Thailand Part 3: Bangkok

After an overnight train ride from Chiang Mai, we arrived in Bangkok as the city was waking up.  This would be our final stop for this trip. 

Bangkok is made up of 50 districts, with Phra Nakhon being the central district.  This is where the Grand Palace and a number of impressive Wats (or temples) are located, and is also a great place to be based as a tourist.   There are some vibey streets to be found in this neighbourhood, such as Khao San and Soi Rambuttri, which really come alive at night with restaurants, street hawkers and places to get a massage. 

The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew is definitely the most popular tourist spot in the city.  Wat Phra Kaew is a temple complex within the Grand Palace complex, and is Thailand's most sacred Buddhist site.  Construction of the temple complex commenced in 1783, with the last of the major additions made in 1880.  It is an impressive complex, with some of the highlights including a cloister that surrounds the complex and is filled with murals (178 panels in total) that tell the story of Ramakien (a tale of good vs evil where the hero Rama is on a mission to rescue his wife, Sita, from the evil Tosakan), the Bot which houses the Emerald Buddha, statues that stand as high as the buildings, and a golden stupa.  After being awed by the temple complex, where you really can spend hours, we then carried on to see the rest of the Grand Palace Complex.  We weren't able to enter any of the buildings, but the outside was more than impressive enough. 

Travelling by Tuk Tuk.  A must in Bangkok

One of the impressive complexes (above) that we passed on the way to the Grand Palace

Exploring Wat Phra Kaew

The cloister that completely encloses Wat Phra Kaew (above)
and a close-up of one of the murals (below)

More pictures from Wat Phra Kaew (above and below)

Some of the buildings within the Grand Palace complex (above)
and the entrance to one of the buildings (below)

Another must see in Bangkok, and which is not too far from the Grand Palace, is Wat Pho.  This is the home of the 46m long reclining Buddha, and also consists of a number of interesting buildings and courtyards to explore.  Wat Pho is Bangkok's oldest (pre 1700 - exact date not known) and largest (80,000 square metres) temple complex.

The reclining Buddha (above)
and exploring Wat Pho (below)

As we still had some daylight left, we then jumped on a ferry to cross the Chao Phraya River to visit Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn).  This temple is covered in porcelain, which makes it quite striking, especially at sunrise and sunset. 

And another nearby temple (below)

Chao Phraya River

Our second day in Bangkok was spent visiting the Jim Thompson House, Lumphini Park, and Chinatown.   Jim Thompson was an American who lived in Bangkok and helped to revive the silk industry in the 1940's and 1950's. Unfortunately Jim Thompson mysteriously disappeared in 1967 whilst on holiday in Malaysia, but his name is still synonymous with quality silk products and his home is now open to the public.  

The house consists of several traditional buildings that have been brought to Bangkok from various parts of Thailand, and which have been combined to create a stunning home on stilts.  It is a beautiful house and definitely worth visiting.  

Visiting the Jim Thompson house (above and below)

A silk pulling demonstration at the Jim Thompson House

King Mongkutklao statue (Lumphini Park)

And then our trip had come to an end and it was time to head home.  We have been getting back into the work routine, but already have some exciting travel plans lined up for 2018.  More about that next time.