Bikes, Buses, Trains lets get lost in South East Asia
Welcome to the land of smiles.
Thailand the land of smiles, our first country on the list, boasts a population of over 70 million souls and over 11 million of them live and work in Bangkok. They come from all over Thailand to work in the big city. But despite this Bangkok is and is not Thailand. It’s a contradiction in terms. This city is really worth it to explore and explore we did.
Bangkok, the city that never sleeps or in the words of singer actor Murray Head “Bangkok, oriental setting, and the city don’t know that the city is getting…etc” Title of the song is “One night in Bangkok” “, taken from the Chess album.
Bangkok, Oriental setting.
Once I cleared customs and immigration and picked up my bag I headed to the main hall to buy a Local sim. My first interaction with the Thai people and it was really friendly and helpful. I had to pay in cash so I needed to get to an ATM machine, which was also located in the main arrivals hall. Then it was time to figure out the taxi’s. I exited the airport right slap bang into a wall of heat. It was hot. First thing I noticed was a line of taxi’s neatly lined up with the drivers standing beside them. Not one of them came running to hassle me. So the system was first you gotta get a ticket from a machine. It will give you the parking bay of that taxi. You give the ticket to the driver and off you go. I asked the driver to run the meter as I didn’t have a clue as to how much it was gonna cost. Suvarnabhumi Airport is situated 30 km from the center of Bangkok and it was an interesting trip into town. It was really busy but the traffic was polite and no needless blowing of horns. Really disciplined.
Street corner Bangkok.
My first impression was Wooow. It’s big and hot. I had originally planned 4 nights here but it became obvious that that was not gonna be enough. So I extended another two days. I always thought that the Brazilian people had the monopoly on partying but you gotta see how they party in Bangkok…. It’s insane. I am staying in and around Khao San road, the center and backpackers area. This area is also in walking distance to a lot of the main attractions. It turned out to be a super choice. After checking into the hotel it was off to explore Khao San road. The amount of street food stands was amazing but what was a big disappointment was really little vegetarian choices, the Thai people are meat eaters.
One of the many street food vendors in Bangkok.
The next day early in the morning I bought a ticket for the hop on hop off river boat and started to do a little tour. First stop was the Grand Palace. This has been the original seat of residence of the kings of Siam and later Thailand since its construction in 1782. It is an impressive complex of buildings housing the King, his court and the government until 1925. The palace is still used for official events and several royal events are held in its buildings throughout the year. But the royal family live elsewhere. The palace is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city and it is impressive.
This is just a small part of the Grand Palace in Bangkok.
The next stop was the Chinese market. This is an area in the old quarter and is also home to the night food market. It is a maze of alleyways and you can buy almost anything here. It is a chaos of sound, sights and smells.
Chinatown Bangkok.
Chinatown market, Bangkok…. here you can buy anything.
Then on to Asiastique the riverfront. This immediately reminded me of Cape Town and the waterfront. Here the old docks warehouses are converted into Asian food markets and wares. But it is really well and truly overpriced. Needless to say I didn’t stay long.
Asiastique the riverfront.
Next stop, Wat Arun the Temple of the Dawn. This is once again an impressive complex of buildings dating back to the 17th century. The temple is named after the Hindu God Aruna, personified as the radiance of the rising sun. It’s distinctive tower was added in the early 19th century. What was also truly amazing was that you can hire traditional Thai clothing and get your photo taken by professional photographers whilst posing in the different buildings and settings. There were whole groups of Thai people doing this and they were taking it very seriously. I first thought that they were professional photo models doing a photo shoot.
Sunset over Wat Arun Bangkok
Wat Arun at night
The next day I went to Wat Pho, the temple of the reclining Buddha. King Rama 1 rebuilt this temple on the original site of an old temple complex. Some of his ashes are enshrined here. It also houses the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand. The most famous being the 45 meter long reclining Buddha. It is considered to be the earliest centre for education in Thailand and it is the birth place of the Thai massage, which is still taught and practiced at the temple. It also houses a school of medicine. There was also a ceremony taking place whilst I was there, so I spent the best part of a day there alone. That evening I went out to sample the night life and Ohhh Boooy was that something. I was in San Paulo Brazil where I also went out to sample the night life and I thought that nothing could surpass that… I was wrong, Bangkok did. It was amazing, simply no words to describe it. Party till you drop and anything goes.
Temple of the reclining Buddha Bangkok.
The next day was an arrange day. Booked a bus to Chiang Mai, did my laundry and booked a tour for the next day to the floating market, and the train market.
Mae Klong railway market.
The train market or Mae Klong railway market, to give it its original name, is a market selling local produce, seafood, vegetables and meat, also dried produce. It is open from 6 in the morning to 6 in the evening. This market is also known locally as Siang Tai or life risking market. It stretches along a 100 meter stretch of train track running from and to Mahachai and Mae Klong. Every day the vendors open their parasols and awnings to protect their produce from the sun and 8 times a day the train comes and causes a frantic well organized scene as the vendors lower their umbrellas and take down the awnings and pull their wares from the track just in time as the train approaches. Of course this is normal for the locals but it affords a fantastic sight for the tourists. Then it was time to go to the Damnoen Saduak floating market in Ratchaburi. This is one of the most popular floating markets in Thailand and every day hundreds of locals and tourist visit here to do their shopping or to just soak up the vibe. In the old days the canals and waterways were the life blood of Thailand. People did everything via the waterways. They were used for transport, people settled along the waterways and traded on them. This market still sells local fresh produces but also a lot of tourist souvenirs. I took a boat with a paddler and that was an amazing experience. The canal was chock full of boats with people either buying or selling just about anything.
Damnoen Saduak floating market in Ratchaburi.
Wednesday I visited Wat Intharawihan or the temple of the standing Buddha. This temple predates the founding of Bangkok. It is home to the enormous statue of the standing Buddha. This statue is 32 meters tall and 10 meters wide and is called Luang Pho To. Construction started in 1867 and was finished 60 years after in 1927. In 1964 and 1967 the then current King and Queen and their children covered the forehead and the top knot of Luang Pho To with gold leaves. This serene image of the Buddha is depicted holding an alms bowl and the monks to this day use these bowls to accept food offerings from the local people. The top knot contains relics of the Buddha found in Sri Lanka and installed by Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn in 1978.
Wat Intharawihan or the temple of the standing Buddha. This statue is 32 meters tall and 10 meters wide.
I had originally planned to do all the sights of Bangkok on the one day. But it became painfully obvious that that was not gonna happen. A combination of the heat and the fact that I don’t want to rush from place to place and take photos, but I want to spend time at each place and soak up the atmosphere. Also to learn a bit more about Thailand and Thai Buddhism.
Bangkok street scene
Thursday morning was spent wandering around the alleyways of Khao San before taking a taxi out to the Southern Bus station to catch the night sleeper bus to Chiang Mai, our next destination, where hopefully we will pick up a Honda CRF 250.
If you would like to experience a wee bit of the sights of Bangkok then click on the facebook photo album.
Link: Facebook album: Bangkok 08 Dec to 14 Dec. 2023
Thank you for taking the time to read the posts. Thank you for sharing the journey with me. Stay safe everyone and have fun.