Our first stop was Bangkok, the capital. We arrived a couple of days before the tour so we could explore the city. We've heard how bad traffic was in the city, aggravated by the year long mourning period for the death of the king. We booked a local guide with Your Thai Guide, to take us out for the day - she took us to the places we wanted to see taking local transportation like the locals do. It was a great experience allowing us to mingle with the locals on buses, skytrain and boats; we walked the streets, took tuk tuks and taxis - whichever was the quickest way to get us to our destination.
We went from the modern streets with its skyscrapers to the old part of town with its maze of narrow side streets and back alleys where the street food reminded me of Vietnamese cities. There was also that quaint mix of old and new that manifested itself in buildings, boats and even shrines. Thai people are very religious - there are shrines and worshippers in every street corner. The king was treated almost like a god and signs of tribute were still everywhere a year after his death. The cremation was the week before our arrival and there were immense crowds and long lineups to pay tribute to his ashes.
At the end of the day our guide Nina found us a multi-storied bar where we can enjoy the sunset over the beautiful Temple of Dawn (Wat Arun) over a refreshing drink. Finding a spot to have a break was not easy as many of the places by the waterfront were already booked for dinners to celebrate Loy Krathong, the Festival of Light, which fell on that day. We had booked a dinner cruise ourselves that evening for the same reason and Nina showed us the way to our embarkation point and even arranged for an uber ride to pick us up at the end of the cruise so we won't be at the mercy of taxi drivers that typically would rip off tourists.
(Watch out for my writeup of the special Loy Krathong dinner on the Food Blog Food Sparks)
We were thankful for our guide's help which made our day in Bangkok such a memorable one. Below are some photos of the streets as we saw it on that very long day. We visited temples and museums too, but I'm starting with the streets of Bangkok...
Practical tips:
- if you are going out at night, try to arrange ahead of time for a taxi or uber to pick you up rather than just hailing one off the curb. Taxi drivers sometimes charge exorbitant fares if there is a special event going on.
- hire a local guide to take you around if you don't have very much time and a lot of places you want to see. Traffic is really bad in the city and the guides know how to get you around.
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| Floating flower baskets with candles for Loy Krathong (Festival of Lights that fell on the full moon in November) - these are ready to be purchased for the evening celebration where candles are lit and the baskets put in the water together with wishes. |
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| Some of the baskets were prepared right at the roadside stall |
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| The whole family helped out with making the baskets |
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| School children learned to make them at school - great mentoring opportunities too |
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| And even Barbie had her own ice cream cone float! |
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| Or it can be a very simple wax candle... |
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| Devout worshippers at the Erawan Shrine in downtown Bangkok |
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| Traditional dance performers at the shrine |
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| A modern shrine at the corner of a modern building |
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| But it could be right in the middle of a parking lot too... |
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| An old fashioned dock in front of glass and steel |
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| A motorized high speed boat but with traditional decor |
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| Here's an old barge with a stove probably used to transport a street hawker and his equipment |
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| A consultation session at the temple - cash donations happily accepted |
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| He's only human - cash transfers from the big bin to the one beside him |
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| Taking a break - it's a hot day! |
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| Taking a shortcut through the back alleys |
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| Some back alleys are fancier than others |
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| This is the usual lineup at a traffic light - see how many lanes of traffic there are! |
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| The king's portrait lined the main boulevard |
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| From the back of a tuk tuk |
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| A modern Sky train system |
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| One of my surprise portrait encounters - I didn't realize there are so many Muslims in Thailand |
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| Yummy street food |
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| Look at those giant lobster claws! |
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| Street food night market |
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| Our dinner cruise embarked from a glitzy mall - River City |
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| An elaborately embroidered wall carpet in one of the mall shops |
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| Beautiful orchids at the Flower Market |
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| The Loy Krathong table on the dinner cruise |
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| The Rama VIII bridge lit up at night |
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| The beautiful sunset over the Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) |
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