Going from Kathmandu to Bangkok was more like changing worlds than just one timezone.
“Red shirts warn of civil war.” Normally a headline that would keep one out of ‘red shirt’ territory. But since we’re safely in Singapore now, we’ll admit that we did stay a day in Bangkok, and had a wonderful, peaceful, enjoyable day in this city of contrasts: glass and steel buildings shaped like cartoon robots standing next to glittering temple spires; wreaths of jasmine flowers dangling from the rear-view mirrors of buses and taxis; shaven-headed, orange-robed monks walking barefoot along the street beneath a bank of giant Sony screens blasting MTV Asia.
We did catch a glimpse of the ‘yellow shirts’ from the elevated train… the demonstration and tents looked exactly like Occupy Wall Street at Central Park.
Thailand was known as the Kingdom of Siam until the kingdom took its present name on June 23, 1939. Bangkok is the capital city at 8 million people. We will definitely come back to Thailand, but in December or January, not May-Sept… it was HOT and STICKY!!
Our very knowledgable and flexible guide, Kay, showed us some of the core of Bangkok.Our first glimpse after emerging from the train. Busy, but orderly.Perhaps not so orderly. This is our taxi driver using the oncoming lane of traffic….because it was less crowded.Chinatown. This market alley is a mile long!!!The orange juice from the street vendor was freshly squeezed. Yum!!Typical delivery van from the wholesale Chinese shoe market.Dried fish stomachs. Apparently, a primary ingredient to thicken many soups.Sorting ginseng.Durian fruit, a delicacy in asian countries. We ended up trying some in Singapore. Our first and last. Pewwie!Dried, flattened BABY pig. Back home, we call that seasoned road kill.Ducks, anyone.In case you like yours plain instead of seasoned.Shows how a narrow fish can become wide if you beat the hell out of it.Wonder what she does to her hair when she wears a green blouse.Shauna loves the flower market.Dedicated to the first King of Bangkok from the current dynasty – which began in 1782.Wat Phra Kaew or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (officially known as Wat Phra Sri Rattana Satsadaram) is regarded as the most important Buddhist temple in Thailand.Unlike other temples, it does not contain living quarters for monks; rather, it has only elaborately decorated holy buildings, statues, and pagodas. Some are covered with gold leaf, some with stained glass fragments, some with colorful porcelain.The tile work is meticulously maintained and sparkles magnificently.
Mark says no comments on his pants. He was required to wear these over his shorts so as not to be offensive in the temple. He wasn’t convinced that the pants weren’t the more offensive of two options.The guards have nothing on Shauna.The Grand Palace.This Emerald Buddha (actually carved from one block of jade) has clothes made from 24 carat gold.And he has three outfits. Always changed out by the King.Our taxi for a cruise on the river and through the canals.Lovely hanging flowers along some parts of the canal.And not along other parts.A lady sells us bread….….to feed to the carp.A vendor about to embark on a sales expedition.A similar boat to ours passes us doing about 30 mph.Locals enjoying the canal’s waters.Looks like a lakehouse from home!Mixed zoning in many places.…. including a wedding cake.Emerging from the canals into the wider river, modern Bangkok ahead.One of the recent condominium projects.And another one that got lost in the financial crisis of the 1980s. Was never finished, but recently has been purchased by a developer who plans to finish.Some parts reminded us of Hong Kong with the modern air-conditioned pedestrian walkways and monorails.
Our YouTube channel has some short videos from our canal and river cruise.
Awesome photos you two! But the question remains…..”Does one night in
Bangkok make a hard man humble”?…. See ya soon!
haha, we’ll never tell, B. xoxo