Bangkok is a city of contradictions. Old and new, rich and poor, saints and sinners. A week is enough to explore the juxtaposition - from temples & floating markets to ultra modern skywalks and swanky rooftop bars.
Day 1 - Staying Local
After a good night’s sleep, I was feeling rested and energised for my first day exploring Bangkok. Today marks my transition from Europe to Asia with the start of Part 2 of my 2022 travels. The Asia and Occenia tour will involve travel through Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore before ending in Sydney, Australia in around 6 months time. It is very exciting!
My arrival in Southeast Asia has coincided with the wet season which runs from June-October and I have already experienced very temperamental weather. It regularly oscillates between intense heat (today was 35 degrees) and torrential downpours! I now pack sunglasses, sun cream and waterproofs in my daypack just to cover all eventualities.
Aside from the climate, Asia is different to Europe in a number of respects. A few things caught my attention, for example the mask mandate is stricter, cash is king (no contactless), and ridesharing apps can be cheaper than public transport. Luckily I found the perfect activity to ease me into Day 1. I was located only 10 minutes away from a temple called Wat Sraket. This Wat (temple), also referred to as the Golden Mount, is situated on top of a hill which is the highest point in Bangkok ~ 60 metres. It looked very impressive from ground level, but I knew the ascent would be tough!
On the way up there are statuettes of native animals hidden amongst the plants on either side of the stairway, which is welcome distraction from the 344 steps...
However the animals I was least expecting to see were waiting for me just around the corner - a group of Vultures 😲.
Yes, there were Vultures in a holy temple.
I should qualify this - they were not real Vultures of course, but they might as well have been. Around a third the way up is a little display called the “Vultures of Wat Sraket Temple” and in this enclosure was life size sculptures acting out a pretty gory scene. Large vultures assembled in a circle, whilst a vulture pecks at a human corpse and onlookers watch the scene with grim acceptance.
If I am being honest I found it very morbid and somewhat disturbing. However upon reading the plaque I learnt that this scene was based on a real history. During the 19th century there was a severe cholera outbreak in Thailand killing thousands of people and as the epidemic reached its peak the authorities were forced to use the temple as a mortuary, bringing dead bodies to the hill. The bodies would naturally attract vultures who would feed on the remains, hence this sculpure was erected as a reminder of those dark times. It was unorthodox to say the least. I quickly moved on.
When I was nearly at the top I came across the good luck bells and gave them a good ring on the way to the temple entrance.
As I entered I discovered that Wat Sraket is one of the few temples in Bangkok that allow visitors to keep their shoes on, so I was able to wander freely around the inside watching people leaving their offerings and praying.
Eventually I made my way to the balcony for the 360 degree views of the city. I haven’t really seen much of Bangkok so if I am being honest I was not sure what I was looking at but it was an impressive view nonetheless.
After the temple I thought it couldn’t harm to venture a little further out, so I made my way to Bangkok Chinatown. It was much larger than I had expected - there were just so many streets and alleyways selling a range of goods and street food, and for me it was really a voyage of discovery into Thai foods, Chinese cuisine and the fusion dishes.
The markets also offered me the first glimpse of Thai fruits which people have told me so much about - Rambutan, Dragonfruit and Durian. The sampling of these fruits would have to wait for another day, but at least I knew what they looked like now!
Later in the evening, I found a street food market and decided to take the risk and try Thai street food for the first time - it was extremely cheap < £2 and delicious!
Day 2 - Khaosan Road
After such a busy day yesterday, today was far more laidback. The only plans I made were for the evening - it was time to visit the famous Khaosan Road. I found a restuarant in the area with good reviews and managed to convince some fellow travellers to join for dinner. The fact we were within walking distance made things a bit easier but I don’t think any of us were fully prepared for the experience. Khaosan Road is like no other road you will see and it does not make sense on so many levels. If I had to summarise the experience in two words - Loud + Bonkers.
