Christmas 2009, Brussels, Belgium, with the chilly wind and rain, the christmastree at the Grand Palace was shining. A lot of people were swarming here joyful.

Here is a photo I got in the evening. Which is taller, the gothic tower of  Town Hall or the christmastree?

Welcome to Bangkok, the capital of Thailand & the filming site for the James Bond movie!

ps: no joke. the thais are really proud of that fact. the tour guide introduced the Long tailed boat as “the James bond boat”, the Tuk Tuk as “the James Bond car” & Phi Phi island is not called Phi Phi island but rather “James Bond island”. ahahhaahhaa!! hillarious!

Day 01: SIN – BKK. 1115hrs – 1230hrs + French Dinner @TDF

@2pm: From the airport to our journey to the hotel, The Fusion Suites @ Sukumvit Soi 21 in our yellow metered fare taxi. the approximately 40minutes of journey amounted to a grand total of $355 + $50 (surcharge) + $70 (highway toll).

Who said cabbing arnd BKK is cheap? its not wen ur caught in a traffic jam with a driver who didn’t know his way around & kept driving u in circles!

@3pm: our room @The Fusion Suites, Sukumvit Soi 21. we stayed in a suite that came with a attached balcony, balcony sofa couple seats & jacuzzi!

The only pity was that the balcony wasn’t completely enclosed & mosquitoes flew in through the balcony windows into our room! n of course, who would mind hotter water for the jacuzzi & shower?

@4pm: After settling into our hotel room, we left to explore the area & to hunt for the restaurant which we would be dining at for that night. took some pix while waiting for our train at Sukumvit BTS station, 5 minutes walk away from our hotel for these 4 nights.

@5.30pm, French dinner @To Die For: We took MRT to Thong Lor, only to end up walking for 45minutes down the never ending road, asking one after another passerby for direction in our broken thai & second guessing their broken english.. sheesh. thank goodness the French cuisine was well worth all that trouble.

@TDF: We had fixed mushrooms & crab cakes for appetizers, followed by his Foie Gras & my lamb steak & how can we miss out on desserts? Caramel Banana with a scoop of vanilla ice cream & my crispy apple crumble with freshly baked cookies to the rescue! yummy!

The best thing was, we only paid 100+ for all those superb French food, food that would normally costs us a bomb in sg (like burn a 300+ big hole in our pockets), & had the whole indoor area of the restaurant to ourselves for the whole night, coz it was a wk day night & the after work chill out crowd was few & late. ROCKS!

Day 02: Long Tail Boat Canal Tour + Shopping @Platinum Wholesale Center + Siam Niramit

@8.30am: Long Tail Boat Tour that costs us a total of 500 THB & 200 THB of tips for the tour guide & driver. the part i totally detested was when they brought us to these 2 jewellery factories that sold really ugly, mature & pricey jewellery. I'm contented with my Citigems so leave me alone u buggers !

@9.30am: canal tour.. we spotted a huge Komodo Dragon when it peeped out from his home (a crevice in the wall really) during low tide!

@10.30am: Stopped for an hour at a Snake Farm along the canal, where u hafta pay 150 THB /pax to watch the snake show & give some tips to take pictures with the snakes & to show your appreciation for the snake charmers.

His never see such things before, so needless to say, he was really fascinated with the snake charmers’ performance & even wanted to sit right in front at the first row while I was quite contented with my 3rd row seat! *my dad wanted to do the same tt time when we watched the snake show! while my mum hid all the way in the last & furthest row. lol. talk about deja vu!*

@6pm: shopping in city ctr, Platinum Wholesale Centre in the afternoon after the canal tour in the morning. & guess what? I found DOREAMON in bkk! n its plastered all over the front of Central World Shopping Center! its apparently an advert for Toshiba! Awesome taste Toshiba!

@7pm: Traditional Cultural Village & Siam Niramit.

We toured around the Traditional Cultural Village before Siam Niramit started & he was so fascinated with the elephants coz that was his first encounter with it. haha. his excitement reminds me of a little boy with his new toy as he gushed over the elephants, its enormous D***, the way they pooed & urined buckets suddenly & randomly & how much it stinks, while I nagged him not to go too close in case the elephant blows us away with its deadly farts. lol. After that, we caught the highly raved cultural performance at Thailand Cultural Centre, where we journeyed back in history to the ancient kingdom of Lanna & Ayutthaya, the Mighty Capital. And then we went on a journey beyond imagination & visited The Three Worlds: Hell, Himapaan Forest and Heaven & concluded with a Journey Through Joyous Festivals. too bad we din visit grand palace prior to watching the performance, else he wld definitely b able to unds the plot better. & thanks to google, I managed to grasp most of the content of the performance, though it felt rather disjointed to me. Their stage set was sure awesome though! even had this part of the stage that was converted into a real flowing river with real life size sampans rowing across it! COOLNESS!

