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The Reclining Buddha
Located at Wat Pho, this thing was HUGE! Three and a half days in Bangkok, and we're ready to move on to Vietnam. It's a cool city--very full on--but we've enjoyed it. Very hot and humid but kind of reminds me of Nebraska summers! Definitely not as intense as we thought it would be, though it probably helped that we'd already been in the country for a few weeks, touristy as it may have been in the islands.
Apologies again for no pics...we will try to find a computer to get them on soon!
So much to tell you about...
We found a good little guesthouse room at Baan Sabai, just a few blocks from Koh San Road. Koh San is the backpacker mecca of Bangkok, and though its sort of cool in the "good people-watching, lots of English-speaking, get anything you want/need" way, our place was a bit quieter and still close enough not too feel too out of the way. Though we had roosters across the street that crowed from 3:30am through daylight!
Temples We visited Wat Pho and The Grand Palace, the two main attractions of the city. Both were beautiful, but we like the huge reclining Budda at Wat
Tuk-tuk on Koh San Road
Tuk-tuks were our main form of transportation in Bangkok Pho the best. Honestly, it is SO BIG!
We got around using tuk-tuks, taxis, the Sky Train (like a subway above ground), and the river boats. The boats were great because you got a mini-tour of the riverfront--grand hotels and restaurants next to little shanties where people lived. We did a good job of making sure the tuk-tuk drivers didn't take us all around town to get commission from shops, and riding in them is quite fun, though you have to hunch low to actually see below the top cover. Dan is loving bargaining and chatting to all the drivers who never leave you along 😊 Sometimes I actually have to drag him away!
Chinatown was complete chaos in a somewhat organized way...well, at least to the locals. So many people crammed on the sidewalks. The street side was lined with vendors selling jewelry, knickers, fresh pineapple and fried bananas, and hundreds of other goods. A tiny lane for pedestrian traffic, single-file, and then the shops. Many of them were just a few meters wide and deep stocked floor to ceiling with whatever it was they were selling--Gap purses, socks, stickers (yes, entire stores with every kind of
Ice cream in a bun
Heidi couldn't resist coconut ice cream served in a hot dog bun rather than a cones...kind of strange, but good sticker you could imagine), gold jewely...
Off the main roads, shops still lined the streets, but the larger the store, the bigger the supply, and buying in bulk was definitely the name of the game here. From plasitc boxes, plastic bags, and plastic purses to barrels of dried shrimp, mushrooms, and other assortments of foods to shoes sold wholesale only, the chaotic atmosphere is the norm for these locals. We just walked through slowly, eyes wide with intrigue as we meandered around, dodging the moving food carts, delivery motorbikes, and odd cars that somehow thought they actually needed to DRIVE down these streets. Above, the buildings rose a few stories where clothes hung on hangers on lines to dry in the heat of the day, and we tried to imagein people actually living in the small quarters.
We also went to the zoo one morning--cool, but nothing too thrilling compared to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha!
Market Madness I can't begin to explain the markets (well, to those of you who've been here, unbelievable, huh?)...
Besides the little ones on the streets around our guesthouse and Koh San Road, the big ones are massive. We went
Dan on Koh San Road
The backpacker hangout in Bangkok, this little street is packed from head to toe with everything. A great place to people watch, locals and tourists alike. to the Night Bazaar which had some cool little boutique-like stalls. Of course, you have to be pretty small to fit most of it, but still fun to look! We ate at a little outside restaurant in the market where we were surrounded by 4 waiters as soon as we sat down and were given menus. We told them to give us a couple minutes to look, and they just sat down next to us to wait. WE just laughed...I think they all wanted a part of a tip or something(though we didn't leave one!)
This morning we got up at 6am so could get to the big Saturday market by 7, when it opened (according to Lonely Planet). The book also said we could get there dỉectly by skytrain. But our receptionist said no, not until 10, and only can take a bus...another guy said 9am and a different bus...who to believe?
FYI to others: The skytrain DOES go all the way to the Chatuchak market, and though not all stalls open at 7, we were there by 8:30 and it was full of people
This place was MASSIVE...row after row of everything and anything. But I only
Aerobics at Lumphini Park
A couple hundred people gathered in this park after their workday for an aerobic class. The warm-up song was the Barbie song...hilarious! made two small purchases since we still have several weeks left to go 😊 Don't worry, I took good inventory for when we go back!
Dan is loving all the food (I honestly don't know how he hasn't got the shits yet!)...he keeps saying that Gus would go nuts here! I'm just glad that I'm sweating off all my spring rolls and pancakes...
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amanda
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how were the toilets at Big Buddha, Thompson gave them a good working over when we were there and she had the bot!!!