ASIAN CITY OF ANGELS
Is it possible to discover all of Bangkok in just one day? No way! But we tried it anyway. The original name of the city in Thai takes up three lines of text, and translates roughly into: The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarma. No wonder the Thai people refer to it mostly by Krung Thep. But for the sake of being able to pronounce the name, let´s agree to stick to calling Bangkok, OK?
What can you manage to see in one day? You can visit the most important touristic sights, see a few of the most beautiful temples, get familiar with Thai cuisine and get a glimpse of true Thai lifestyle and culture if you wander into less touristic areas and streets. Come with me, I´ll show you!
We landed on the international airport Suvurnabhumi and were greeted by famous Thai hospitality. There is a reason Thailand is nicknamed country of smiles. Getting around the airport is fairly easy, but if you need help navigating the space, the staff will happily assist you. At the airport, we bought a Thai SIM card with internet valid for 7 days, which turned out to be a lifesaver. But after it ran out, we didn´t even bother to buy a new one – we were used to Thailand already. Afterwards we just shoved our winter jackets into our backpacks and headed to our accommodation in our t-shirts. This is the kind of November I could get used to!
The bus stop was just few
meters away from our hotel. The driver even told us when to get off the bus. We
booked the hotel prior to our arrival on booking.com, same as all the hotels on
our way. I am a planner, so I need to know ahead of time where I will be
sleeping that night. We chose a hotel near to Khao San Road, known as the
center of backpackers in Thailand, but infamous for the mischief and
shenanigans going on there. Khao San Road itself was everything people warned
me it would be – loud, overcrowded, annoying and expensive. All the bars are
trying to be the loudest one, resulting in such noise one can not hear their
own thoughts. But all you have to do is take a turn and go into a side street
or the parallel roads, and the world gets quieter, nicer and more pleasant. For
dinner, we found this incredible street food stall with plastic plates and mis-matched
plastic furniture. We had our first Thai noodle soup, tried (and failed) to use
the chopsticks properly, and we were so immensely happy to be there.
Overcrowded Khao San Road (left) and our first Thai soup (right).
The next morning, we were welcomed
by hotel breakfast (which we did not know was included). I never would have
thought that dry rice and scrambled eggs could make such a tasty breakfast. We
were looking forward to a day full of sightseeing.
Our steps took us to our first
destination. The temple Wat Saket is also known as Golden Mount, which is a name of the man-made hill this temple stands on. Before the skyscrapers changed the skyline
of the city, Golden Mount used to be the highest point in Bangkok, even though
it only has 80 meters. The way to the top is a nice paved walk with a lot of
green, so the small hike is perfectly doable in the heat. It is also full of
little bells and carillons, statues and gongs. All these things have their
special meaning in Buddhism, but we were happy to just listen to the sounds and
feel the atmosphere. On top of the hill, there is a giant golden stupa and a
lovely view of the city, where you can admire how the old and traditional meets
the new and shiny, but also see the ugly and poor. Bangkok has it all – from temples
to skyscrapers, from cute little houses to self-made shelters.
The way up to Golden Mount and the view from the top.
We continued to the Grand
Palace, but on our way we stopped at Wat Suthat. In front of the temple there
was a “hellomyfriend” who claimed the temple is closed on Mondays. He was
lying. After we paid the entrance fee, we were able to see the entire temple
and the small garden around it. This place is often overlooked by tourists,
which is a shame because it is very beautiful, but at the same time good for
us because we had the temple to ourselves. The inside of the temple is covered
in paintings and there is, of course, a gigantic golden statue of Buddha – but
after a while in Thailand, you just sort of stop noticing them.
The atmosphere of Wat Suthat
is meditative. Just us and this golden fella.
The Grand Palace is rightfully the highlight of the city. The huge complex of buildings and
temples is packed with people, but all the beauty around makes up for it. The
first part you get to is the most decorative. If only there were fewer
tourists, so you could actually breath. That would be marvelous… You can find
the statue of Emerald Buddha in the temple Wat Phra Kaeo. Though small in size,
this statue is really important to the Thai people as it is both a historical
and a spiritual symbol. Enough said, just check out the pictures from this place.
Tha Grand Palace
is gorgeous, and everybody knows it, so it is super crowded. Despite this, you
should NOT miss it when you visit Bangkok.
