Bangkok is the fourth capital city of Thailand. Surrounded by Chao
Phraya River on the west side and inner city moat and canals on the
other side, Bangkok is filled with ruins, temples and deserted
cities and many beaches. With a population of 6 million,
Bangkok is very diverse in culture and religion. Buddhism is the
most common religion, which is 95% of the population and the other
4% is consumed by Muslim.
May 16, 2006
Our plane landed in
Bangkok early afternoon and by suppertime we were checked into
the New Siam II Hotel near Khao San Road in Bangkok.
Annie, Liam and Tony
were already checked in and awaiting our arrival.
After dinner, we wandered around the Khao San Road area, a
backpacker haven of lively nighttime activity. |
May 17, 2006
Exploring the Old City
Straddling the Chao Phraya River and situated just north of
Chinatown, the area where we were staying (Old City)
was near some of the most spectacular and revered historical
attractions in Bangkok.
We hopped into a Tuk
Tuk and were given a quick tour of many of the surrounding
venues. |
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All
Manner of Buddha's
Our driver set the
itinerary for our tour and we visited The Tallest Buddha,
the Longest Reclining Buddha, The Biggest Sitting Buddha, the
Crouching Buddha..... |
Wat Indra Viharn
features a huge standing
Buddha image called "Luang Pho To". The topknot of the Buddha
image contains a relic of Lord Buddha brought from Sri Lanka. |
Pictured here is me
at the feet of the tallest Buddha, made of gold and standing
32 metres tall and 10 metres wide!There are more
Buddha images in Thailand than there are people.
Wat Sraket - the Golden Mount,
dating from 1800, an artificial hill topped by a gilded pagoda 260
feet in height from its base. Initiated by King Rama III the golden
mount is one of the most celebrated landmarks in Bangkok's historic
district and offers a panoramic city view from the top, after a
vigorous climb up a winding staircase bordered with rows of bells. |
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Wat Kalayanamit
The biggest sitting
Buddha image in Bangkok. There
are more Buddha images in Thailand than there are people.
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River Boat Trip
The busy Chao Phraya River
was lined with docks each housing an array of colourful boats of
all descriptions. We hired a longtail for 500 baht and enjoyed a
private leisurely boat ride through the canals to
explore Klong Bangkok Noi and Klong Bangkok Yai.
Bangkok is like Venice in its network of waterways, still used
for transportation around the city.
Our driver likely did not speak English, or perhaps he just was not
talkative, so we had to guess at some of the landmarks we passed. It
was an interesting experience putting past rows of dilapidated
wooden stilted homes, the locals going about their daily business. |
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The waterways were like streets, with intersections crisscrossing
the dirty brown water. Along the banks, locals were fishing and
passing boats carried goods to and fro. There were also people
selling their wares by boat and several approached us hoping we
would buy a trinket or snack.
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The most unique part of the journey was the variety of architecture,
old wood clad row housing next to elaborate golden decorated wats,
temples and Chinese praying houses.
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Chinatown
Our longtail let us
off in Chinatown, a colourful, exotic and busy area, packed with
market stalls and probably the greatest concentration of gold
shops in the city. reflecting Thai-Chinese people's love of gold
(which symbolizes prosperity).
The area has a
somewhat seedy historical reputation for large numbers of opium
dens, brothels, pawnshops and a fondness for gambling that used
to prevail. |
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Between canyons of concrete skyscapers, the streets were a hive of
constant commercial activity, all day long. We felt like we were in
another age entirely, being that we really didn't see any other
tourists the entire time we explored the Chinese shops.
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The small alleys and streets between Yaowarat Road and the Chao
Praya River, too small for cars, were crammed with market stalls and
small shops jostling to sell just about everything imaginable; from
hair accessories, tea sets, hardware and food, to fabric, strange
vegetables imported from mainland China and Chinese funeral items.An added feature to
the area were circus-like acts of balancing and
maneuvering while transporting an astonishing amount of
wholesale goods (sacks, boxes, etc), weaving in and out of
traffic ...... an interesting feat
(especially while talking on a cell phone!
Water Transportation
Not served by the Skytrain options for getting back to our hotel
were limited to taxis, tuk-tuks, walking or river ferries.
We chose to experience the major form of transport, by water.
We boarded the busy water ferry, cheap but standing room only,
packed with locals probably returning home from work.
We
passed an enormous amount of other boat traffic, including ferries,
barges, taxis, fishing craft, river boats, commercial and private. |
Shopping in Bangkok
Bangkok attracts
many tourists just for the shopping. And Asians love to shop.
There is a huge variety of shopping options, from the modern
downtown core with designer labels, to almost sleezy Night
Markets, to specialized Wholesale Markets, to sell-everything
sidewalk venders to enormous fast paced covered Market
complexes. We tried to get a taste of them all.
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May 18
Metropolitan Bangkok
We took the skytrain
to the bustling Siam Square, a shopping Mecca of highrise
stores, markets, shops and even exclusive high end clothing. |
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The exclusively
modern shopping malls dwarfed most Canadian counterparts. Busy
crowded streets offered immediate taxis and tuk tuks with the
wave of an arm, although it was easy to walk the entire downtown
area, a better way to get a feeling for the unique dynamics of
the city.
Of course, there was
the usually collection of signs and banners exemplifying the
Thai love for their King, as seen throughout Thailand...LONG
LIVE THE KING! |
At MBK, I found some
excellent bargains. The shopping complexes were linked by a
network of walkways transcending over the busy Bangkok streets,
with bumper to bumper traffic 6 lanes in each direction, the
pollution asphyxiating in the stifling heat. |
SILOM Patpong Night Market
Day or (especially)
night, the streets of Patong provide endless entertainment and
amusement, from singers to pavement and alley vendors selling
pretty much anything you can imagine, legit or not, authentic or
replicated.
We spent the evening
practicing our bargaining skills and ended up pleased with the
total cost of our large assortment of gifts to take back to
Canada.
Chatuchak Weekend Market
Before leaving
Bangkok we had to experience the Chatuchak Weekend Market,
the mother of all markets - and possibly one of the biggest and
most famous markets in the world. Covering 35 acres of land with
over 15,000 stalls and more than 200,000 visitors every Saturday
and Sunday, Chatuchak is mind boggling.
In fact the acres of
stalls, crammed and packed with towering stacks of every
conceivable goods you could hope to buy, was just too
overwhelming and I ended up not buying anything at all, instead
fleeing from the hot crowded excursion, overcome with
exhaustion. |
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May 18
Chiang Mai
We took an overnight
train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, a beautiful city surrounded by
a moat. From there we toured northern Thailand, visited the
Elephant Conservation Center and the Long Neck villages.
more...
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May 25
Palaces and Wats
Back in Bangkok, we
toured the Grand Palace and Wat Pho bordering the
eastern bank of Chao Phraya and forming a veritable Vatican City
of Thai Buddhism.
more... |
May 27
Our Northern Thai
holiday comes to a close and we board our plane bound for
Canada. We will spend the following 3 months visiting family and
friends after our 4 year absence.
NEXT
Back to Canada 2007>>>> |
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