Blogs from Bangkok, Central Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 724

Bangkok is not unlike your average American large city--the glaring differences being that it is in Southeast Asia, it’s sparkly, and there are images of the king of Thailand everywhere. Unlike a lot of the rest of Thailand, you can find lots of different things and services there, and it's a bustle of activity. Lots of tall buildings, malls, bootleg items, massage parlors, eating places…about anything you can think of is there. There are a few streets where one can walk a few blocks on and think, “Am I in Chicago? New York?” until a temple comes into view. “Oh yeah, I’m in Bangkok!” Seriously—look at the pictures. In comparison to the United States, the violent crime rate is lower, there’s a gigantic sex trade problem, and I don’t think there is a place as sparkly ... read more

Welcome to Sunday’s journal! After three days in Bangkok, we can say that we really like this cosmopolitan city. So many interesting things, so many friendly people... but we wouldn't want to live here. It's just so crowded and hectic! But, what a great place to visit. We slept so well last night, except for the hard rainstorm at about 1:00am. We were surprised that it had not rained at all since we arrived in Thailand. The storm cleared the air, so it was quite sunny this morning. Ms. Sammy met us this morning after breakfast (I don’t think I mentioned that the breakfast buffet at our hotel is fantastic… even Mark likes the coffee). Today, we had a tour of the Prasart Museum, and it was truly amazing. The owner has collected antiques for about ... read more

Greetings from Bangkok! The weather is hot and humid, but not really much more than it was in Texas last week. We did a bit of touring today, visiting several of the major tourist attractions in the city. We met our guide, “Ms. Sammy” (she uses this name because her Thai name is rather hard to pronounce) early this morning. We can’t imagine having a better guide. She has taught us so much about this country, the city, and Buddhism in just one day. Plus, she has a great sense of humor. We feel very lucky to have her as our guide (and we’re happy that the tour van has terrific air conditioning!) We visited the Wat Phra Kaeo, the Grand Palace and Wat Pho today. The Grand Palace was once the main palace for the ... read more

Sawadee Kaa! That is “hello” (or “goodbye”) in Thai. We have found internet access, so we can finally post to our travel journal. We’re having a fantastic time in Bangkok. This is a really amazing city - 10 million people, and very likeable. It is quite safe for such a big city, and not nearly as polluted as we’d expected. It feels like being in New York but with an Asian flair, and much happier and friendlier people. Our flights were long, but we arrived on time. We met up with three of Mark’s colleagues along the way (Scott, Jim and Nate). We’re staying at the Grand Hotel, which is quite beautiful. We have a great view of the Bangkok skyline from our 26th floor room. We were surprised that they gave us separate beds! Scott ... read more

Yes, this is a backdated update on Bangkok as i have already been in Phnom Penh for 2 weeks!!... time flies but at the same time feels as though i have been gone months!.. missing the company of my perth party buddies!... Landed in Bangkok having 2.5 days there and was immediately overwhelmed by the smell of meat cooking on the side of the road, along with exhaust fumes. It is a big city, where even being at the tourist attractions, like the floating markets and the river barge cruise (which i went on both) you feel like a needle in a haystack! The floating markets were a very colourful scene full of fake bags, thai silk, strange looking fruit, the sound of '.. you want buy!' and the ongoing bartering.. it is something that you ... read more