BANGKOK Pt1

---

Sunday 16th January

Flying from Alice springs to Sydney and then from Sydney to Bangkok took around 12 hours flying time.
The Quantas flight from Sydney to Bangkok was a treat as we were pampered with free drink and the food was actually above average.

Touchdown Bangkok!.
It all goes smoothly through visa control and we hailed a taxi outside which was to cost us about 450 bahts (£9) for the 45 minute journey to our digs.
The taxi driver drove like a blooming lunatic and was touching 100mph in places whilst weaving from lane to lane and we feared for our lives! We couldnt get out the taxi quick enough when we arrived at the Lub D hostel and we checked into our room with faces distorted from G force! 😊

The Lub D (sleep well) is a fantastic hostel built on four floors in a modern design and very clean. We have a railway room which is basically a room with a bunk bed, safe, aircon and a desk which is perfect. Its 1am and its been a long day!

Monday 17th January

We take an early trip to the Chinese Embassy as we have to apply for our visa's and need to find out what information is needed to fill out the forms.
We hopped on the MRT underground tube train and for less than a pound we travelled the 5 miles to the embassy which is located at the Thailand Cultural Centre stop. We picked up the forms and headed back into town. We need passport photo, our Chinese tour guide contact details and also dates of arrival and departure from China, all straight forward stuff.

We caught the return MRT and stopped off at Sukhumvit where we walked around the busy streets and managed to find a photo shop that did passport photos. There's lots of street markets here in Sukhumvit and its teeming with people. We had lunch which passed another couple of hours before heading back into the MRT back to Silom and again this cost us less than a pound.

Walking around Silom is an experience as its chaos on and off the pavement and that's only half the battle that's going on. The roads are manic and its fun watching the 3 wheeled Tuk Tuk's fight for that spare inch inbetween each other.
There's lots of stalls along the pavement as we walk whom sell a wide range of stuff and its not long before we pass the famous Patpong area.
Pat Pong which is very busy with touts trying to get you into seedy bars and clubs. There's the odd ladyboy mincing around and you are constantly saying no thank you to the stall sellers who are desperate to sell stuff. Jills bought a bag which she haggled down to under half the original price offered. Its a golden rule that you just half the asking price and nine times out of ten you get it. I half the price and then walk away and they always give in as they will literally chase you up the road beggin for the half price you offered in the first instance. Patpong is known for the ping pong ball antics of the prostitutes and we declined the offer of seeing one of the shows. Maybe on our return trip we may venture into a bar or club here.

We shall get busy seeing the proper parts of Bangkok tomorrow and hopefully see some cultural sights and more of the city.

Tuesday 18th January

We got back over to the Chinese Embassy to hand in our Passports and forms and were told to return at 3pm in the afternoon. Thats fine with us so we jump on the MRT and head for Hua Lamphong where the main train station is. Its not long before we've negotiated the hire of a Tuk Tuk at a hourly rate of 70 bahts which is well under two pounds a hour, can't really knock it!
Its hair raising stuff been scooted around on the tuk tuk. Its reminding me of the mini cars in the film The Italian Job! We are rarely held up in traffic as our driver squeezes past cars and lorries and red lights dont seem to make a difference at some junctions! Its all good though as we are getting to see most of city from the back of the tuk tuk for mere pennies as we travel from one place to the other. Side street after side street passes us by and we wonder where the hell we are at some points!

Our driver whisks us off to our first visit at a sleeping Buddha Temple within the grounds of The Phra Uposatha Hall. Its not the famous large sleeping Buddha but a just an as impressive smaller one. The Phra Uposatha Hall houses another statue of a Buddha in a gorgeous building surrounded by four tupas or temples and is used for assemblys. The buildings are made of white marble and the designs of the buildings are jaw dropping. Its nice here and there are a few orange cladded monks going about their business around us. We were the only tourists here so we got to roam around and take it all in without much fuss at all.

Our tuk tuk driver then whisk's us away to a Diamond and precious stone factory which wasn't part of the deal. The driver kindly asked us if we would stop here for ten minutes just for a look just so he could get gas coupons for doing so. Fair enough we thought as we walked around the factory and shop for a short while. We couldn't believe it when we bumped into a Swiss girl, Sandra, who was on our tour bus in New Zealand and she was pleased to see us too! Its a small world! We all headed to the next temple together exchanging stories and tales.

From here we headed for Wat Benchamabophit (The Marble Temple) which is a Buddhist temple (wat) in the Dusit district. Its one of the most beautiful buildings to see in Bangkok and the moment you walk in your are faced with the outstanding Ordination Hall. In the gallery surrounding the Ordination hall are 52 buddha statues all sat in different poses. We walked through and around the gardens taking photos and feeding the giant catfish by the stream. Our drivers giving us the eye from the car park so we make a move, bid farewell to Sandra and head for the Grand Palace in the Phra Nakhon district.

