Bangkok: A literal breath of fresh air.

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So we have been in Bangkok for the passed few days. So many people told us not to spend more then one day in Bangkok because it was going to be overwhelming, dirty, crazy and all around stressful. Well... those people have obviously never been to Shanghai. Bangkok is like a quaint little city compared to good ol' Shanghai. We got off the plane and the sky was blue, people were not honking their car horns 24/7 and yelling random chinese things at us. All the food was good, the people were nice and the smells of the city were weirdly enjoyable.

We have been staying on Khao Son Road (the backpackers mecca) in a hostel with our two friends from school, Alyssa and Katie. Things in Bangkok are so exciting and beautiful. The street food is amazingly tasty and cheap, such a large change from a majority of the food in Shanghai (which was a large hit or miss on the tastiness factor).

On day one we went to the grand palace, a beautiful testament to the thai people's sense of beauty and creativity. Everything was plastered in gold, bedazzled with tiny reflective mirrors or intricately hand painted. This structure had housed various kings from 1782-1925. My favorite place within the grand palace was the temple of the emerald Buddah. This temple housed a large emerald Buddah surrounded by sculptures and pictures of the various stages of Buddha's life and his transition to enlightenment. The temple was extremely peaceful, quite and soothing. It was a great break from the hustle and bustle of China.

We then traveled on to Wat Pho which houses the largest reclining Buddah in all of Thailand. This Buddah is over 45 meters long and covered in gold with its feet entrusted in mother of pearl. It was way larger then we were expecting and it is a wonder how they were able to create such a massive piece of art.

The next day we took a private chartered boat down and around the cannals of Bangkok for an hour before arriving at Wat Arun (all for a whopping $6 USD). The boat ride was magical and sort of terrifying at the same time. The engine on the boat looked like it had been taken out of a semi and fashioned into a speed boat motor. The water was rocky and the boat could reach really fast speeds. We rode by delapidated house, local Thai's, large alligator type animals and even bought a beer from a floating vendor. It was quite an experience.



Wat Arun (also known as the temple of the dawn) is one of Bangkok's most famous temples. It is made entirely out of stone and its steep ascending stairs resemble more of a ladder then stairs. When we got to the top, the views were spectacular and the details were intricate.



Thank you Bangkok for treating us so well. Tonight we will be saying good bye to Bangkok and will be departing on our first overnight train to Vientiane, Laos.





I love Thailand and will definitly be returning again in my lifetime. Tie-ti-an until next time!

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Comments

[Dancing Dave]

NICE BLOG
Keep safe...keep up the adventurous spirit...and embrace the moment!