Bangkok
_We landed in Bangkok 30 minutes ahead of schedule. My God,
is Bangkok International airport ever HUGE! It’s a very modern, spacious
building with lots going on. We’ll spend more time exploring it when we leave
to come back. For the moment, we just want to get to our hotel!
We took the sky train, which cost 160 Baht for the whole family (= just over $5.00 CAD). The Sky Rail, which was built in 2010, is a great alternative to taxis and traffic. It took less than 20 mins to get to our stop, followed by a 10-minute walk to our hotel, Citin Pratunam, which is costing us 1000 Baht (= approx $35 CADper night). Our room is small with one king size bed, but the décor is modern, very clean (although the hall smelled like cigarette smoke) and it’s air-conditioned. Did I mention it’s 29°C at 10:00pm?
Once we dumped our bags in our room, ventured out to find a quick bite to eat. We ended up at the Skyview hotel. The girls ordered hamburgers and fries (HA!) and then we found our way back to our room and collapsed into bed. Now that we’ve had a good night’s sleep, we look forward to the surprises waiting for us today.
We took the sky train, which cost 160 Baht for the whole family (= just over $5.00 CAD). The Sky Rail, which was built in 2010, is a great alternative to taxis and traffic. It took less than 20 mins to get to our stop, followed by a 10-minute walk to our hotel, Citin Pratunam, which is costing us 1000 Baht (= approx $35 CADper night). Our room is small with one king size bed, but the décor is modern, very clean (although the hall smelled like cigarette smoke) and it’s air-conditioned. Did I mention it’s 29°C at 10:00pm?
Once we dumped our bags in our room, ventured out to find a quick bite to eat. We ended up at the Skyview hotel. The girls ordered hamburgers and fries (HA!) and then we found our way back to our room and collapsed into bed. Now that we’ve had a good night’s sleep, we look forward to the surprises waiting for us today.
December 7, 2011 How many tuk-tuks can a woodchuck... nevermind.
After a quick breakfast we had to make a pit stop at the Bangkok train station to cancel our tickets to Chiang Mai*, so we took the sky rail and subway (MRT) to get there. Without any major hassles, we received a full refund and were off to the Grand Palace next. With some hesitation, we took a tuk-tuk to the Grand Palace and enjoyed every moment of our thrill ride. Although there were lanes painted on the road, the tuk-tuks and motorbikes didn't seem to have to abide by them– no matter how tight, if there was space for either one to pass or weave in and out of traffic, they would and this is why tuk-tuks are much more efficient in traffic than taxis or buses. They also cost less than taxis... bonus!
We arrived safely to the Grand Palace and noticed there was a big festival happening in the area for the King's birthday, which was yesterday. So... when we approached the Grand Palace and were told by a man that we couldn't go inside because of the special ceremony happening for the king, it made sense, despite all of the people going in and out of the palace gate. The man pulled out a map and was kind enough to show us some local wats we could visit until 4:00 pm when the ceremony would be over and we could gain entrance to the palace. He even went so far as to call us over a tuk-tuk and tell the driver where to take us. Away we went...
Now, those of you who have ever been to Thailand will know where this story is going next: we drove to some monk residence where none of the buildings were open for viewing. It was a complete waste of time. We went back to our tuk-tuk driver who was waiting for us and drove off to the next point of interest. Enroute, the driver told us we had to stop at "fashion store" along the way where we would have to go in and get a "coupon" for him and then we could continue on to our next destination. As soon as he said that, Kevin and I looked at each other and knew we had just become victims of the scam everyone back home had told us about and we thought were so prepared to avoid. We told the driver we didn't want to go there and he kept telling us "You no buy anything! Just get coupon!" and before we knew it, we were stopped in front of some textile/tailor shop. We refused to go inside at first, but finally caved. We went in, circled around for 20 seconds and left without buying anything. We thought for sure our driver had abandoned us, but thankfully he was still there. We got back in and told him to take us back to the Grand Palace and forget about the rest of the wats he was going to take us to. The mood was definitely tense all the way back, but we finally returned to where we wanted to go in the first place. All things considered, we only lost 45 minutes of our lives that we'll never get back, but it still took us a while to shake that whole experience off. It was a combination of playing out the "what ifs", having general anger about being duped and of course, finding out the Grand Palace closes at 4:00 pm, the exact opposite of what were told by Mr. I-scam-people. But once we were in inside the gates of the Grand Palace we had enough to distract us from our not-so-fun experience. The temple of the Emerald Buddha was unbelievable and the amount of work and detail that went into the decor and continue to go into the upkeep of the Grand Palace is insane! Yes, our disappointment quickly turned into awe.
