Bangkok day 1 – around Bangkok

After breakfast with a good view over some slums towards the mega-shopping complexes on the left (there are 5 of them all next to each other):

we headed off at 8.45am with our private guide, Santana, for a tour of the sights of Bangkok using public transport and shanks’ pony.  It was hot, 35 degrees, and humid and the heat was noted by Santana and other locals who were sweating just as much as we were.  They also noted that it is always hot here.

We first did the very short stroll to the BTS station, the elevated train system, down to the main Chayo Phraya river to catch a river boat upstream to the Grand Palace complex. 

We had been told by hotel-typed message yesterday that the guide had called to make sure we wore “police dress” for this visit.  This was a bit alarming until we figured out they probably meant “polite”.  And yes we had to make sure that our knees and shoulders were covered.  (Maybe the Buddha, who of course had become fully enlightened under the boddhi tree, could never quite let go of his negative attachment to bare bony bits?)  The Grand Palace complex holds an impressive array of magnificently decorated buildings dating from 1782, one of which holds the ashes of the Buddha!  Santana said that many Buddhist temples around the world also contain his ashes. Here she is with Julie: 

There was an equally impressive number of Asian tourists pouring through, and we were told this was the quiet time for visiting there! They looked as hot as we felt, but it was somewhat cooler in the shade.  This is the royal reception building:

From there we took a tuk tuk

to the Wat Po complex of temples where we viewed the huge 45 metre reclining Buddha, made of cement painted gold

and various burial towers and gold buddhas everywhere. 

 

We then walked to the main river and caught a long boat for a cool and relaxing trip down a canal to see how the populace live in their own version of Venice. 

 

Finished up at a large floating restaurant with most welcome air conditioning for lunch, then we walked (in the surprise absence of any tuk tuks) across to and through the “backpackers’ mecca” area where many cheap hostels, bars, tattoo parlours, sleazy-looking nightclubs and market stalls abounded.  Santana told us that this place would be rocking tonight, but we decided not to partake, unreluctantly.

 We caught another tuk tuk there for an adrenaline-raising cruise through the Bangkok traffic, which featured daring driving topped off with a most impressive spit from the driver across the back window and boot of a white Honda which had annoyed him.  A short walk to a canal taxi boat where the ticket conductors walk on the outside of the boat to collect money.  They wear helmets in case they forget to duck the low-lying road bridges. This is true! – here’s the proof:

This boat brought us back quite close to our hotel, but we had one more visit, to the Jim Thompson museum.  This bloke was an American who fell in love with Thailand after WW2 and stayed to make a fortune in the silk trade.  He vanished without trace in Malaysia when he was 61 and his house and garden became a museum.  The tour through his traditional teak house was interesting.  The doorways have 18 inch wooden boards across the bottom, to keep crawling babies in, and evil spirits out.  (The spirits must be either really dumb or unduly affected by gravity).

We were both a little over the heat by now and looking forward to the short BTS train ride back to our hotel where our plans to try out the swimming pool were quickly abandoned to just laze around the room in the air con, where we both dozed off during a fascinating doco by BBC TV on Israel.

Skyped Laura and Kris then off for tea to one of the nearby mega-shopping malls to a Thai restaurant recommended by Santana, which was good.  Then a stroll around the shops in glorious cold air con, then a Starbucks!, first of this overseas tour.  Back to the hotel feeling quite refreshed.  Fortunately we have Santana for our private tour to the ancient capital of Ayutthaya tomorrow, and also for a bigger group tour to the River Kwai on Tuesday.