Thailand - Bangkok

We have now moved on from Bangkok, sitting in a nice and relaxed environment on the edge of Khao Yai National park, one of the last bits of proper jungle left in Thailand that houses elephants and tigers! Tomorrow we will go and look for them, but first Bangkok:

After a smooth flight (we both slept most of the way) we arrived in Bangkok’s new airport. A massive, modern development where we were able to walk off any potential for DVT by making our way from the arrival gate to the bus.

The bus trip from the airport to Bangkok takes about an hour, most of which spent in traffic jams in downtown Bangkok. Our hotel is located on Thanon Chambrutti, a road that runs parallel to the better-known backpacker’s haven that is Khao San Road. The benefit being that you have the hustle and bustle of Khao San within walking distance, but do not have to suffer the ‘cheesiness’ of such a tourist trap.

After a quick refresh on our way to do one of the things with which travelers apparently fill their days – looking for food. Fortunately ‘our road’ has lots of things on offer – from the inevitable street vendors and night-markets to the more tourist-orientated places, where you can get a pizza and tuna sandwich – nice!
Keen to fit in, we throw ourselves in at the deep end – a selection of curries from the night-market (as some sort of risk protection – this one was recommended by our Rough Guide and busy enough). 30 baths down (that’s 50p or 75 eurocent) we sat ourselves half-an-hour later down at one of the many street-side terraces to do some people-watching and a Thai beer.

Our first full day in Bangkok was spent in the Royal Palace and Wat Pho, two of the most impressive temple complexes in Bangkok. The colours, the vibrancy and the detail of the carvings are incredibly beautiful. No need to give you a low-down on all the aspects, but the fact that we spent there most of the day says it all. For those who are more visually orientated – see the pictures. For the foodies – two more amazing meals, both from street vendors, including Pad Thai, some more curries and a spicy stir-fry.

The second full day in Bangkok (the 9th of January) we mainly spent walking. Not as one would expect a leisurely stroll to get used to the climate (even though it is the cool season, the average temperature still reaches the high twenties), but a 7 hour stint that took us from our hotel via the train station through China Town. How to describe China Town ? Something completely different to our expectations – a mile-long stretch of covered markets, where shoppers, mopeds and trucks are battling it out for a place in the narrow streets. To navigate one street took us more than an hour, by which time we had seen thousands of t-shirts, shoes, fabrics and garish electronics. If this is something to go by, then our high streets are peaceful oases filled with quality stuff.
On the way, we saw more temples and Buddhas, one of which being a solid golden, 3 meters high, 5.5 tons, USD10 million mammoth, which had only been found fifty years ago when someone chipped the plaster casing when moving. You can imagine how we are now looking at some of the statues on offer …..
Back to the hotel by Express Boat, a super-charged old boat packed with commuters, tourists and monks. The benefit being that this way you miss the traffic jams, which seem to be stifling Bangkok continuously.

The final day had more walking, temples and boat trips in store. From the Golden Mount (with good views of Bangkok) via Jim Thompsons House (the American entrepreneur that single-handedly revitalized the Thai silk industry before disappearing mysteriously in the Malaysian jungle), Little India, another temple complex where three crocodiles made a sorry picture for themselves and the flower market back to the hotel via Express Boat (our second boat trip of the day, the first being a longtail that carried us from the Golden Mount to Jim Thompson’s House). All of this embellished with a spot of shopping, as we were in desperate need for a travel plug (remember, our intentions before departure ?) – how else to keep necessary travel accompaniments such as mobile phone and Nintendo game going ?

The final night in Bangkok was spent having dinner at the night stall next to the hotel, which specialized in fresh seafood (whole fish, mussels, squid and prawns – yum!), before wrestling with our bags to get everything back in, including some of the new purchases (our first stab at haggling – or bartering as Nicola insists on calling it!).

One last note on food and drink – having been in Thailand for only three days, we have already experienced some of the more bizarre taste sensations – a soft drink so green that it would light up in the dark and so sweet that Nicola was over-active for the remainder of the day and JP took on the challenge of a delightful snack of toasted (or roasted or deep-fried, god knows) grasshoppers and crickets (for those people interested, it doesn’t taste of much, sort of rice-paper-ish, but it is crunchy and gets stuck between your teeth!).

So, how would we summarise Bangkok – stunning temples, traffic and petrol fumes, incense, crowded, amazingly good food and a great start for things to come!

The tigers and elephants – here we come……