After our visit to the Grand Palace, we went over to the festival we saw earlier to take in the celebratory the song and dance for King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 84th birthday. It really was quite beautiful watching the traditional Thai performers in their beautiful clothing move so elegantly. After about 20 minutes, Aislinn fell asleep out of pure exhaustion and we decided to give the tuk-tuk one last try. Thankfully, our driver took us exactly where we needed to go, just like the first driver we met at the train station causing us to still love the tuk-tuk.
*While the flooding was happening last month, we decided to err on the side of caution and fly to Chiang Mai instead of taking the scenic, over-night train ride we had planned for. The upside, it will only take 1hr 15 mins to get to Chiang Mai instead of 15 hrs it would've taken to get there by train. The downside, we miss out on an organic Thai experience and seeing their beautiful country side.
We arrived safely to the Grand Palace and noticed there was a big festival happening in the area for the King's birthday, which was yesterday. So... when we approached the Grand Palace and were told by a man that we couldn't go inside because of the special ceremony happening for the king, it made sense, despite all of the people going in and out of the palace gate. The man pulled out a map and was kind enough to show us some local wats we could visit until 4:00 pm when the ceremony would be over and we could gain entrance to the palace. He even went so far as to call us over a tuk-tuk and tell the driver where to take us. Away we went...
Now, those of you who have ever been to Thailand will know where this story is going next: we drove to some monk residence where none of the buildings were open for viewing. It was a complete waste of time. We went back to our tuk-tuk driver who was waiting for us and drove off to the next point of interest. Enroute, the driver told us we had to stop at "fashion store" along the way where we would have to go in and get a "coupon" for him and then we could continue on to our next destination. As soon as he said that, Kevin and I looked at each other and knew we had just become victims of the scam everyone back home had told us about and we thought were so prepared to avoid. We told the driver we didn't want to go there and he kept telling us "You no buy anything! Just get coupon!" and before we knew it, we were stopped in front of some textile/tailor shop. We refused to go inside at first, but finally caved. We went in, circled around for 20 seconds and left without buying anything. We thought for sure our driver had abandoned us, but thankfully he was still there. We got back in and told him to take us back to the Grand Palace and forget about the rest of the wats he was going to take us to. The mood was definitely tense all the way back, but we finally returned to where we wanted to go in the first place. All things considered, we only lost 45 minutes of our lives that we'll never get back, but it still took us a while to shake that whole experience off. It was a combination of playing out the "what ifs", having general anger about being duped and of course, finding out the Grand Palace closes at 4:00 pm, the exact opposite of what were told by Mr. I-scam-people. But once we were in inside the gates of the Grand Palace we had enough to distract us from our not-so-fun experience. The temple of the Emerald Buddha was unbelievable and the amount of work and detail that went into the decor and continue to go into the upkeep of the Grand Palace is insane! Yes, our disappointment quickly turned into awe.
After our visit to the Grand Palace, we went over to the festival we saw earlier to take in the celebratory the song and dance for King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 84th birthday. It really was quite beautiful watching the traditional Thai performers in their beautiful clothing move so elegantly. After about 20 minutes, Aislinn fell asleep out of pure exhaustion and we decided to give the tuk-tuk one last try. Thankfully, our driver took us exactly where we needed to go, just like the first driver we met at the train station causing us to still love the tuk-tuk.
*While the flooding was happening last month, we decided to err on the side of caution and fly to Chiang Mai instead of taking the scenic, over-night train ride we had planned for. The upside, it will only take 1hr 15 mins to get to Chiang Mai instead of 15 hrs it would've taken to get there by train. The downside, we miss out on an organic Thai experience and seeing their beautiful country side.
