Back from Bangkok · 8:11am Aug 1st, 2016

And it was awesome! I saw virtually everything I wanted to, including:

* A muay thai match at the famous Ratchadamnoen Stadium, with ringside seats. That was pretty epic.
* The colossal weekend market at Chatuchak, where I bought some neat gifts for my family
* The royal barges museum, which had some awesome boats used by the Thai monarchy
* The giant swing in front of Wat Suthat, where daredevils used to try to reach the apex and grab a bag of gold. (That ceremony was discontinued after some people died trying.)
* Several famous palaces, including the Grand Palace (where the royal family used to live) and the Ananta Samakhan throne hall (which had a massive collection of relics and artifacts)
* A huge variety of temples and Buddha statues, including the famous reclining Buddha at Wat Pho (40m long, the longest in Bangkok), the gigantic standing Buddha at Wat Intharawihan (32m high, the tallest in Bangkok), the golden sitting Buddha at Wat Traimit (weights 5.5 tons and made of 83% gold, which works out to a value of about $250,000,000--it's the most valuable Buddha in Thailand in terms of metallic content), and the emerald Buddha at Wat Phra Kaew (the most sacred Buddha in Thailand).

I also got to take some day trips. I went to Ayuthaya for a day, where I saw the famous Buddha head entangled in tree roots at Wat Mahathat as well as some other really ancient temple ruins. I also went up to Kanchanaburi and got to ride a train over the river Kwai, which incorporated the remains of the original Bridge over the River Kwai into its structure.

As for the food, it was spectacular. I *loved* the street food, where you could just go up to a stall and buy some grilled pork or beef for about ten baht (~$0.40) and some fresh grilled squid for 100 baht ($4.00). The restaurants were good too, with a huge variety of things to try.

Also had some neat non-sightseeing experiences. Riding a tuktuk was enjoyable, as was the water taxi I took down the Chao Phraya River. I decided not to risk the motorcycle taxis (which is exactly what it sounds like--you hop on the back of a driver's motorcycle and hang on while they weave through traffic and race you to your destination), but overall I was still able to get places quickly enough to see everything but not so fast that I couldn't also enjoy the sights of the town. Foot explorations were also fun, and I went through one traditional neighborhood with houses crammed together, very narrow pathways, dogs running everything, etc. That was neat to see, especially in contrast to the rest of the city.

Finally, I have to say, a lot of the warnings I'd heard about Bangkok turned out to be overblown (at least in my case). I had no trouble with pickpockets, bag snatchers, or bag slashers. I had exactly one tuktuk driver who tried to rope me into buying cheap junk at a souvenir place he recommended; and I got out of that by just writing off the $4.00 fair I'd accrued to that point, paying that to him, and then getting out of the tuktuk and finding another driver. No gem scams, no touts telling me that attractions were closed and I'd better come along with them to a shop they happened to know of if I wanted to do something fun. Just plenty of opportunities to get my tourist on.

So all in all, it was a great trip.

Report GrassAndClouds2 · 292 views ·

Comments ( 2 )