We had to fly in from Delhi, as the border crossings from there are closed at the moment, and there were plenty of options for how to get from airport to the centre. A very easy bus ride later and Sean and I were on Khao San Road.
Ok, so that particular road is full of westerners, but if you ignore them, visit the rest of the city and just soak up the atmosphere the city has a really good vibe.
The touts are out in force of course, but what a pleasant change it was from India. We had polite, smiling, friendly tuk-tuk drivers asking "where you going?" and leaving us alone when we just smiled and said "just walking thanks". Or the ladies selling 'tat' (Sean and I really must remember not to sit along the street in the bars - hee hee) who smile and have a laugh about the wooden frog, hat, wallet, bracelet that they try to convince you to buy. Even the statues were happy...
There wasn't anything about Bangkok we didn't like. Our hostel was amazing (brand new, gleaming, yummy free breakfast, air-con, costing under $10USD...). The sites/attractions were exciting and different to the places we'd been to so far and they sparkled in the sun. Our one and only 'chore' whilst in Thailand - applying for our Myanmar (Burma) visas - was the easiest process we've ever done. And the food... ooooo the food. I thought I was going to miss my Indian Thali, but then I got presented with street stall paradise. Pad Thai for 40 pence anyone? Green curry? Coconut puddings? That many treats and new tasty eats to choose from all for only a few baht.
We also found, once again, that perspective is a wonderful thing. We were out drinking one night (well, we were out drinking every night, but this story just refers to one of them) when we struck up conversation with an American couple who also loved Bangkok but said it had taken time to get used to how hectic and "dirty" the place was. We couldn't help but laugh and tell them that, coming from Delhi, Bangkok was a spotless, laid back paradise.
The main sights there are the 'Wats' (the Buddhist equivalent of a church) and they are everywhere. They have gold sparkling decoration around their exterior with pointed roofs that reach to the sky. They really are a lovely sight to behold.
We checked out several, but one of the main ones (Wat Pho) contains a very large 'reclining Buddha'. It's huge. And it's very cool.
There is also an 'emerald Buddha' in Wat Phra Kaew within the grounds of the Grand Palace (it's really jade but emerald was a catchy name that history has obviously preferred). This is tiny in comparison to the reclining Buddha but no less beautiful and a visit to the museum told us he has little outfits for the summer, rainy and winter seasons - how cute.
The Grand Palace is a great place to spend several hours wondering. Our favourite part was the wall paintings that depict historical Buddhist events and some very colourful characters with some incredible detail:
There are also other Wats, such as Wat Arun, that ditch the gold in favour of ornate decorations made from broken tiles in the form of flowers and dragon images etc.
And Bangkok is on a river, so we cruised down it like we cruised down the river in Brisbane (not like you would cruise in Soho).
So we marvelled, we ate, we wandered the markets, we drank, we ate, we chilled out, we shopped (a few cheap t-shirts etc), we ate some more, Sean had another attack by a barber (I'm quite worried now that he has annoyed some kind of sect) and we smiled the whole time. We also spent some time 'around Bangkok' in Ayuthaya, but Sean will tell you about that in our next blog.
Happy happy days in Bangkok.
PS: Am saving the fish tank foot massage for our return visit to Bangkok!
No comments:
Post a Comment