December 8 Big Buddha and the Little Tinkle
Today Aislinn woke up at 5:30 am and was ready to have another go at Bangkok. The rest of us, not so much. We somehow managed to convince her to stay in bed for a couple more hours and then we hit the road. The girls insisted on eating breakfast at the Baiyoke Sky Hotel (tallest hotel in Thailand) yet again. This would be our third meal there in two days! On our walk there, we saw an interesting fruit called a "durian". It was bright yellow-orange, with a firm, rubbery texture. It wasn't all that juicy and it tasted like a combination of mango, banana, orange and pineapple. It was quite good. Kev also had one of the street vendors make him a fresh omelette, served on rice with a side of hot sauce and according to him, it was phenomenal. As most of you already know, I'm not a big fan of eggs so I didn't ask for a sample, but I do have to admit it looked so damn yummy that I secretly wished I did eat eggs.
After our final meal at the Sky Hotel, (thank GOD!) we hopped in a tuk-tuk –after setting expectations, of course– and made our way to Wat Pho to see the statue of the Reclining Buddha. Now, Kevin and I have seen pictures of this statue before and it looked beautiful to us then, but when we walked through the door and saw it with our own eyes we were speechless. It was simply majestic and so perfect. This particular version of Buddha represents the moment when he laid down and entered nirvana through his death. It was created 178 years ago, is 48 metres long, 15 metres high and took 1000 people six years to apply the gold leaf by hand. As we were viewing this magnificent statue we could hear what sounded like some sort of drumming on metal and cymbals quietly chiming in the background. When we went around to the backside, we saw the music was coming from the wall that was lined with metal bowls for people to drop coins into for donations. There was something so ritualistic about it all that made it even more magical. I didn't want to leave – it was such a beautiful space to be in.
We ended up spending most of our morning and part of the afternoon at Wat Pho. When compared to yesterday's visit to the Grand Palace, if there had to be a choice between the two we would definitely recommend Wat Pho. Every corner we turned there was something amazing to feast our eyes upon– as you will see in our pictures. To top it off, we ended our visit with our whole family receiving a 30-minute Thai massage for 280 Baht each (= $10 CAD per person) It... was... HEAVEN! That was the best Baht we've spent so far.
Next, it was time to look for lunch. We walked the street looking for our next meal and found ourselves at a closed-in market by the pier. There was so much character to this little market that I felt like we were stepping back in time. We walked to the very end of where the vendors were and found the perfect little restaurant right on the water. Yet again, it was ridiculously inexpensive to eat: 400 Baht for our whole family (= approx. $14 CAD) and that included 2 beer! The food was tasty and plentiful. This spot also gave us our funny story of the day (at my expense).
So, I had to go to the bathroom. The first task was to ask where it was. I called our server over to ask, but I wasn't making any sense to her, so out came our Thai dictionary. "Soo-am" I say to her, but my pronunciation was off. She called her mother over, this time I say "toilet" and she pointed to a little door at the back of the restaurant. I can hear someone in there, so I wait. The door opens and a guy walks out. I go in and it's a squat toilet. Not a problem, this is the second one I've experienced. But there are a couple of issues. The floor has about half and inch of water on it (we're floating over water, remember?) There's no hook for my purse and there's no sink. No big deal, so I slung my purse across my shoulder. Now comes the next issue. I was wearing Thai fisherman pants which means the minute I untie them, they will fall to the ground and into the water on the floor. No problem, I grabbed them and bunched them into one hand and negotiated myself into a squatting position. No toilet paper... just a bucket with water and and a bowl to scoop it with, but I'm prepared. I have my package of facial tissue and Ziploc bag to dispose it in inside my purse, but one hand is occupied with my oversized pants. I make my best attempt and my purse keeps swinging around when I go to retrieve the tissues, but I don't give up and my perseverance pays off in what seems to be like an eternity. I use my teeth to open the tissues, take one out and place the rest back into my purse, grab the Ziploc bag... as you can see this was no easy task. I was in the bathroom for a good 10 minutes doing something that should've only taken me 1 minute, but nevertheless I got the job done, my pants tied back up and the squat toilet flushed out with a scoop of water. I'd say I was successful, perhaps not efficient, but definitely successful.