It is so full of crazy goings ons that you will be constantly cricking your head left and right, and then the noise will hit you like a sledgehammer... think of a nightclub which has rolled on to the street!
As we walked down the road, we had to bat away many vendors trying to sell their wares - you can expect to be offered any or all of the following; offensive wristbands, laughing gas , grilled scorpions and counterfeit products. All of this fun packed into a relatively small and narrow street. If it does not sound that fun or appealing, then I would avoid it, but you will miss out on a unique experience!
We made our way to the end of the street to find the restaurant for dinner and fortunately the noise levels reduced the further we went down the road. The restaurant was as good as the reviews suggests, it had a really lively atmosphere, great music (at a reasonable volume level) and the food lived up to the billing. It was my first Pad Thai in Thailand and it definitely set a high benchmark.
After food we walked back down the road and got hustled into one of the bars on the street, where the staff started handing out buckets and laughing gas miraculously appeared at the table. As it got more lively, I was already thinking about an exit plan. However things took a turn for the interesting as midnight approached. There was a sudden change in the atmosphere in the street. The music stopped, lights were being turned off in the bars and we were asked to leave. We stood outside and waited only to see the police arriving on the scene a few minutes later. It was a night patrol as officers swarmed the street, pointing flashlights into the buildings either side of the road. It was all a bit concerning but everyone else seemed relaxed so I figured this happens often. The police patrol lasted all of 15 minutes, and once the officers were out of sight the bars came back to life - lights, music and punters returned. The whole thing was quite a farce really. I am not sure why everyone goes through with this charade daily but as I said this road does not make sense!
Day 3 - Temple Day
Halfway through the week already! This morning I felt like it could be a temple day (overcast and cool) and I've yet to pay proper homage to the temples of Bangkok. There are countless temples in Bangkok, so I had to narrow things down a bit. I chose the 3 that most interested me and were also within walking / ferry distance from each other. With the itinerary finalised, I packed my bag with “temple clothes” - this was essential prep. There is a strict dress code for visiting temples in Thailand and all visitors must respect the local customs and tradition or will not be allowed entry. Fortunately I had the perfect outfit - an indian/thai combo (Kurta/Thai Trousers) which ensured I was covered, but was also airy and comfortable.
The first temple I visited is probably the most famous in Bangkok (certainly the most recognisable), I am referring of course to The Grand Palace:
If I was to focus on just the temple it would do a disservice to the incredible architecture and royal history which is intertwined with the temple and its central location in Bangkok. The Grand Place is actually a large complex made up of many different types of buildings including palaces and gardens that have been the official residence of the Kings of Thailand since 1872.
There is something for everyone here, you can admire the royal architecture, gardens and statutes or explore the temple site. The magnificent Kinnara statue outside the Temple of the Emerald Buddha is worth a visit and a good example of the types of the mythological celestial beings which you can spot around the complex.
Personally, the feature which impressed me the most was the large Ramakien mural (a Thai version of the Ramayana epic). There are 178 scenes painted on the exterior of the Grand Palace and it streteches around the palace for a staggering 2 kilometres!
Surely there can not exist a more faithful depiction anywhere else in the world (except maybe in India), it truly does justice to one of the largest ancient epics in world literature.
Fascinated by this, I spent about 40 minutes or so traversing the walls in orders to follow the story to its conclusion. It was not just the sheer scale which blew my mind, it was also the minute attention to detail and vividness of the imagery.
The Grand Place is unorthodox in that the the complex consists of 3 main buildings. There are the Royal Palaces, the Emerald Buddha temple and the Chapel. When I visited The Grand Palace it was only partially open with limited access. However you are allowed to enter the Emerald Buddha temple if you abide by the admission rules - no shoes, no pictures.
