crowds seemed to be moving through on their way home. Eventually we gave up on the area and headed back near our hotel for dinner and local drinks before calling it a night.
Saturday we had decided to spend a great deal
Wat Phra Kaew Mural
Many interesting paintings along the walls inside Wat Phra Kaew. of the day visiting many of the sights along the Chao Phraya River banks. We started by taking a shuttle boat along the river till we reached our first destination, the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew on the palace grounds. The visit started off with a bang, as Tegan got flagged while entering the grounds for showing too much skin with her capri style pants. This did not sit well with her as it was clear that others who had already entered wore much more revealing attire. She was directed to a services area where they loaned her a garment to wear as a skirt during our visit. I found the entire escapade very humorous (especially since I had asked her upon leaving the hotel if she was worried about the capris being too revealing, to which she issued a dismissive veto). She on the other hand did not share in my humor. I believe the displayed picture clearly demonstrates her feelings on the matter. I was all giggles.
Both the Grand Palace and adjacent temple proved visually stimulating, as you would imagine from the King’s quarters. I’m not sure that I’d claim the experience inspiring, but it
Hall of Temple
Side of the temple that houses the Emerald Buudha in Wat Phra Kaew. certainly seemed a worthy trip for any visitor to Bangkok. Seeing as we were sharing our visit with hundreds of other tourists, it was hard to really get moment alone to take everything in. It just felt way too crowded at times.
From the Grand Palace we walked to the adjacent Wat Pho. A bit less crowded, it was definitely more relaxing exploring these temple grounds as compared to Wat Phra Kaew. Wat Pho’s
big attraction is the enormous reclining Buddha housed in one of the temples. The statue is so large that it’s very difficult to find a spot inside the temple to capture a photograph of the entire statue. It’s hard to tell which was built first, the statue within the temple, or the temple around the statue.
Next we hopped on a ferry to head across the river to see Wat Arun. A bit less flashy, the high tower on the temple grounds allowed visitors climbable access. From high above, the view of the river below and the Bangkok skyline proved worthy of the climb to the top. We rested up for a bit, enjoyed the view, and then cautiously descended the steep stairs back
Colorful Rooftops
Inside the Grand Palace. in the direction of the ferry.
From the river we headed eastward on foot in the direction of Chinatown. Even though we had no interest in shopping during the hottest hour of the day, we felt it a must to walk the narrow shopping alleys of Chinatown. Congested and loud, the day’s transactions were lively as we passed stall after stall under the shaded cover of tents. We tried a few snacks and beverages, but mainly focused on reaching a subway station so we could return to our hotel and take a well earned break from the heat. The brief time we spent zigzagging through the market certainly left a very lasting impression on me.
Rested up, we decided Saturday night was the perfect time to visit the infamous Patpong Red Light District. Heavily populated by tourists and night market stalls these days, there’s still an entertaining hint of taboo activities of years past. On many occasions we were greeted with a smile and a brief question, “Ping Pong Show?” We opted for grabbing a drink at an outdoor bar on a busy street corner so we could do some fantastic people watching while we laughed the evening
Unhappy Camper
Tegan and her loaner skirt on the Grand Palace grounds with Wat Phra Kaew in background. away. It really was a very unusual place to sit and have a good time.
Sunday morning we headed out to visit the Chatuchack Market. Every weekend a very large section of stalls spring to life near Chatuchack Park. This market is similar to your average flea market but without the used junk. We spent several hours zigzagging through the rows of stalls. In the end, we still felt as if we’d only seen half of what the market had to offer. The market was a real zoo, overcrowded with anxious shoppers. Eventually the heat and the crowds got the better of us, so we headed back to our hotel for an afternoon break.
Sunday evening I spent a little time searching for a place for us to watch the NFL playoff games live Monday morning at 6:00am. I managed to find a restaurant not too far from our hotel called Bourbon Street where they would be airing the games over breakfast. Expecting an early rise, Sunday evening became an early turn in for the two of us.
