Advertisement
Published: July 10th 2015
View of Chao Praya River
and party boats in actionI guess you can call my newfound freedom a "sabbatical". After 11 years at Fugro, I still feel like one of the team. I left on good terms, they have treated me well, and I imagine that when I start working again, I will probably wind up back there.
The first leg of my sabbatical trip was to Bangkok, Thailand. I, of course, got business class on the A380 again. It was not much more for this leg and the experience is much better. Yes, I am spoiled and now that I am unemployed, I am going to have to stop splurging like this! I was not that hungry on the flight, though I have a newfound appreciation for smoked salmon, and the wine was pretty good this time (Australian Shiraz). We landed at the airport around 8am and I was supposed to go through some VIP customs line, but I could not find it. However, the main immigration line was not that bad so I just stayed put. A lot of people had not yet filled out their customs forms and a worker in line would not let them pass until they did. She was very no-nonsense and efficient
Chatrium Hotel
highly recommended and let me right through, while an arabic woman in front of / behind me was yelling, apparently not understanding what she was supposed to do. I was a little worried because the form requires a "visa" number and I had not checked to see if a visa was required or not. Fortunately not, and I went right through. My bag was waiting and went through the doors. However, baggage claim is looooong and me being at claim #23 I had to walk the entire length of the arrivals hall to find where my driver was waiting. I told them all of our flight would be getting out at the other end but they said they could not move - I still don't know why.
My driver was very pleasant and I got to ride in a nice mercedes; the steering wheel was on the right - I did not realize they drove on the wrong side of the road. 😊 There was little traffic for most of the way until right in town, but we seemed to get to my hotel pretty easily and I gave him a decent tip (in riyals). My hotel was soooo nice. It
Wat Pho
lots of buddhas! was not yet 9am so I prepared myself to go sightsee for a few hours even though I only got about an hour of sleep on the flight. However, my guy said my room was ready and I could go up. Hooray!!!! I went to my room and passed promptly out.
I probably slept for just a few hours, until the sound of construction woke me repeatedly. It was right next door and they were driving piles. Fortunately, my room was amazing. I was only going to be here for two nights, but for a longer term, the hotel is ideal. There is a full kitchen, balcony, huge bathroom and the room itself is huge with lots of closet space. So, I pretty much just hung here for the rest of the day. I walked down the street nearby and saw a temple, a massage place, and a bunch kids in school uniforms walking, but I was still exhausted, so headed back for dinner. I ate at the Chinese restaurant at the top floor of the hotel and it was good, though not spicy at all.
The next morning I ate the included breakfast which had a huge
Wat Pho - Phra Ubosot
Phra Buddha Theva Patimakorn variety of foods to choose from. Very good. Then I took the shuttle boat on the Chao Praya River to the main pier - Central. From there, I boarded the tourist boat and got off at Ta Tienen pier, which accesses Wat Pho. First I walked through a market which sold lots of street foods and souvenirs. I went directly into Wat Pho and was impressed by the beauty and size of the place. Wat Pho, officially called Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimelmangklararm, was consecrated in the late 17th century. It was included in UNESCO's list in 2008. Of course, you have to see the Reclining Buddha (and of course, I had to cover up with a bright green robe). I really enjoyed the Phra Ubosot, or the Ordination Hall, which was so peaceful; according to the guide, the Buddha's position is the posture of concentration. There were pagodas for four kings, each a different color and with room for no more. For me though, I enjoyed just wandering around the entire temple grounds; there was so much to see, including a kids school, a massage school, various other temples where people were praying, lots of buddhas everywhere, chedis, and lots
of Chinese stone guardians at the entrances. I wandered about for around 90 minutes, but it was so hot. Mostly, it is just incredibly humid - you just sweat and sweat.
So I headed back towards the pier and got a fresh pomegranate juice and a bag of mango slices for 60 baht ($1.75). I walked towards the Grand Palace, but it was just so hot so I went back to the boat. I got dropped off at the Oriental pier where I wanted to check out the hotel. It is supposed to be a "must see" and while it was huge and fancy and nice, I was not overly impressed. I wanted to do some shopping for sapphires per the request of my friend, but there didn't seem to be anywhere to go here. I walked around the neighborhood and wound up at a nice little restaurant for lunch. I got the "set lunch" which consisted of steamed rice, spring rolls, fried chicken patty, and papaya salad (my favorite Thai food). So good, but the coke cost as much as the meal! It was still only about $6 for the whole thing anyway.
I went back to
my hotel and took a quick swim before heading back to my room. As soon as I walked in I saw that there was a torrential downpour. Perfect timing! I just chilled for the rest of the night and slept in the next day. I really loved this hotel, but sadly, I could not sleep much because of the construction next door and the thin walls.
The next day, I thought about getting the train to Ayutthaya (pronounced a-YOO-thay-ah) but decided just to get a less stressful taxi. I said goodbye to Bangkok and hope to briefly return before I leave.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.059s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 9; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0373s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Amber
non-member comment
Amazing
So jealous of the freedom you have right now! I know I chose grad school instead of traveling, so I guess for now I will just live vicariously through your blog :) Miss you!!!