Location: Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok
Insta.gram Notes: Earlybird filter
(19 June 2008)
As we’re flying to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia later in the day, we couldn’t venture far today. We took a taxi to nearby Yaowarat or popularly known as Chinatown, to soak in some culture. This has got to be my favourite area in Bangkok. So full of culture, a culture that i deeply miss…
One of my fav shots. I love the earthy tones
This is a type of vegetable known as water lily. Not sure what it is called in Thai. It taste even better than kangkung (water spinach). I have never seen or heard about this vegetable being consumed elsewhere.
Stir-fried water lily
Crispy pork skin – another local delicacy
Roasting chestnuts
Flew in from PJ/KL and checked into The Metropolitan. This hotel is located within walking distance to the Suan Lum Night Bazaar and Lumphini station and beside The Banyan Tree. It is contemporary in style, an alternative to the hotel chains.
Dinner at Suan Lum Night Bazaar. The entrance to the Suan Lum Night Bazaar Food Court
Breakfast at the hotel the following morning
At the lobby
Took the underground train and got off at Kamphaeng Phet station to get to Chatuchak Market. Spent the day here.
Later that night, walked around the area in search of dinner.
Final day in Bangkok. Returned to Yaowarat (Chinatown) to offer prayers at Wat Mangkon Kamalawat.
Last look before heading back to the hotel
Checked-out, hailed a taxi and headed for Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Aiport, and flew back to Melbourne Tullamarine Airport.
Bangkok – Day7
Bangkok – Day6
Bangkok – Day5
Bangkok – Day3&4
Bangkok – Day2
Bangkok – Day1
It’s Wats day today. Breakfast at the hotel before heading out
View from our table. Passengers exiting the pier.
Travelling on the Chao Phraya River via the Chao Phraya Express
The muddy Menam Chao Phraya with Wat Arun in the background.
We landed at Pier 9. Sights as we exit the pier and headed towards the main road
Dragonfruit or Pitaya
Coconuts
Variety
Wat Pho was out first destination. This is the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. In reality, the Buddha didn’t seem too majestic due to several pillars obstructing a full view of this otherwise imposing figure. Out of respect I normally do not take frontal photos of religious figures especially inside religious sites. This and this was somehow an exception.
Next destination was Wat Phra Kaew or Temple of the Emerald Buddha. This is located in the same complex as the Grand Palace. Photos are not allowed to be taken inside the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and respect was shown.
A model of Angkor Wat sits just outside the temple.
Taking a closer look
At the Grand Palace
The final destination was Wat Arun – Temple of the Dawn.
Suffering from major acrophobia, I have problems with locations like this and this. After a few ascending steps, my legs will begin to go weak. And that isn’t the worst. Descending is the worst. I can be pretty pathetic sometimes.
We boarded the Chao Phraya Express back to the pier near our hotel.
the view from the room
Bangkok – Day5
Bangkok – Day3&4
Bangkok – Day2
Bangkok – Day1
We’re returning to Bangkok today. A look at Pludhaya before we leave…
This is where we showered
and dipped
and relaxed
heading off to the train station
Purchasing tickets at the Ayuthaya train. It cost 18 baht per person for one way to Bangkok.
I needed a drink. I walked over to the vendor to grab one and had the opportunity to utilise the Thai survival phrases that i had crammed in prior to this trip.
Me: pointing at the can of Pepsi..”thao rai”
Vendor: “sip ha baht”
Me: hands the vendor 15 baht and reach over to grab the drink
Vendor: “yen yen..” and pulled out a chilled one from the cooler box so i figured that yen yen most probably means cool, cold or chilled or something along that line
Me: “Khop kun ka“, took the can from the vendor, smiled and walked back to the seating area
(Females use ka and Males use kap. So a man would say Khop kun kap instead, meaning thank you)
Waiting for our train to arrive.
It is always a good idea to learn some local phrases when travelling in a foreign country, especially when a different language is spoken. The number one rule of travelling – Respect the culture. Unlike this pack of gaijins in Japan.
On the train back to Bangkok…
After dropping our packs off at Muangphol Mansion, we walked to the Jim Thompson House which is located in a neighbouring street.
Then it was more shopping at MBK. Some of the loot.
We checked out from Muangphol in the evening to move to a hotel situated in the Riverside area. We did so because it’ll be nice to see other sides of Bangkok as well. And it’ll be easier for us tomorrow when we visit the Wats.
We ended the night with foot massage just across the road from the hotel.
Bangkok – Day1
Bangkok – Day2
Bangkok – Day3&4
On Sunday, it was more shopping at MBK and Siam Square and preparing for our trip to Ayuthaya the following day. Surfing the net at the lobby of Muangphol Mansion before going to bed.
Monday morning, took the taxi to Hualampong Train Station.
We bought tickets to Ayutthaya, which only cost 25 baht (from memory) one way.
While waiting for the train to arrive, I went to get some refreshments from a to consume on the train. As i was walking back to our waiting area, i began to notice that it was quiet and there wasn’t much movement around me. At that moment i realised that the Thai National Anthem was being broadcasted. That was why everyone was still and quiet. Except for a few clueless travellers, like myself. I stopped immediately, holding on to the packets of local iced coffee that are dripping onto my feet. The broadcast was kind of faint and i couldn’t really hear whether it has ended. A few moments later, people began to resume their activities and i continued my way back.
