A few nights in Bangkok

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From KL, we got an overnight bus to the border at Hat Yai before getting another bus to Bangkok. We headed straight to the famous backpackers ghetto of South East Asia, Khao San Road. After finding a hostel we went to ChatuChak Weekend Market. Gabrielle had already been to Bangkok so knew what to expect. With over 17,000 stalls to browse and being the largest market in Asia meant there was some serious shopping to be done. When Adam couldn't take any more, we went back to Khao San Road and were introduced to Vodka Buckets. Khao San Road was as loud and brash as we thought it would be with a tourist market and many western restaurants. We had a very tasty dinner while listening to a guy on a guitar.

The next day was the King's Birthday. The royal family is very important to Thais and are held in the highest esteem so the city was in full celebration mode with banners and shrines adorning the streets. The Grand Palace was packed so instead we went a few smaller temples including one which had a giant gold buddha and a hill top one with amazing views of Bangkok. It also had string of bells along the path, which people would clang as they went down after praying. Afterwards, we went by boat to Siam Square where the biggest mall MBK is situated. We had fun checking out RayBans and other knock-off items. As we were in the centre of town, we went to Cabbages and Condoms Restuarant. Cabbages and Condoms is a HIV awareness charity, which works to promote safe sex, particularly among the sex workers (of which, there are a lot!). The decorations, lamps and even statues are made up of condoms and instead of after-dinner mints, you get given a few. We had fun posing with the condom Santa statue. We wandered back to our side of town and joined in the mass of people heading over to Victory monument to watch the fireworks. The next day, we went to The Grand Palace which is magnificent. The colours are astounding and very equisite. We saw the Emerald Buddha, which is one of the most sacred Budhas in Thailand. Later, we headed to The Reclining Buddha which is situated in a less grand temple but still very impressive.

We are going to be heading back to Bangkok in a few months so we left the city after that. It's an amazing place and one of our favorite cities so far as it is so vibrant and constantly buzzing with energy.

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