Day 3: Grand Palace + Siam Square + Suan Lam Night Bazzar

@12.30pm: Visited the Grand Palace via Chao Phraya Tourist Express Cruise.

We missed the last Chao Phraya Cruise back to Central Pier & had to detour back to another public pier to catch a public boat back to Central Pier where we could then transfer to MRT at Sathorn MRT station. Their MRT station totally resembles that of Singapore. even the signs, the broadcasted messages. hahaha. the only difference was that they acutally queued to board the MRT, whereas people in sg simply swarmed to board. LOL. no wonder everyone was staring hard at us initially when we just stood at the side. they must be really annoyed that we 2 youngsters r cutting their queue!!

@1.30pm: Grand Palace Temple Grounds. It was originally reserved for the royalty family till the King & his family shifted to the new Palace grounds.

Unfortunately, our visit clashed with 2 public holidays, one of which was a PH to celebrate the King’s 82nd bday. so some of the sites included in the Grand Palace tix was closed. Pity. Nevertheless, the whole place was so big, & with the scorching sun overhead, we were super shag after by the time we completed the temple & Palace tour.

@2.30pm: Grand Palace Tours with one hour to the time for returning the audio guide device..

Even though we were too shag by then to care much about touring the place, the beauty of the place did not slipped by us unnoticed. its a pity we can’t enter alot of the enclosed areas due to PH closure. my 350 THB!

@6pm, dinner at Sukishi - Siam Sq: Cheap & rather gd japanese food. though the ones we had at Platinum is slightly better. oh well.

@7.30pm, Suan Lam Night Bazzar: visited the night bazzar at Lumpini Park after our dinner at Sukishi at Siam Sq.

Things sold here were rather expensive & shopping there wasn’t as satifying as shopping at Platinum even though some of the things r rather unique, but its just too pricey. so to vent some of my frustrations & to fulfill his hopes of pranking his mum with a fake tattoo, we spotted a henna stall by the rd side, & immediately went to task choosing our designs for henna. more pictures of my pretty henna coming up in the next post. its in his cam & his now miles away in tw.

Raddest Photo Trip Ever Day 5: Bangkok

Bangkok was super awesome. Erika finally arrived and we met her to head out to the Grand Palace and Wat Pho where the reclining Buddha lived. amazing. So here’s this Grand Palace.

The Grand Palace was really quite breathtaking, but quite overwhelming. It was burning hot that day, and out of respect we were wearing long pants and covering our shoulders. The heat was really was really well proportioned.

BANGKOK, Dec 5 (TNA) — Thailand’s ailing, revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Saturday called on his 63 million subjects to unite and called for everyone to work to their utmost ability so that the country could advance further and enjoy peace.

In his terse response to members of the royal family, senior government officials and members of parliament who gathered at Bangkok’s Grand Palace to wish him happiness on his 82nd birthday celebrations, His Majesty the King said his happiness could be achieved “if the country prospers, is stable and is at peace.”

The king said this could be realised if every sector in the country is determined to perform its duty with utmost wisdom, understanding and sincerity by upholding the people’s interests rather than themselves.

“I ask all of you present here and holding important positions in key institutions of our country, as well as all Thais (everywhere), to consider thoroughly your duty and determine to perform your duty to your best ability for the success of the country,” said the king.

Saturday marked the third time that the king, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, has made a public appearance since being admitted to Bangkok’s Siriraj Hospital on September 19 with a lung infection and fever.

The monarch was earlier seen in public twice — once on October 23, Chulalongkorn Memorial Day, and once on the evening of Loy Krathong on November 2 – both within the hospital grounds after being admitted over two months ago.

Today, he granted a public audience at the Grand Palace’s Amarin Winitchai Throne Hall.

After the brief ceremony at the Throne Hall, His Majesty the King returned to Siriraj Hospital.

Dressed in a white royal uniform and accompanied by Her Majesty Queen Sirikit and members of the royal family later left the Grand Palace to return to the hospital in a motorcade as crowds of people lined the streets cheering “Long Live the King”.

The remarks by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who has been on the throne 63 years, on the occasion of his birthday celebrations came amid a sharp divisiveness in the country following a bloodless coup in September 2006 which ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra whose administration was accused of corruption.