Something I learnt recently was that you must never point your feet towards a buddha statue in Thailand so I made sure I respected this custom as I sat myself down to face the Emerald Buddha statue. The Emerald Buddha statue is surprisingly blingy for want of a better word. It is made from one solid piece of green jade and draped in gold clothing. To top this off, the buddha has also been adorned with glittering diamonds. It is such a shame that you are not allowed to take pictures!
It was definitely one of the highlights of my tour around the complex. I slowly made my way past the royal buildings before I moved on.
Next up was Wat Pho temple which was a short walk away. Wat Pho is famous for its giant reclining Buddha statue, which is a very orthodox posture for Buddha. Most if not all Buddhas are upright, following the customary Lotus pose
Wat Pho also hosts 4 magnificent Chedis which enclose original Buddha statues recovered from the ancient Ayutthaya site (approx. 80km from Bangkok) during the 18th century. Apparently each Chedi commemorates a King of Thailand (from the first king Rama I to Rama IV). They stopped this tradition after the 4th king due to concerns over space constraints.
As far as history goes, the Chedis were not the only attraction. Thailand is famous for its Thai massage and here in Wat Pho is the site of the earliest traditional Nuad Thai Massage. Here you can see the inscriptions for how to perform the Nuad Thai massage (which are over 200 years old!). The diagrams were fascinating to look at and try to comprehend!
Finally, I crossed the Chao Phraya River to visit the last temple - Wat Arun. The public ferry is the cheapest and fastest way for travel and it has the advantage of providing magnificent views as you approach the temple from the river.
After disembarkation I made my way to the first building which was guarded by two very imposing gigantic demon statues.
And if this was not impressive enough, the temple was beauty and grandeur personified. It really was one of the most beautiful buildings I have seen in Thailand so far - the large triangular spire was meticulously decorated with gems and crystals which glisten - it was quite dazzling. I imagine it would have looked even more stunning if it was sunny today!
The temple was constructed in a golden age of opulence, the site dating back to the 17th century makes it one of the oldest temples in Bangkok. Over the years there have been some modifications and extensions completed by various Kings but nothing major has changed since this period. As you can neither go inside or up, there was not much to do other than admiring the craftsmanship and views from the balconies. As sunset approached it was a fine way to end the evening.
Day 4 - Park Life
Today I rode the Bangkok Mass Rail Transit (MRT) for the first time. I visited Lumphini Park which is in east Bangkok (near Sukhumvit) and this turned out to be the most efficient and cost effective way to travel - it was also very comfortable with A/C equipped carriages. Lumphini Park is Bangkok’s answer to Central Park, it is nestled in the middle of two very busy districts (Phaya Thai and Khlong Toei) and despite being compact in size there was plenty to explore.
The park is beautiful in its own right, very reminiscient of home, but just as you get comfortable the Asian wildlife provides a gentle reminder that you are firmly in the southern hemisphere. My first encounter with the native wildlife was one of the species of birds in the park - they are called Myna.
The native birds are from the Starling family and most common in Southeast asia. They were very chirpy and hopped about in quite an entertaining way, however this was nothing compared to what I saw next in the park.
I am talking about the giant lizards who patrol the lake and roam around the park with the visitors. I have never seen lizards this big in my life - they must have been at least 2 metres in length, with huge heads and to the untrained eye they actually looked like Komodo Dragons. The lizard were in fact a species of lizards known as Asian water monitors (Varanus Slavator).
The fact they were "water monitors" does not mean they were completely harmless, because they still have venom and bite, but they are known to be friendly towards humans. I was cautious when taking pictures but I think I got a few good close up shots alongside some of the other interesting features of the park such as the Chinese Pagoda and the plants.
Despite the mild trepidation, I did enjoy the stroll around the park and made one more loop before heading back.
After the park, I decided to find a traditional Thai massage parlour so that I tick this off my list too. I was able to find a reputable establishment near my accomodation and negotiated a good price. I was careful to ask for a medium strength massage, but I honestly don’t think it made much difference as there is only one type of Thai massage! In the end it was ok, my masseuse was not overly rough and whilst there were some uncomfortable moments she knew when to ease off. It wasn’t as painful or extreme as I had been told so maybe I just got lucky!