Monday morning the alarm went off at 5:45am. We promptly turned the alarm off and settled on more sleep
Wat Pho Reclining Buddha
Largest Buddha we came across during our travels. instead of football. It’s funny how sleep usually wins out during a vacation. Once we finally awoke, we decided to visit some large shopping malls early in the day. MBK and the Siam Square area is where we headed. Tremendously large malls with so many floors, once again we became overwhelmed with too many options. It wasn’t too long before our feet were tired and our pocket books were screaming for a break from the shopping.
Monday night it was off to Suan Lum Night Market. Once we arrived, we immediately regretted not finding this place sooner. Aside from the night market, there were several outdoor beer gardens with numerous big screen TVs and musical acts as entertainment. It was a very enjoyable place to relax while listening to some tunes. We opted for a smaller beer garden with an acoustic musical performance. With the great weather and our comfortable surroundings, it turned into a great spot for us to reflect on our trip and discuss our feelings about each destination. Reluctantly, we eventually called it a night realizing it was our last late evening in Bangkok.
Tuesday after checking out of our hotel and leaving our bags
Wat Arun
As seen from our express boat along Mae Nam Chao Phraya. behind, we opted for a day trip north of Bangkok to Ayuthaya. Ayuthaya is an island, surrounded by three rivers as they converge. Due to its close proximity to waterways, it was once a cultural center for the Thai people, a former capitol I believe. We believed it would be some quality exposure to a smaller Thai community.
The trip to Ayuthaya was a 90 minute train ride one way. With no air conditioning, the midday train ride certainly wasn’t the most comfortable I’d ever experienced. However, seeing as our one way ticket cost a whopping $0.50, we really weren’t in a position to expect comfort. Aside from the heat, the train ride was a great opportunity to see bits of Thailand’s countryside. We also found the locals on the train extremely friendly, even going out of there way to let us know when we arrived at our stop without us asking them for their help.
We decided to explore Ayuthaya by bicycle since we only had about 4 hours to visit. It turned out to be a very nice way to get around the streets of Ayuthaya once we got over our instincts to be on the
Wat Arun View
Atop Wat Arun, view of Mae Nam Chao Phraya and Bangkok skyline. wrong side of the street. We rode around the city shops, headed out toward a few temples, then stopped off for an early dinner. It was much more peaceful then the loud, busy streets of Bangkok. We definitely welcomed the change of pace on our last day in Thailand.
We eventually made it back to our hotel to pickup our bags. We were very sad that our vacation was coming to an end. Of course, the 28 hour travel itinerary ahead of us didn’t exactly produce warm feelings either. Off to the airport and the hell that is living on planes for a whole day.
And that’s a wrap on our New Year vacation for 2008. We’ve already started our discussions on where the next vacation might lead. Stay tuned….
Random Observations/Nuisances - The Bangkok skytrain and subway systems were extremely easy to use. A must when visiting Bangkok as the traffic often seems at a standstill.
- Sure, we read about it before visiting Bangkok, but the frequent older white male and younger Thai female couples you encounter while walking the sidewalks is alarming.
- Stray dogs are everywhere! Not just Bangkok, but everywhere we visited
Late Night Snacks
Yummy! I couldn't decided which delicious six legged snack to begin with. on this vacation. It’s terribly sad.
- Pictures of the King were everywhere, including on the side of skyscrapers. It just felt unnatural to see that overwhelming support (I assume) for a country’s leader.
- Things we didn’t see a lot of: baseball caps, trash cans, and sunglasses. Things we saw often: cell phones, women (and some wannabe women) in high heels, and drinking straws.
- Drinks served in a zip loc bag with a straw were an interesting common option amongst the food vendors.
- Outdoor aerobic classes seem very popular. Often on our trip we’d pass a large group exercising outdoors in the evening.
- The Buddhist public lifestyle is a welcomed change from the competitive flow of things back home. I can’t think of one time where a local seemed to show a flash of anger as they moved about the busy streets of Bangkok. Traffic politely yielded for other vehicles, despite the numerous traffic jams. Crowds exiting and entering public transportation terminals moved in unison instead of aggressively jockeying for position. Road rage seemed such a foreign concept it was extremely enviable.
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