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Published: January 17th 2005
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We arrived in Bangkok seriously needing some sleep, having been awake for approximatly 72 hours. The lack of shut-eye was unintensional, but after a very bouncy 'sleeper' bus from Goa to Mumbai and then a flight at 5am (2am check in!) to Bangkok we seemed to have missed any reasonable opportunity. In the cab from the airport to Kohsan Road we looked like a couple to nodding dogs!
We spent all of about 2 minutes finding a hotel, the only requisite being that it had a bed and a roof! We told ourselves that although we really needed to sleep, we had to stay awake until the evening so that we didn't muck up our sleep pattern too much. So for the rest of the day we walked around like zombies, took a trip to the Vietnamese Embassy to sort out our visas and then hit the sack at about 8pm! That night I passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow, where as Richard on the other hand was kept awake by the noise of the pub downstairs and our energetic neighbours in the room nextdoor! The next morning we moved.
K.C.'s Guest House is a
quiet family run place just 5 minutes from Kohsan Road. A perfect place to get some sleep at night and top up on a first class breakfast.
Our first day trip out into the city was to the supperb weekend market. We spent a good 4 hours walking around the coverd maze of stalls offering everything from antiques to gold fish. Richard had an interesting conversation with a guy over a vase, apparently it was 500 years old, but he could sell it to Richard for the bargin price of around 250 GBP! We had to laugh about it and hoped that he would one day find someone daft enough to fall for the story and buy it!
Although the market was fantastic, we were very proud with ourselves for leaving empty handed and also for narrowly escaping spending 3,000 GBP on two vases. We got the exchange rate wrong and only realised at the last minute exactly how much he was asking for!
Over the next few days we topped up our culture levels by visiting some of the beautiful attractions Bangkok has to offer,
The Sukhothai Traimit Golden Buddha is the largest of its
China town
One of the shellfish stalls where the aroma was less than pleasant in the 30 degree heat!! type in the world. It is over 15 feet, 9 inches high and weighs around 5 tons. Originally the Buddha was covered in plaster to conceal it from the enemy who were then invading Thailand. It was only in 1955 when the image was moved to a new location and some of the plaster was chipped off that the gold was revealed. Now more than 700 years old it is a valuable treasure of Thailand and of Buddhism.
After a morning off strolling through the vibrant and sometimes aromatic street markets of China Town we reached the Grand Palace Complex. We spent most of our visit on the Upper Terrace which is home to four grand monuments;
A golden chedi, similar to the stuppa's of Nepal.
The Mondop, the building that houses sacred Buddhist scriptures.
A miniture of Angkor Wat.
The Royal Pantheon, where statues of past sovereigns are enshrined.
The magnificent buildings were glistening in the afternoon sunshine. The photos just don,t do them justice.
After so much culture we decided to visit Bangkoks numerous shopping centres. Unfortunatly due to our budget the only purchase we allowed ourselves was a new supply of Immodium!
Golden Chedi
One of the grand monuments in the Grand Palace complex. On our last night in the city Richard treated us both to a fantastic night out and we went to see 'Sting, live in Bangkok'! Wow, what a gig, what a voice! Everything from old Police classics to his new album.
Richard and I have both been suprised about our feelings for this place. On the occasions we have visited before we have been left uninspired and happy to leave. This time we have gone that little bit further to see what this city has to offer and we have been shocked by what we have found. We leave this time looking forward to our return trip in a month our so as we pass through again on our way down from the north. We have already made mental notes of further sites we want to visit (and the bags I want to buy!).
We boarded our bus to Siem Reap (Cambodia) on the 13th January - home to the famous Angkor Wat.
Our next installment will follow shortly!
B & R
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