Day 5 - Weekend Market
The day started at a local cafe near the hostel. I wanted to try an authentic south breakfast and the place I found looked like it had a reasonable breakfast menu. However, as it arrived I found that the authentic breakfast was really not my cup of tea (although, ironically, the tea was the best bit…)
For someone used to savoury breakfasts, this ensemble of items seemed very unorthodox to me. Everything was served with sugar or was sweetened in some way. For example, the toast (which I thought was a safe bet) was buttered with sugar. The eggs were served with a sweet custard mixture with condensed milk and sweetened bread rolls. It was just a bit too sickly sweet for me… I don't even have sugar in my tea!
I mean at least I gave it a go, but the less said about it the better. So today's plan was to visit the markets of Bangkok. It is Saturday and so it was a no-brainer to visit one of the largest open markets in Bangkok - Chatuchak Weekend Market.
As per the name, the market is only open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It is situated a few miles northeast from the centre of Bangkok so I had to use the metro (MRT) again, alighting at Kamphaeng Phet which is the station closest to the entrance. The marketplace is very large and a bit tricky to navigate once inside, so I was heavily reliant on the picture I took of the map at the entrance.
There is a lot of variety - I saw vendors selling everything from clothes and toys to kitchen sinks. Naturally I spent the majority of my time in the clothing section. I was later joined by a friend from the hostel and we made a few purchases, helping each other out as we tried out different garments. I am not a massive shopper but it can be more interesting to do shopping in a foreign country, especially with the local differences and the lower price points. We even had a go at some haggling, but not with much success if truth be told.
As evening approached, we were getting a bit hungry so we visited the food section. The street food here was very good, it’s mostly grilled / BBQ items, but you can buy a skewer for 50 baht which is very cheap and perfect for snacking. We ordered different things, enjoyed the food before making our way back to the hostel.
Day 6 - Thai Spicy Day
Today was a bit of a washout with heavy rain falling during the morning and early afternoon, so I spent most of the day watching the rains. This is the first day when the heavens properly opened and I was just glad I was not in it.
In the evening I wanted to try out a highly rated restaurant which was near to my accommodation. Krua Apsorn is a Thai Kitchen which has being going for a while and has grown in reputation. It serves traditional Thai dishes, including its famous spicy chilli crab dish.
I saw this as my opportunity to try Thai spicy to see if I could handle it. So far I have stuck to a mild/normal spice level but I was curious to see how spicy the food actually is. There were so many good options that it was not easy to choose, but I eventually ordered the sea bass stir fry.
It was without doubt, a notch up on the spice scale and whilst I was a bit concerned after the first few bites, the intensity fortunately did not seem to get more extreme after that. I also found that if I avoided eating the whole chillies it was actually fine, the spice not being too overwhelming for me.
With the spice challenge completed I went back to the hostel to rejoin my fellow travellers. It was a nice evening now that the rain had cleared so we organised a trip to a Bangkok Skybar. When I say organised, it was actually quite haphazard - we tried to grab a couple of Tuk Tuks drivers on the street and negotiate a price for a group of 6. This didn’t work as intended and in our impatience we accepted the 200 baht fixed fare. The group split into different Tuk Tuks and we had a fun race on the way - my Tuk Tuk lost, which was extremely disappointing as it was looking really promising at the start.
We had arrived at the hotel and as soon as we went up the elevator it slowly became obvious that we had arrived in the wrong place - there was no rooftop level, just hotel rooms! Oops…
Luckily this was not the end of the story - in the vicinity there were quite a few other Skybars so we managed to visit Red Sky Bangkok.