The train arrived and we boarded. The journey takes about 1 1/2 hours. Sights along the journey…
And we arrived at Ayuthaya station
We hopped on a tuk-tuk to take us to Pludhaya, where we will be staying for the night.
After dropping our bags in the room and a quick lunch at Pludhaya, we got on a tuk-tuk to take us our first destination, Wah Mahathat.
The following site was the main reason I chose to travel to Ayuthaya. It caught my attention when planning our Bangkok itinerary.
Vendors, a common sight in touristy areas
Next destination was Wat Chai Wattanaram
decapitated Buddha statues
This is the tuk-tuk that drove us to the sites. The driver speaks understandable English and was quite nice. It cost about 200 per hour (from memory) and it took us approximately 2 1/2 hours to complete the few sites.
At Wat Yat Chai Mongkon
leaving and heading to Wat Phra Si Sanphet
at Wat Phra Si Sanphet
We were all sun-kissed by the end of the day. Purchased some instant noodles in the town centre and headed back to Pludhaya and called it a night.
Today is Chatuchak Market day. We took the BTS (Bangkok Skytrain) to Chatuchak Market and fed ourselves first before starting our shopping day. It was hot and stuffy especially in the inner sections of Chatuchak.
The main condiments for local Thai noodles – chilli powder, fresh cut chillies, sugar, fish sauce and also lemon pieces. Spicy, sweet, salty and sour. I skipped the sugar because I find sweet tasting noodles a little strange. I am more of a savoury person.
All full, we started…
Pretty lights for sale
I was almost going to buy some but then it will just be another impulse purchase because I can’t think of anywhere suitable around the house to hang this
Cruelty for sale
These rabbits were thrown into cages so tiny that they can’t even raise their limbs to scratch themselves. I just wish that the vendors become more considerate and the buyers become more aware. Cruelty disguised in the form of cuteness. People are just so shallow. “Oh so cute…..”
“Cheap cheap” as the vendors would say it
and plenty of local food to feed on, as we shop
a variety of balls and sausages on sticks
Deep-fried goods
For 10 baht, you can get a pack of mangoes with chilli sauce as dip, one of my favs
Eggs
I wasn’t sure whether these people were protesting or celebrating or supporting but I shot them anyway
The vendors started to close their stores at around 6pm. It has been a long day and we headed back to our rooms to wash off the sweat we’ve accummulated during the day. After about 30 mins of rest, we went to the Victory Monument area and had local food for dinner at an open-air food court nearby.
The place was truly meant for the locals as the prices were really cheap (something like 300 baht for a plate of chicken rice) and the vendors didn’t understand a word of English. We had a slight problem when settling the bill. What happen was that we had paid for some of the dishes when brought to us and some (from a different stall) we didn’t. When we finished and called for the guy to pay him for the remaining unpaid dishes, he totalled all our order, including those we have paid earlier. After a brief moment of frustration, we gave him what seemed to be the correct total and left. It was still cheap after all.
One of the local delicacies we ordered
We then proceeded to Suan Lum night market by taxi. As there were 8 of us, it worked out cheaper (or at least equal to) than other modes of transport. Stores were starting to close not long after we got there so we only spent a short time here. We will come again another day.
Last night – Arrived at Muangphol Mansion at around 9.30pm, after surviving a 10-hour flight from Melbourne Tullamarine Airport to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport. This is where we will be staying with the rest of our ‘gang’ for the next 4 days. Location is fantastic and rates are cheap. Just a 5 minutes walk to MBK. We went to Patpong Night Market for some food and shopping. Too exhausted for any photo-shooting.
Started the day by visiting Yaowarat, a.k.a Chinatown. Lots of hustle and bustle. This is my favourite area in Bangkok. It still has that traditional charm and is full of culture. Something that I missed dearly and is fast disappearing in Malaysia.
We ate at this local eatery serving fishball noodles -
We have a choice of noodles and wet or dry. Wet referring to soup and dry referring to no soup.
There were lots of street stalls selling local delicacies. Initially, I thought the corn kernels mixed with coconut slices would taste too sweet but it was quite good actually.
There were lots of fish maw for sale in the area.
Flower hoops for praying, i think
a variety of dried cuttlefish
and a variety of dried shrimps
Chinese pastries
Went to Pratunam Square for some lunch and shopping
My first taste of Tom Yum in Thailand. It is a lot more richer and tastier indeed.
Then we headed back to Muangphol Mansion for a shower. We then had dinner at Somboon Restaurant opposite the Swissotel and next to the Huai Kwang station.
One of the dishes we had – oyster omelette
After dinner, we went to Khao San Road for a stroll. Lots of farang and pubs.
I had read about this exploitation of elephants in Bangkok. Elephants are brought to touristy areas and paraded around. Shallow tourists will pay the mahout (handler) so he or she can feed the animal. Accidents have happened when the animals can no longer take the stress and goes on a rampage. We can’t blame the animals, can we? It is not their fault anyway and they don’t get paid for photoshoots. I don’t support this so I didn’t want to get close to the ignorant crowd and definitely not support the mahout by paying him to stuff more junk down the poor baby’s throat. This photo was taken by one of my friends travelling with us.
Please do not support this inconsiderate business. You can do so just by ignoring. No demand = no supply.
We all went for a Thai massage in the area to end the night.