The Grand Palace served as the official residence of the Kings of Thailand from the 18th century onwards. The present King of Thailand, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, however, resides at the Chitralada Palace. Most of the main Structures were built around 1780 onwards and The Palace is rectangular shaped, with the western side next to a river and the royal temple situated to the east side, with all structures facing north.
The Palace is however still very much in use; as many royal rituals are performed here by the King every year. Other royal ceremonies celebrated here are coronations; royal funerals, marriages and state banquets.

We walked around in amazement at the golden structures which had precious stones and various statues adourned on top of them. The Phra Si Rattana Chedi looks amazing and its looks like an upside down golden Bell. The detail and work that has been put into building these structures is baffling. We passed the Prasat Phra Thap Bidon where we could see even more intricate detail of stone carvings and cut jewels on the monkey statues that lined the roof and pillars.
Our last stop before leaving was the Emerald buddha temple and we were forbidden to take our camera in with us and we had to be quiet which is understandable. Inside you can find a fantastic array of gold, stones and painted walls all centered around a Buddha sitting on top of what can only be described as a pile of golden trinkets and ornaments. Some Thai people are sat praying in silence but we felt a bit awkward as the German tourists behind us were talking at full volume so we left sharply.
Nevertheless its all a truly awesome spectacle. We leave the Palace grounds and took the long walk around to Wat Pho where the sleeping Buddha can be found within the grounds of Wat Phra Chetuphon.

Once we got there we walked the long way around the Prangs, Stupas and Pavillions to the temple admiring the whole complex in its beauty as we went.
Wat Po was built by Rama I in the 16th century and is the oldest and largest Buddhist temple in Bangkok. Its also home to more than one thousand Buddha images, as well as one of the largest single Buddha images: the Reclining Buddha.
We reach the Reclining Buddha temple and once we had removed our footwear we walked around and gasped at the size of the thing!
It is more than 43m long and 15m high, and was built during the mid-19th-century reign of Rama III
I didn't realise it was that big as I moved around the feet at the bottom for that touristy photo!
The statue is brick, covered with layers of plaster, and gold leaf; the feet are inlaid with mother-of-pearl illustrations of 108 auspicious laksanas (characteristics) of the Buddha.
On the way back down the temple behind the statue I paid a pound for roughly 108 coins which I placed, one by one, in the 108 Bronze pots that are lined up along the wall as you leave. Visitors drop coins in a row of 108 bronze bowls for good fortune and in turn, help monks maintain the wat.

We head for home through the hussle and bussle of a typical Bangkok rush hour so we just sit back and enjoy the ride until we reached our hostel.

We headed back out later on in the evening to a tailors nearby where I got myself fitted up with a new suit which took about a hour. The suit will be delivered tomorrow and we got a great price for it after a bit of haggling. They wanted £200 to begin with but i got them down about to about 40% less which is a bargain considering Ive chosen an Armani copy.

We took another tuk tuk over to the other side of BK to a night market called Khao San road which is popular with backpackers as its full of cheap and cheerful stalls and shops. When we arrived at Khao San road it was rammed packed so we found a quietish bar and sat and watched the world go by for a hour or so while having a few beers.
Jills adamant she wants a foot massage from a place next door so we go round and Jill gets seated and pays 200 bahts (4pounds) for a half hour foot massage. Out the corner of my eye I spotted a fish pedicure service inside and went to investigate. I had heard about it before and always wanted to try it. Before I knew it i had my 250 bahts (£5) out for a 25 minute session and my feet were now submerged in the water. Oh, its tickly for a few minutes and when you get used to it, its actually fine as hundreds of little fishies are nibbling away at your feet.
Doctor fish is the name given to the species of fish also called Garra rufa and they are about the size of sticklebacks. The fish are like combfishes in that they only consume the affected and dead areas of the skin, leaving the healthy skin to grow.
They look like tiny catfish up close and theres lot's of them in the tank all munching away on my feet until someone else comes into the tank and takes a bit of pressure off!

Jills appeared and its not long before Im drying my feet off and I have to admit my feet have a whole new look about them. I had a few nicks and grazes along the ankles and big toe which are now completely gone!
We browsed the stalls and grabbed some Pad Thai Noodles from a stall which were lovely and fresh. Another haggle for a tuk tuk followed and its not long before we are heading off home with fresh feeling feet and smiles on our faces.

Tomorrow are off at 7am to Damnoen Saduak which is a floating Market 100 kilometers southwest of Bangkok. Our tour then takes us past the River Kwai Bridge and onto Kanchanaburi to visit the Tiger Temple before heading home around 8pm so it should be a fun day.

---