Mr Thaksin, now living in self-imposed exile overseas, is also accused of attempting to change the country’s administration from that of a constitutional monarchy to that of a republic, but he denies the charges. (TNA)

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As described in the movie, Bangkok Dangerous, it’s true that you need to be aware of the scams that often happen to tourists. Having the look like other Asian girls, and some people mistook us as locaIs doesn’t guarantee we would get away from the scams.

Scam 1.

Beware when walking to Grand Palace area, you’ll be strolling through a park where some people with bunches of birds (pigeons) gather round and you’ll be forced to feed the birds – whether you like it or not – and forced to pay some money. Not really much amount (30-50 baht) compared to what I have had in Milan (50 euros), but still! For those allergic to birds or fear of birds (like me) better run through other ways further across the street!

Scam 2.

When you finally manage to cross the street to the Grand Palace, there will be people (in our case, a nice gentle and polite man) who greeted you in much of politeness “please don’t cross here miss, there’s a zebra cross over there, much safer”.  He introduced himself as one of officer who worked at the government and told us that the Palace was on a break at at the moment so please come back again in 2 more hours. Please always check the schedule of the place you want to visit, and bad for us, we didn’t know the Palace had break time.

He suggested us go to some temples (as he said to be not really touristic but very local and good) while waiting the Palace to be open again in 2 hours, and also bargain the Tuk-tuk in local language to take us there for only 50 bahts (he said, that’s the price for locals, if we bargained it ourselves we would pay more) – and we thanked him for it. We thought – Wow, there’s still a nice man in this world!

Then the tuk-tuk drove us to ‘the temples’, and when we arrived there, it was only small temple, really a local one, and I wasn’t really fascinated with the statues there (after having seen some, they all look the same to me), not to mention there was DOGS there. I hate dogs.  We decided to walk out when greeted by a man who claimed to be Director of that temple (such small temple..) in local language and apologised when he knew we were tourists from Indonesia.  (later on we realised maybe that was his trick to judge whether we were tourist or not). We had some discussion about the statues, then he also suggested us go to…gem factory. “You know that Thailand is really famous for its sapphire, you have to go this gem festival, it only happens every 25 years for a week!! You are very lucky to come at this dates!”. And we were naivettes and just gasped to imagine “the gem factory”, which each probably would only cost 100-300 bahts! He said the price started at 100 bahts, and visa accepted. Hm. What kind of factory accept visa..but probably because it’s big, and everyone will buy like crazy – and to bring cash is only attracting some pickpockets there – I started to rationalised that.

Then again, he showed the tuk –tuk driver to go to this place, which he pointed as “very near, only 15 minutes” – turned to be a hell of tuk-tuk journey with at least 35-40 minute ride. There were big demonstration in Bangkok when we were there, theThaksin-pro people (red shirts) vs. Incumbent-pro people (yellow shirts). And lucky we werenot wearing red since the red considered to be the brutal ones – said the locals. But our Tuk-tuk driver wore red, he was one of Thaksin fans, whom he adored to have populist policy by giving them money (suddenly I remember our own President…)

Anyway. The ‘Gem Factory’ here turned out to be just a small shops, and exclusive one, in residential area, with none of it costed less than 3000 bahts,  and that was just a small piece. Indeed, you could always swipe your Visa here, because it wasn’t much of factory at all to my imagination. If the ‘factory’ was like that, you can magine then what the wholesaler looks like.

And the tuk-tuk driver insisted to take us to the wholesaler. Actually it was a nice place, and much bigger than the ‘factory-where there was festival that held in every 25 years to commemorate the King’, and we could just easily find ourselves drooling over the nice blue, yellow, red sapphire with silver or white gold. There was also the ‘small factory’ with some craftsmen and women made the custom-made ring or necklace or earings we order. Since the ring I eyed costed a fortune (around 29,000 bahts) (and when I was busy calculating with my brain in Indonesian, the beautiful saleswoman was on the ball and swift the numbers into Rupiah currency (she understood Indonesian!!) – we walked out of there with emptyhanded. 29K bahts equals the total cost of our trip in Indochine for the whole 2 weeks!

We were starved to death, and the tuk-tuk driver, again, brought us to exclusive restaurant. OMG. He didn’t know any good cheap food stalls??

And when we decided to go to Grand Palace, it was never on a break, and always open from 9 am to 5 pm, and there was a sign in front of the ticketing place written “DO NOT TALK TO STRANGER, THAT MAYBE A SCAM”. Oh, Thank you very much…!