We ended our day with a canal tour on a long boat which was very relaxing and a great way to see parts of Bangkok we otherwise wouldn't have access to. It's been fun spending the last two days in Bangkok, but we're ready to leave. Less chaos, less people and more natural beauty is what we are craving and know we'll receive when we arrive in Chiang Mai tomorrow.
After our final meal at the Sky Hotel, (thank GOD!) we hopped in a tuk-tuk –after setting expectations, of course– and made our way to Wat Pho to see the statue of the Reclining Buddha. Now, Kevin and I have seen pictures of this statue before and it looked beautiful to us then, but when we walked through the door and saw it with our own eyes we were speechless. It was simply majestic and so perfect. This particular version of Buddha represents the moment when he laid down and entered nirvana through his death. It was created 178 years ago, is 48 metres long, 15 metres high and took 1000 people six years to apply the gold leaf by hand. As we were viewing this magnificent statue we could hear what sounded like some sort of drumming on metal and cymbals quietly chiming in the background. When we went around to the backside, we saw the music was coming from the wall that was lined with metal bowls for people to drop coins into for donations. There was something so ritualistic about it all that made it even more magical. I didn't want to leave – it was such a beautiful space to be in.
We ended up spending most of our morning and part of the afternoon at Wat Pho. When compared to yesterday's visit to the Grand Palace, if there had to be a choice between the two we would definitely recommend Wat Pho. Every corner we turned there was something amazing to feast our eyes upon– as you will see in our pictures. To top it off, we ended our visit with our whole family receiving a 30-minute Thai massage for 280 Baht each (= $10 CAD per person) It... was... HEAVEN! That was the best Baht we've spent so far.
Next, it was time to look for lunch. We walked the street looking for our next meal and found ourselves at a closed-in market by the pier. There was so much character to this little market that I felt like we were stepping back in time. We walked to the very end of where the vendors were and found the perfect little restaurant right on the water. Yet again, it was ridiculously inexpensive to eat: 400 Baht for our whole family (= approx. $14 CAD) and that included 2 beer! The food was tasty and plentiful. This spot also gave us our funny story of the day (at my expense).
So, I had to go to the bathroom. The first task was to ask where it was. I called our server over to ask, but I wasn't making any sense to her, so out came our Thai dictionary. "Soo-am" I say to her, but my pronunciation was off. She called her mother over, this time I say "toilet" and she pointed to a little door at the back of the restaurant. I can hear someone in there, so I wait. The door opens and a guy walks out. I go in and it's a squat toilet. Not a problem, this is the second one I've experienced. But there are a couple of issues. The floor has about half and inch of water on it (we're floating over water, remember?) There's no hook for my purse and there's no sink. No big deal, so I slung my purse across my shoulder. Now comes the next issue. I was wearing Thai fisherman pants which means the minute I untie them, they will fall to the ground and into the water on the floor. No problem, I grabbed them and bunched them into one hand and negotiated myself into a squatting position. No toilet paper... just a bucket with water and and a bowl to scoop it with, but I'm prepared. I have my package of facial tissue and Ziploc bag to dispose it in inside my purse, but one hand is occupied with my oversized pants. I make my best attempt and my purse keeps swinging around when I go to retrieve the tissues, but I don't give up and my perseverance pays off in what seems to be like an eternity. I use my teeth to open the tissues, take one out and place the rest back into my purse, grab the Ziploc bag... as you can see this was no easy task. I was in the bathroom for a good 10 minutes doing something that should've only taken me 1 minute, but nevertheless I got the job done, my pants tied back up and the squat toilet flushed out with a scoop of water. I'd say I was successful, perhaps not efficient, but definitely successful.
We ended our day with a canal tour on a long boat which was very relaxing and a great way to see parts of Bangkok we otherwise wouldn't have access to. It's been fun spending the last two days in Bangkok, but we're ready to leave. Less chaos, less people and more natural beauty is what we are craving and know we'll receive when we arrive in Chiang Mai tomorrow.