Day 1 - Bangkok - Culture Shock, Heat and Jetlag

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Geo: 13.7308, 100.521

We arrived at 6.00am after a very good flight with Thai Airways from Melbourne to Bangkok. Service was great and the food was as nice as you could expect for airline food.

We were picked up at the airport by our hotel, the Pathumwan Princess and had a very quick trip to the city.

See my hotel review here:

http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowUserReviews-g293916-d301334-r7579909-Pathumwan_Princess_Hotel-Bangko.html

After checking in and freshening up we headed through MBK to the National Stadium skytrain
station. Thanks to all the advice from Tripadvisor and Asia Web we knew exactly where to go and how to buy tickets. It was so easy and quick. We caught the skytrain to Saphan Taksin (the end of the line) then hopped on the tourist boat at the pier. We stayed on the boat until Ta Chang pier where we got off for the Grand Palace. We had a bit of trouble finding the palace entrance but eventually got there successfully. We met the usual people who told us the palace was closed etc. but just ignored them. I was wearing ¾ pants with a tank top covered
by a thin cheesecloth elbow length top. We all got in with no problems. The palace was amazing but I felt we didn't spend as much time there as we would have liked due to the extreme heat. Next time we come to Bangkok we will try to come at a cooler time (is there such a thing?) so we can look at the palace in more comfort.

After the palace, we returned to the tourist boat and made our way to Ta Tien pier and Wat Pho. Our teenage kids were amazed by the size of the Reclining Buddha, it is quite amazing. We then caught the ferry across the river to Wat Arun. By this stage were very hot and tired, so returned to the hotel for a room service lunch in air conditioned comfort.

We spent the rest of the first day taking a peek at the shops in MBK and swimming, eating dinner etc.

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Photos

Sky Train Station
More Bangkok Traffic from Skytrain Station

Grand Palace, Bangkok
Grand Palace

Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho)
Reclining Buddha

Temple of the Dawn (Wat Arun)
Wat Arun from Chao Praya Tourist Boat 1

MBK (Maboonkrong) Shopping Centre
\MBK Sign and Pathumwan Princess Hotel