This story, just doesn’t happen to me but also to other friends who visited Bangkok, the modus is similar, but maybe the improvisation is bit different, but the escorting to gem factory part is always the same thing. The players are : the man or woman (who tell us the Palace is closed), the tuk-tuk driver who gets commission from each places he takes us, the temple guy or director whatever, and also the gem place (well they take advantage of ‘forcing people’ to visit). For other cases, ou can check out the website : www.bangkokscams.com . Well not that you shouldn’t go there, Bangkok is still worth visiting, just put on extra cautions, tourists are always easy targets, wherever, on this planet J

Thailand is Hong Kong’s backyard paradise. Primarily because of its close proximity and relatively inexpensive airfare, many people from Hong Kong enjoy visiting for a short getaway. Thus, almost every tour agency in Hong Kong offers trips to Thailand.  My friends and I booked a trip a few weeks ago for $300 USD through Hong Thai tour group. This included: airfare, hotel accommodations, bus transportation, and most activities for 4 nights/5 days. It’s been years since I’ve taken a tour group vacation, so I was expecting a tour similar to one that I took in Japan around 6 years ago; a very typical tour that you’re probably imagining…

However, there is something very interesting about Hong Kong tours in Thailand that was literal culture shock. Not in a negative way, but in a very surprising and innovative way! Since so many Hong Kong people visit Thailand, tour agencies work together to cater to the Cantonese-speaking tourists. Essentially, all of the Hong Kong-Thailand tours are similar and visit the same destinations. At these places,everyone – including the Thai workers – speak Cantonese. The tour groups visit the same places: monkey shows, elephant trekking areas, parasailing docks, boat trips to certain islands, restaurants etc. During the entire tour, you never have to speak any other language except Cantonese.

For example, we went on a full day boat trip to Coral Island in Pattaya, and it was filled with 95 percent Hong Kong tourists. The only boats docking at this particular island were Hong Kong tour groups. It almost felt like the island was “owned” by one parent company. The same goes with the monkey show and elephant trekking village, all owned and operated in Cantonese.  It almost feels like you’re in Thailand, but in a bubble owned by a company in Hong Kong. Who would have known that you could visit Thailand and be surrounded by Thai people speaking Cantonese? It was quite interesting – and business savvy – for the tour agencies to work together to cater to the Hong Kong people. I never knew such things existed, which is why I was so shocked.

Nevertheless, with that interesting fact put aside, I must say that my trip was extremely enjoyable. Traveling with 8 other friends was unforgettable – filled with laughter, bonding, and lifelong memories. Simply being with these people is something that I will never forget. I am so fortunate and lucky to have such great friends who are always willing to have a good time. With that said, here is a photo montage of my trip. Most photo credits go to Mike Chang, the fearless photographer of our group!

DAY 1 – Pattaya

Riding horses in Pattaya

Elephant Trekking – “Posing” with the elephant!

Elephant Trekking

Riding a Tuk Tuk in Pattaya

Hanging out in Pattaya. We found an interesting photo-op!

DAY 2 – Coral Island Tour, Pattaya
Pattaya City

Ready to go parasailing!

Up, up…and away!

Lunch on Coral Island

Wandering around Coral Island

Coral Island – Jumping for Joy!

At the “tranny show” – These are all males who have transformed into females!

It was an interesting show. Similar to Vegas shows, but they were all male.

DAY 3 – Leaving Pattaya, Siracha Tiger Zoo, Off to Bangkok

DAY 4 – Exploring Bangkok

Heading towards Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn)

At the top of Wat Arun!

Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) – Bangkok, Thailand

The Grand Palace – Girls must cover their legs and shoulders out of respect. Wearing
traditional Thai clothing

The Grand Palace

Inside the Grand Palace

MEMORIES THAT LAST FOREVER…

Only in Dubai… I mean France.

“The shower at the Grand Palace was custom built for the 5ft 5in (1.6m) president in a listed building and had massage and surround sound radio functions, the UK’s Daily Telegraph newspaper reported.

The three-day summit during which it was intended to be used cost 16.6m euros to stage in total. Other expenses included £90,000 for a carpet and nearly £300,000 for a conference podium.” – BBC News

Been soooo busy over the last few weeks I haven’t had time to post anything on the blog, also mum and a few of her friends have come over for a visit so this has been taking up what little time I have had to spare.  Mum arrived in Bangkok last weekend and me and tack went down to meet her. We spent a couple of days shopping but also paid a visit to the Grand Palace which I hadn’t visited since my first trip to Thailand 12 years ago. It was good to get away from Chiang Mai for a few days.

