Bangkok

With a population narrowly exceeding London’s, Bangkok is an absolutely enormous city and travel hub, which naturally served as our gateway to Thailand.

Khaosan Road

It was late afternoon by the time we arrived, so we headed straight for dinner once we’d dropped our bags at the hotel. In our hunt for food we unwittingly wandered on to Khaosan Road, the most touristy street we have ever seen. Full of bars, market stalls, restaurants, street food (including crocodile kebabs, scorpion lollipops and various insects), massages, suit salesmen and people from all walks of life… This street certainly was a sight to behold. With temperatures still exceeding 30 degrees at 9pm, this was also the hottest place so far. Perhaps we are showing our age as Khaosan Road looked ideal for a night out; but the heat, noise and slightly seedy vibe as we ate dinner didn’t create a great first impression for two weary travellers. So after eating, we decided to turn in.

Our main aim the next morning was to see the Grand Palace, but we kept stumbling upon other temples on our way which we couldn’t ignore – including Wat Suthatthepwararam. Compared to the pagodas of Myanmar, Bangkok’s temples were totally immaculate. Every gem and tile polished to a shine, we were surprised to be allowed to keep our shoes on to visit this temple.

The Grand Palace

By early afternoon we managed to reach The Grand Palace, which was even bigger than we’d been expecting and, in parts, strikingly similar to our last temple.

The grounds house 35 different buildings / monuments, including the famous Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Little wonder it’s such a popular attraction in Bangkok.

Lumphini Park

Later in the day we ventured East to see Lumphini Park, a pleasant green space in an otherwise crowded city. Quiet and relaxing, it was there that we fully understood for the first time the appeal of walking slowly, as we tried to cope with the exhausting 35 degree heat. That said, there were a surprising number of people out running in the park. Those people, we suspected, were destined for Olympic glory.

Jim Thompson’s House

Not far away was Jim Thompson’s house, a homage to Thai Architecture. Not knowing the full history, we decided against going inside as it struck us as strange that an American’s museum should be such a celebrated attraction in Thailand. We have since done our research and it seems he was a very well respected man who helped many of Thailand’s poorest out of poverty. In particular, by allowing local women to produce silk from home, they could earn a living while performing household duties (which seems pretty revolutionary for the 1960s). We did take a look at the grounds of the house though, which is built using an authentic Thai style of architecture making it really stand out against the more modern buildings today.

The house is located on the banks of a canal, so a short boat ride took us back to our accommodation for the night.

Floating Market

On our final full day we decided to go a little further from the centre to see Damnoen Saduak canal, which hosts a daily floating market.

In recent years it has become a major tourist attraction, but this didn’t detract from the novelty of the vendors trading between boats. Thankfully we arrived early enough to avoid the majority of the crowds.

Train Market

Close by was Talad Rom Hoob, where another interesting market takes place: this one located on a live train track! We arrived around 11am to business as usual, but were warned that one of the 8 daily trains was due to pass shortly. Curious to see how the locals would vacate the railway, we took up residence at a coffee shop next to the line and sat waiting.

What happened next was genuinely awesome. Like a giant Mexican wave, every single vendor began to move their produce back away from the line almost in sync. A surprising amount of stock was left out; clearly the vendors knew the size of the train to the millimetre. Then finally, as the train slowly came into view, the canopies covering the line were rolled back one by one to make way.

The vendors were clearly conscious of customer safety as they pointed out the red line which we were to stay behind as the train passed. Of course we adhered to this warning, but even still the train was barely an inch away as it rolled passed. This would not have been a good time to stretch our legs… But it was just another day for the locals and as the train slowly left each vendors’ stall, they were immediately setting back up again and pulling over the canopies for shade, leaving only the very centre of the track as a walkway for customers. No such thing as trespassing here!

The whole event of a train passing was truly remarkable to witness. We couldn’t help but wonder how that market first came into existence. Clearly it worked now, but the first time a vendor decided to setup shop on the line the railway staff must have been a bit miffed. Unless the market was there first. Who knows… (We did Google it, but couldn’t find the answer. If anyone reading this is better eduacted than us, please share!)

Thai Food

Back in the city centre, having done some research we ventured out to a well rated local restaurant called The Family for lunch. And the food did not disappoint. Both of us took a massaman curry, which turned out to be the best food we’d had in Bangkok. Better still, the restaurant was totally family run and we overheard the waiter (son-in-law of the chef) explaining how overwhelmed they were by so many positive reviews for the relatively new restaurant. The atmosphere was warm and there was even a small family of cats and kittens to provide entertainment. Plus, the bill came to around £6. We couldn’t have asked for more. 

Wat Arun

Our final sight of the day was Wat Arun, which we waited until evening to see at dusk.

After a brief walk around the grounds, we crossed the Chaophraya River and retired to a rooftop bar as the sun disappeared over the horizon. Not cheap, but well worth it for the drink with a view.

Tired of haggling with taxi and tuk tuk drivers, we got around using mostly public transport in Bangkok. Generally the system is very good with local trains, buses, boats and metro all being frequent and reasonably priced. However, on the way back from the bar our final bus did unfortunately suffer a breakdown. But it wasn’t long before the next bus came by and we were able to change.

Contrary to first impressions, Bangkok had won us over. We still aren’t by any means city folk, but aside from the noise and the crowds (which come with any city) there really isn’t much to criticise about Bangkok. There is certainly no shortage of things to do, along with an endless list of places to eat in this vast metropolis. It would be a shame to miss on a trip to Thailand.