Grand Palace, Wat Prah Kaew and Wat Pho

Had an interesting day yesterday so this is quite a big post again. You might notice I've changed the format slightly with one post to a page. That may mean a bit more loading but it was getting ridiculous having such a massive first page.

Right, back to the matter in hand. Fully entered tourist mode. From travel errors to rampant photographing to badly haggled Tuk-Tuks rides (no more Mr Nice Guy now, Tuk-Tuk drivers watch out!) Was supposed to get the train to meet Pook for lunch in Bangkok but due to a miscommunication (and a fairly large assumption on his part I reckon) with Kriangsak's gardener I got a taxi for the 20km journey instead. Fortunately it only cost about £2.10, but the train would've been about 30p. He saw me waiting for a taxi at the main road outside Kriang's village and offered to help me flag one down which was nice, but when I told him I was going to the train station he assumed I meant Hualumpong, the main station in central Bangkok, not Huatakae, the local station that I actually wanted. I jumped in the taxi and started checking a dictionary about how to ask for a ticket to Hualumpong. I looked up a minute later and we're hurtling along the express way towards Bangkok. By this time I'd missed the train so I figured I'd just carry on into town. I decided to get the taxi to the train station so I could get the bus from there rather than just get the taxi straight to AIS where Pook works. The bus cost 7 baht, about 10p, but was the oldest bus I've been on yet and wasn't air conditioned.


It actually wasn't bad at all, if you sit on the side out of the sun with the window open it's fine and somehow the bus seemed to get through the traffic quite well. They're not clear on this picture but note the ceiling fans and wooden floorboards.

Despite the smog and traffic I'm still really enjoying the novelty of getting around in Bangkok, there's a whole range of transport options: buses, minibuses, pickup buses, taxis, tuk-tuks and motorbike taxis being the most common. I tried the motorbike taxi last night for the first time. They don't travel very far, if you want to go a long way across the city you have to get a normal taxi or bus but for just a few kilometers they'll get you there quickly. Very quickly. The one I went on didn't stop during the entire journey, for queues, policemen or traffic lights. Definitely the way to get around if you don't mind paying a bit extra and you're not of a nervous disposition. You can haggle with them like the tuk-tuk drivers so you can move around for the same price as a taxi. The Thais even get two passengers on there making it even cheaper.

Most people I've spoken to have said Bangkok's fairly unpleasant and recommended that I don't stay for more than a couple of days. Whilst it is very busy, often smelly, crowded and more expensive than in the countryside it's a wicked place. Besides which I doubt it's no more expensive than Ko Samui or Ko Phuket and it's still a damn site cheaper than the UK of course. Despite all that I love it. It's bustling, busy, fast paced (and yet people don't seem to rush around, head down, on a mission, like in cities in the UK. I suppose it's too hot to do that) cosmopolitan and generally interesting and exciting. If Bangkok's rubbish I can't wait to see more of Thailand. Just a few more days to experience the capital though...

Anyway, I made it to AIS in time (well 20 minutes late but that's not bad by my standards especially considering I'm new to Bangkok) and had a nice lunch in a nice restaurant. After lunch I headed off to the Grand Palace and Wat Prah Kaew. I'd been wanting to see the Grand Palace and temples since reading about them before I came and they didn't disappoint.

There are so many buildings and statues covered in semiprecious stones and gold leaf. The time, money, detail, effort and artistry that must have gone into each building, statue and chedi is amazing. Some of the statues have gold leaf coming off and you could see bits floating around in the wind all over the place. Whilst I was walking around I met a nice Israeli bloke called David so we walked round together, taking pictures for each and sharing our limited knowledge of what we were looking at. Unfortunately while we were chatting away we managed to wander outside of the central complex without realising it. We'd seen everything we wanted except the famous Emerald Bhudda, a 1st century BCE statue of the Bhudda covered in green Jade and clothed in gold leaf. It's the only green image of Bhudda in a temple in the world apparently. We tried to get back in but the guards wouldn't let us because they'd stopped letting people in for the day. Showing them our tickets didn't do the trick. A rare case of Thais being unhelpful and to not see the Emerald Bhudda was very annoying. Still it was our own fault.

After the Grand Palace I went to Wat Pho which has the world's largest Bhudda image, the famous reclining Bhudda.

nice Thai couple whilst walking around Wat Pho. They told me about some of the architecture and history of the place. Unfortunately they declined to have their photo taken. I think in this case they were just shy but some people here believe that photos can harm the soul in some way. This belief is more common in the northern hill tribes apparently, but many people here seem to be shy about having their picture taken, much more so than in the UK.

After finishing at Wat Pho I got a Tuk-Tuk to China town. This was the one I haggled badly. My initial offer was too low and I still ended up paying about 10 Baht over the odds. Not a problem really since that's only about 14p, and I enjoyed the process anyway. It's often a bit of an effort because the drivers don't always speak much English. Sometimes they just repeat place names and then give numbers to haggle their price. In one or two cases in areas away from the more popular tourist destinations they've spoken entirely in Thai. Fortunately I'm rapidly learning numbers in Thai, not that I've suddenly become linguistically talented but the Thai number system is very simple. Anyhoo, it was fun because this guy could speak good English so it was no effort and I had a laugh. There's not many pictures of China town but here they are.

Again one of the highlights for me was meeting someone, a really nice Thai bloke outside the temple. Next door is a hospital and his daughter was actually in labour at the time. He'd come outside to stretch his legs and saw me taking photos of the temple. He spoke very good English and told me how he'd travelled around the UK and Europe a few years ago. He was really friendly and offered me advice about travelling up to Chiang Mai. One thing I didn't like in China town though was seeing this.


I seem to be developing a theme for finishing on a boozy note. In a slight variation from the norm I've got a small selection today. First is Asahi, a Japanese beer.


As nice as the rest but still just lager so not a great deal to choose from. Next is the first, and probably last, Thai wine I've had, Chateau De Loei.


At about £8 it was the most expensive bottle of Thai wine in the wine shop. Since it was in Paragon, a pretty expensive shopping centre in the middle of Bangkok (they sell Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Aston Martins on the top floor) I figure it's probably about as good as they come. Unfortunately it wasn't very nice and I think I'll use the last of it to cook with.

Lastly is this beauty.


Pocari Sweat, as seen on www.engrish.com. Mmm, tasty.