Our fifth destination on our round-the-world adventure brought us to the capital city of Thailand… Bangkok.
Though we would have loved to explore more of Thailand’s well-regarded coastal areas (and scuba dived, of course!), we were able to witness some of the attractions in and around Bangkok that Thailand has to offer during our brief stay.
Interestingly, my first impressions of Thailand coincided with a former colleague’s observation that Santo Domingo in the DR seemed very similar to Thailand. Aside from the obvious differences, I was surprised to discover that I was also very much reminded of the Dominican Republic! I guess it’s because both Thailand and the Dominican Republic are developing countries with numerous evident similarities as one drives down the roads of either country.
Aside from that, we saw the numerous colorful aspects of Bangkok… which were often evident in its transportation methods! =)
Line of colorful Tuk-Tuks
Decorated boats in the Chao Phraya River
Tuk-Tuks, motorcycles, brightly colored taxis and buses crowd the busy city streets
Day 18 – Part II
Our flight from Singapore brought us to Bangkok around 3PM local time. Upon exiting the airport, we caught the AE1 Airport Express bus to the Silom area where our hostel was located. (Of the hostels at which we’ve stayed to date, Lub’D was definitely one of the cleanest and nicest!)
After getting settled in, we scheduled a tour to Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand, explored the areas around the hotel to find some food and turned in early to get some rest. =)
Day 19
For our first day in Bangkok, we looked over the various free tourist information pamphlets we had picked up to determine what sites we would go visit.
From our hostel, we found the nearby BTS (skytrain) station that we took to the Central Pier to catch a ferry up the Chao Phraya River.
As we headed up the river, we finally saw our first destination… Wat Arun, the Temple of the Dawn.
View from the Chao Phraya River
Colorful mosaics and sculptures decorating Wat Arun
At the base of Wat Arun
From Wat Arun, we headed over to the other side of the Chao Phraya River to visit Wat Pho, which is known for its massive “reclining Buddha” image as well as its massage school.
A standing Buddha
Numerous stupas or chedis
Head of the reclining Buddha
Feet of the reclining Buddha (each toe is as big as a person’s head!)
The massive 46m long reclining Buddha
After a quick break for lunch, we wandered over to Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace. The grounds of the palace are extensive with numerous sculptures, ornate buildings and vast gilded murals. Also, the grounds are home to the “Emerald Buddha”, which, as warned by numerous guides, was less impressive than expected. =)
Pair of guardian sculptures?
Elaborately attired sculptures
Section of the murals decorating the walls
Home of the Emerald Buddha (if I remember correctly!) =)
Intricate golden sculptures
The Emerald Buddha
For the latter part of the afternoon, we saw several other less prominent temples and Buddha images around the area (they all started looking the same after a while) and made our way up to the Golden Mount to get a view of the surrounding area.
View from the Golden Mount
Day 20
Our day tour to Ayutthaya, about an hour and a half north of Bangkok, began with an early morning pickup at 6:30AM. Bright and early, again. =)
As part of our history lesson, we learned that Ayutthaya was built in 1350 and was the capital for 417 years.
Our first stop was another temple called Wat Yai Chaimongkhon.
Row of Buddha images
This chedi was built in 2135 B.E. (no idea what that translates to!) as a memorial for Thailand’s victory over Burma
From there, we continued to Wat Phra Si Sanphet and the ruins of the Ayutthaya Royal Palace.
At the palace ruins
The ruins of the Ayutthaya Royal Palace
After visiting these sites, we also visited the grounds of Bang Pa-In Palace that dates back to the 17th century. From there, we proceeded to a river cruise down the Chao Phraya River back towards Bangkok.
Homes along the riverfront
For the rest of the day, we toured the Siam Square area where we discovered a whole different face of Bangkok. While everything we had seen previously represented the less-developed and impoverished areas of Thailand, the massive shopping areas of Siam Square were more reminiscent of the malls in Singapore or anywhere else in the “developed” world. We were struck by the stark contrast between the two worlds of the “haves” and “have-nots” and wondered about the great disparity between those two worlds…
Inside one of the massive shopping complexes… and… am I back in Philly?
Day 21 – Part I
Having concluded two long days of sightseeing, we were exhausted and slept in on Day 21. =)
And so, after grabbing a quick bite to eat, we were back to the airport to catch our next flight to Mumbai, India!