After two or three hours in
the palace we enjoyed our first Pad Thai (and oh my, how I fell in love) and
headed towards Wat Pho temple, where the lying Buddha statue is located. It is
one of the longest in Thailand – 46 meters in length, 15 meters in height and
his feet are 5 meters each. Everybody is trying to fit him into one picture – a
task that seems nearly impossible. Personally, even though the statue of Buddha
astonished me, I found the rest of the temple much more tempting. We visited near
the closing hour, so there were only few people there with us. There are plenty
of colorful stupas, each of them covered in playful mosaic giving the temple
its original look. You will have no trouble finding a place where you can eat
your snack, meditate or think about the meaning of life (or just rest your feet
for a while). If you fancy a Thai massage, there is a famous massage school in
Wat Pho which is highly recommended. Unfortunately, we were on tight schedule
and had to skip it.
Too big for one picture.
Stupas, colorful stupas
everywhere…
A boat took us on the other bank of Chao Praya river to the next temple
called Wat Arun, usually translated as the temple of the rising sun. On the
outside of the central stupa you can climb steep stairs to a great view and see
Bangkok once again from the top. I was looking forward to it, but we arrived a
few minutes after 6 p.m. and the temple was already closed. It also got dark
pretty soon, so at least we were able to admire how beautifully it lit up after
sunset.
Couldn´t make it to the top.
Maybe next time.
We ended the day in Patpong,
and infamous quarter full of fake designer clothes and handbags, prostitutes
and strip clubs. Experienced travelers usually avoid this place, as it is one
big scam and generally unpleasant. But I have never seen a red light district
before and was just curious. There are literally dozens of young women just
standing in front of each establishment, waving at drunk and old white dudes
wandering the streets, selling themselves to those seeking cheap sexual
services. In the next street, the situation is very similar, only this time its
dozens of young men in shorts and tight tank tops. Also, when you peek inside
through the doors of strip clubs, which remain open in some places, you get to see even more
women in their underwear working the pole or just luring the customers in. That
was enough, thank you. But I guess I had to see it with my own eyes to really
understand that these places are real.
The day wouldn´t be complete
without a delicious dinner (another noodle dish, another street food stall, and
again it was delish) and after it we were too tired to bother getting to our
hotel by public transport, so we just took a taxi, which we normally never do.
The driver refused to turn on the taximeter, saying he can give us better price
without it. He was obviously lying and trying to earn more money by scamming
us, but honestly, we were too tired to even care. The fixed price he offered us
was still less then what we would pay in any European country.
The advice you never asked
for:
- You CAN manage to make a super quick tour in Bangkok in just one day, but there is so much more to see. A lot of things had to be crossed from the itinerary and moved into the “next time I´m in Bangkok” file. One thing I really want to see the next time is the floating market.
- Even though Thai people are generally super
friendly and helpful, Bangkok is full of scammers and “hellomyfriends” –
just like any other big city. If you read up on the possible scams before
you go, you will minimize the possibility of falling for one and ruining
your experience. I recommend the website travelscams.org.
- In some guides I have read that it is
better to exchange your money at the airport, because the exchange rates
in the city are worse. This is not true. We exchanged quite a lot of money
at the airport, but all the rates in the city were much better. Also there
are many of ATMs, but we never used them.
- Eat everything you see.
And don´t be afraid of the ice in drinks. The tap water is not drinkable,
but the ice cubes they use to make cold drinks and smoothies are generaly OK. We
drank a LOT of cold drinks throughout the holiday and had no digestive
troubles whatsoever.
- Don´t forget to dress
properly. Bangkok is hot, so you will be tempted to go in shorts and crop
tops, but you need to have your knees and shoulders covered to enter any
temple (both men and women have to follow this rule) and you have to be
barefoot. So make sure your shoes are easy to take off and put back on.
Last piece of advice – if you go in sandals, bring a pair of old socks
with you and put them on before you enter the temple, so you keep your
feet clean.
The cost of things (autumn
2019)
- Goulden mount: 50 THB (1,4
EUR / 1,6 USD)
- Wat Suthat: 100 THB (2,8
EUR / 3,2 USD)
- Grand Palace: 500 THB (14,4
EUR / 16,1 USD)
- Wat Pho: 200 THB (5,7 EUR
/ 6,4 USD)
- Touristic boat: 60 THB (1,7
EUR / 1,9 USD)
- Taxi: 180 THB (5,2 EUR /
5,9 USD)
- Three nights in a double
room with AC and private bathroom, breakfast included - 2 000 THB (57 EUR
/ 64 USD)
Where to next
Our accomodation - Paragon One Residence
Previous part: How our trip started (and almost ended) in Beijing
Next part: Ayutthaya - cotton candy in crepes and a lot of old temples
Two weeks in Thailand – check out our itinerary
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