Advertisement
Published: November 28th 2008
Edit Blog Post
It wasn't easy getting here. The flight was short enough. We landed just after 5 AM, but at the domestic airport, since anti-government protesters shut down the international airport. Then we sat on the runway for 5 hours, until they decided to start processing travelers at the domestic airport.
We later found out we were one of the last planes to land in Bangkok.
Both airports in Bangkok have since been shut down, and we have met many stranded travelers.
Otherwise, things feel very peaceful and normal here. We have seen no protests or demonstrations in three days here of going all over the city. Hopefully the situation doesn't deteriorate further.
We've been looking forward to Thailand for a while, but not so much to Bangkok specifically. We enjoyed India, but didn't love the cities, and the cities in Europe, especially France, were so beautiful we knew they'd be hard to follow up. (I've always said "Europe for the cities, North America for the nature, Asia for the culture"). Well, Bangkok has been a very pleasant surprise.
First, we just walked along Khao San Road, not far from our guesthouse. This little street feels more like the Las Vegas strip or
Bourbon Street in New Orleans than being in Southeast Asia. It is filled with fun-loving foreigners, mostly under 30, drinking in bars and eating in restaurants. We have to admit, though, that after India, it is nice to be able to have things like ice in our drinks again, and eat sushi and hummus (there are a couple Israeli restaurants here). Although, we are loving the local food here; the banana pancakes more than the worms! Erin enjoyed the fried crickets, but I'm not as adventurous as her when it comes to food...
The next day, we took a river taxi. That was a lot of fun. About 50 cents for a ticket that can take you across town. The narrator on the boat was very funny. "Here you can get off, there is very good market. A lot of Thai people go there too. You can buy many things, very cheap, not ekpensive".
We went to one of the most famous temples, Wat Pho. It is famous for the giant reclining Buddha, but has hundreds of other Buddhas and many beautiful buildings as well.
Last night, to celebrate Thanksgiving, we went to an American restaurant that had a Thanksgiving
buffet. It wasn't as good as being with family, but the meal was great - turkey, cornbread stuffing, real cranberry sauce, sweet potato, soft shell crabs, oysters, and pumpkin pie.
This morning, we visited the floating market just outside Bangkok. We took a paddleboat, and went between the different boats, selling everything from vegetables to souvenirs. It was a mix of locals shopping for their groceries and those who make their living off the tourists. The boat ride was fun, but about 15 minutes before it ended, the woman who was steering it, kept saying "Hello, tip driver!" over and over. We were sitting right next to her, so it got annoying. Another thing that's mildly annoying is they sell you these cheap tours here, but then they take you to all kinds of gift shops on the way there and back, in hopes you will buy things, so they can earn a commission. Still, compared to India, we find Thailand much less aggressive in every respect, with much less of a "hard sell" pressure.
Amazing temples are everywhere here. Just around the corner from where we are staying is one with hundreds of golden Buddha statues, showing the Buddha
in various poses at various times of his life. There are huge bells and drums there, magnificent buildings, golden spires, and so on. Many cities around the world have nothing as nice as this one temple. Yet, incredible Buddhist temples are so prolific here that this magnificent one does not even feature in any of the guidebooks.
Today we visited the Emerald Buddha temple. The pictures tell a better story than I can. The colorful statues, golden buildings, elaborate paintings, and beautiful artwork are simply incredible. You feel transported into another world, a magical world, a different time and place, walking around there.
We love Thailand so far, and can't say enough good things about it.
One of the great things about it is it has the rare combination of being exotic and exciting, without being difficult. The roads and infrastructure are generally good, there isn't much hassle, you can get anything. And yet, it feels and looks very different.
We will continue in the North and then go to the islands and beaches of Southern Thailand. But first, tomorrow we are taking a short detour to Cambodia, to visit the famous ancient city of Angkor Wat.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.073s; Tpl: 0.022s; cc: 8; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0422s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb