We have been running around Bangkok and the surrounding areas over the last two days.
Quick recap:
On Monday our guide picked us up early at the hotel and we made a 1 hour drive to Maeklong Railway Market. It was very interesting to see and our guide helped us navigate the the streets as we discovered some delicious food from street vendors along the way.
The amazing thing about this market is the train that goes thought it. It’s hard to do justice in words but basically many of the vendors are set up right beside the tracks. At just the right time, all the tents fold up and the street vendors pull everything back a few inches (literally) and then the train goes by. And then everything resets.
We spent about an hour there eating and people watching. It was a visual overload, in a good way.
Afterwards we left for a long boat ride through the canals of Damnoen Saduak. The ride ends at the floating market (many street vendors on long boats) which is a tourist trap but fun nevertheless.
We had a nice local lunch and then returned to the hotel for a few hours before dinner.
We had a delicious dinner at the Issaya Siamese Club.
We spent Tuesday in the city of Bangkok. Driving around the old parts of the city, passing through Chinatown and then we made it to Wat Pho and the Grand Palace.
Wat Pho was amazing and well worth seeing. We made it in time for the morning monk ceremony which was so cool to watch. The temple is absolutely stunning and a must see. It was interesting to compare Thai temples to the temples we saw last summer in Korea. (The latter are much simpler and less ornate. Not sure if that is due a cultural difference or if it was a result of wars over the years).
We then went over to the Grand Palace. There were people dressed in black. mourning and paying their respects to the recently deceased king everywhere at the palace. This man was loved.
Lunch time was a much needed break from the crowds and the intense heat.
After lunch we took a Tuk Tuk to another long boat right through the river and canal in the city. The Tuk Tuks are a fast way to get around the city but they are super aggressive often changing lanes suddenly and even going against traffic at times. I’m sure they are not the safest thing so worth considering.
We had an amazing dinner at Gaggan. It was a unique 22 course meal but each course was very small and typically one bite. I highly recommend this place.
This morning we are leaving Bangkok and traveling to Cambodia.
Other stuff:
+I cannot stress how nice everyone is here. And especially to our children. Kindness is everywhere.
+mobile coverage in Bangkok and surrounding area is mostly fine. I am using my Verizon iPhone with the international $10/day plan.
+I’m told the dominant messaging app here is Line. So now I have it on my iPhone. Twitter works just fine here and Foursquare is so so helpful. (Yelp doesn’t work here).
+it’s now 5:20am. I’ve been up for hours. My body is still not adjusting to the time zone changes. Thankfully lauren and the kids have adjusted just fine.