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Published: February 8th 2016
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Ready to leave for Bangkok!Back in Bangkok
I arrived in Bangkok at 6h30am on Saturday. The 19h flights between Montreal and here was smooth! Two small things that I will add to my personal notes: I didn’t like Air China, food was weak and they had a poor choice of movies on their entertainment system.
My first day was kinda storyless. I went to see my friends (Tom and Jin) at Buddy and waited for my check-in time at the hotel for noon. Strange that breakfast place where I want to go only open at 10am and the Buddy (a small pub) is already open at 8am… Bangkok! Long story short, I didn’t went to breakfast place, arrived at hotel for 12:00, room won’t be ready before 2pm, dropped my luggage, went to a small handcraft market (Rat Hole Market at Gateway Ekkamai), buy 2 ocarina and went back to the hotel, had a nap until 5pm and it’s already time to go eat! I ate some Moo Ping (Pork Satay) from the street (why I’m I writing this? I’m always eating Moo Ping on the street, there a small stand every 10 meters on every street. I have already eaten Moo Ping
Unknown Fruit
Do you know what is is this fruit? 7 or 8 times since my arrival yesterday…) After that, went out to meet some friends: Da from Moonshine Pub and Jack from Hideaway Pub! Too tired, the evening didn’t last very long.
The room I got is nice. Not great. I like it for the price I got, but I will not book there again!
Sunday was way more exciting! First day visiting some temples and shrines! I have to say that for one of the first time in my trips, I have to complain about the weather! It is so cold! Between 16 and 18 degree in the morning. So, no time to loose, have to go!
First stop, go get a good breakfast in a small coffee shop that I discovered through Instagram, Brainwake cafe. Food and coffee are great! Decor is cool! Prices are great! And the place is very safe (Buzz Lightyear was standing by the door). Then I took a small walk to see a Japan exhibition at Central Embassy Mall and a nice artist display at Gaysorn Plazza. I crossed the street and went to pay tribute to Erawan Shrine. This shrine is the place that was bombed last August.
Room
Room was OK ar Regency Check Inn I always like this shrine! Music, dancers, people! I was surprised to see that the shrine was so busy… Was it because of Chinese New Year? the bombing? I don’t have a clue, but I liked it! Then I walk to the khlong taxi pier to take my favorite (and smelliest) transport in Bangkok (boat taxi through the canal is just fun!)
I was walking and exploring a section of old town that I didn’t know much! I stopped at the Duriyapraneet Music Conservatory to see some children learning to play music on traditional thai instruments! I recommend to everybody to do a small detour and go see them, it’s not very big, but this place is fascinating!
Then, I walked up the street to Chomp, a nice little coffee shop/art gallery/venue, to get a fruit shake! After that, I went to Wat Intharawihan to see a very big standing Buddha! Once again, a very nice temple!
I walked to another temple, Wat Tri Thotsathep, a very nice temple built for/by one of the prince around 1870. There, something I couldn’t believe happened! For the first time of my life, I was kicked-out of a temple! I
Brainwake Cafe
Buzz at Brainwake was sitting in the middle of the main room with many young monks (maybe 30-40 of them) and more senior monks started to arrive. They started a speech in thai and one of the abbot, looking at the room went to see me and said: ‘this is a very important decision making meeting for monks, you are not allowed to be here!’ So, I left…
Walked back to my Bangkok ‘pied-à-terre’, SnackBar BKK! This was a little bit weird, no Bruno, no Boris, no Sly… Onicha working hard knowing that the place will be closing in a week… Chatted with some people from Drummondville, ate the Bacon/Onion poutine with a Leo and went back on my quest to explore more temples!
Thanks to Googlemap, instead of taking the main road, the tool suggested me to go through a small alley and it was just great! People everywhere! Food! Food! And more food! I tried so many things! I think the people in this back alley were not used to see foreigner, and were surprised to see a foreigner who could speak thai a little bit! I will have to ask the Internet, is there somebody who knows what
Brainwake Cafe
Egg Benedictine at very good price! this fruit is? (see picture)
At Wat Somanas (according to my reference book, called Wat Somanat by the locals). I sat in the main room where a monk was explaining thing to a room full of Buddhist nuns. The murals in the main room are beautiful! After that, I walked to Wat Mahut Kasat who wasn’t open for public. There was something happening inside, I didn’t tried to get-in, I thought it was probably the same kind of meeting that occurred earlier at the other temple.
Finally I walked down the canal through a day fresh fish market, got to my final temple of the day, Wat Thewa Ratchakunson. Here, the murals are representing heaven with all kind of little Buddha looking like angels! I sat in the main room and there was a young monk giving blessings to locals. He had a look at my amulet and we had a very good discussion about religion and beliefs! It was already late afternoon, I walked back to the SnackBar to get a beer and wait for the afternoon traffic to be less heavy… How dummy? I am in Bangkok and traffic is always heavy!
I went back
Moo Ping
Moo Ping on Soi 31 to the hotel and went out later in the evening to shoot some darts at Johnny’s pub, the New Cowboy Bar… Finished in second place.. Lucky, but there was only three teams!
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