The rooftop bar was on the 55th floor (which was a very long elevator ride) but once we arrived at the bar, the views were worth all the trouble
We were only allowed as high as the middle floor as we were not dressed for the top tier. It was very quiet but that did not bother us, we found a table near the balcony and settled in. We were celebrating a birthday and had a little private party on the rooftop which culminated in ordering a chocolate tree from chocolatiers who work in the restuarant. What an excellent idea to have professional chocolatiers working on a rooftop bar!
It was a really fun evening and visiting the Skybar meant I could tick off yet another thing off the Bangkok to-do-list. The night inevitably ended back on Khaosan road which I was less enthralled about but at least it was on the way home.
Day 7 - Floating Market & Tailboat Experience
It is my last day in Bangkok and I decided to visit a Floating Market, which is a must-see attraction. Bangkok's waterways have a long and rich history and the Chao Phraya river which runs through the city was central to how people lived their lives. Before industrialisation, the river was the main artery of the city bringing in goods and the de-facto transportion route. The mini canals are still visible today in and around the city. This whole region used to be a tropical jungle and the waterways were used by traders to buy/sell goods at the floating markets. Then in the 19th century, rail and road transformed Bangkok into an Urban district with few floating markets surviving. Damnoen Saduak is the largest and most famous in floating market in Bangkok. People in Damnoen Saduak still use the canals as their main mode of transport to get around, whether that is to visit the markets, local hospitals or travel to other districts. So whilst it is a tourist attraction for people like me and you, it is very much part of everyday life for the people who live there. The market is around 80km from central Bangkok and so the best way to visit is to join an organised tour. I booked myself on a half-day tour with a 7am pick up - this was necessary because the market is only open between 5am and 2pm.
The tour started with a little detour into Samut Songkhram and so we could visit the Meaklong Railway Market. Arriving around 08:45 we had 15 minutes before the train arrived. It was quite an extraordinary sight - I am not sure I have seen anything like this before. The market stalls were literally on the railway tracks and it was a very tight squeeze to get around.
The people there were constantly warning tourists to stand back as the train was going to arrive. After a couple warning sirens, it appeared in the distance and when it passed there was not a hair's width between the train and the market stalls. It was a tense moment, but as soon as the train passed, it was business as usual for the vendors
After the railway market we made our way towards the floating market, riding a long tail boat to the entrance. The tailboat experience was fun, we moved faster than I expected (obviously these tailboats are now equipped with motors). The canals were extremely narrow and it was quite a strange feeling being seated so low as water splashed on the sides and lapped into the boat, however the view is also very unique:
Once we arrived in Damnoen Saduak, we had exactly one hour to explore the market before coming back to the meeting point. My first impression of the market was that it was much quieter than I expected, and less vibrant than the pictures suggested. I guess this must be because it was a weekday. I wandered around the various stalls for a bit before making my way back to the canal path.
This was when I had my first encounter with a local trader. There was a small tailboat moored on one side and a friendly vendor who was trying to sell fruit to passerbys.
I engaged her in order to buy Rambutan and Mango. As soon as she saw my camera, she got very excited and became insistent that I take more pictures of her, the boat and her fruit. It was all good natured and friendly so I didn’t object. But as I tried to juggle my newly purchased fruit in one hand with the backpack and camera in the other, something had to give and I ended up dropping most of my Mango. She took pity on me and gave me another Mango for free which was kind and I wished her the best as I moved on.
I explored the other side of the canal and markets before it was time to make our way back to Bangkok. When I got back to Bangkok I made plans to meet up with a friend. We had dinner in a small cafe in the Asok area. It was her recommendation, and as it turned out it was a really nice cafe - a quiet atmosphere but with really good vegan and vegetarian options.
However the most impressive thing about this place was its mission!
The cafe aims to help neurodivergent people get into work, including employing neurodivergent workers as trainees. I was happy to spend money here just to support the noble mission, but I have to say the food, coffee and dessert was really good. I said farewell to my friend and started to prepare for my travels in Malaysia!
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