Travel is to open your eyesight. No matter how wide your camera lens
angle can go, it still can’t beat a human vision. Not to mention about
bird-eye or fish-eye effect.

I have try some panorama stitch on Photoshop CS3 on my recent Bangkok
trip photos and it works very well. The panorama is a puzzle from few
images and it is not necessary to be horizontal or vertical format,
you can have both! CS3 is smart to identify the puzzle and blend theTha Chang Wang Lang
colour perfectly. Few tips for do panorama stitch.

1. Shoot the scene in portrait mode (put your camera in vertical)
2. Do preview in viewfinder/LCD and sweep from starting-point to
end-point to make sure you have cover the interesting subject you
want.
3. Maintain the horizontal at your best. You can have a tripod assist.
4. Maintain the same zoom range, do not change your zoom angle for whole scene.
5. Leave some gap so each image captured have a overlap point. You are
not required to crop very tight, about 70% will do. 30% is section
which captured in previous shot.
6. Shoot the image as fast as possible to avoid lighting change or
other moving objects in scene.
7. If there are many moving objects in scene, you might want to wait
until everything still up or slow down.
8. Do your post processing in Photoshop CS3 or later. Voila!

Complicated? Get a Sony HX1 with in-built sweep panorama function!

Bangkok Art and Culture Centre

Market near Grand Palace

Jim Thompson House living hall

Jim Thompson House staircase to second floor. It was special because Thai house build staircase outer.

Receptionist and souvenir shops at Jim Thompson House.

River behind Jim Thompson House

Rama VIII Bridge

Rama VIII Bridge

Thanon Sam Sen Street, the place I lodged. Near Khaosan.

Menam Chao Phraya

Grand Palace. (Missed the top part )

Thanon Prajadhipok bridge near Saphan Phut pier

Display at Museum of Siam. Muay Thai, Thai dancer, street food, various races.. This is Thailand.

Museum of Siam. Very interactive Plearn (play+learn) driven tour.

To the adventure, with these words of thine,

That to my first intent I have returned…

Thus said I to him; and when he had moved,

I entered on the deep and savage way.

-Inferno: Canto II

When you imagine the Asian “megatropolis”- overpopulation, shanty structures, street food, feral dogs, perpetual traffic, honking, hundreds of scooters, and mounds of rubbish- you’ve unwittingly formulated a very accurate mental image of Bangkok. And, a fantastical creation of the imagination would be a great way to think of Bangkok. It was one of the most inexplicable events of our lives. Bangkok is somehow both a very specific place and something far beyond a geographical location. It transcends anything physical, a soup of culture, atmosphere, and architecture that is then paradoxically transubstantiated into an unidentifiable “thing.” Bourdain might say it is an indescribable sum of it’s many diverse occupants, but that wouldn’t quite capture Bangkok as event. Bangkok would be Bangkok regardless of who comes and goes. It is a place that may make it’s inhabitants as much as it’s inhabitants make it. If this is confusing, we apologize, but that’s Bangkok. The only further explanations I can give, are to speak it in terms of matter: Bangkok is simultaneously two states- both gaseous and solid. Or, in terms of drugs: in Bangkok, even a sober person experiences synesthesia, as if on LSD, hearing the color and seeing the sounds, only to be plunged into the deafening cacophony of sensory stimulation, dropped into the many textured folds, shoved down the rabbit hole.

Thursday morning, eat the cake we did and the two day trip got “curiouser and curiouser.” As soon as we stepped out of the door, “LUCKY BUDHA!” “WHERE YOU GO?” “PATPONG, PATPONG.” An assault worthy of Caesar: Cry! Havoc, and let slip the tuk tuk drivers. Men selling a service with all they had, fighting for your business because their lives did depend on it, is quite the intimidating first impression. Since we hadn’t yet learned “mai ow” (don’t want), we were constantly muttering ineffective “No, thank you’s” for hours, until driven to treating the tuk tuk drivers like in-obedient dogs: repeated “NO!”s, with outstretched index finger and frightfully aggressive, alpha dog tone.

After wandering, wide eyed, for a while, we came upon breakfast. A corner, set back and bounded by three stands and the surrounding buildings. The dining area, furnished with crude wooden tables and plastic stools and covered by umbrellas, tenting, and bits of ribbed aluminum, was packed with local residents feasting on a variety of of delicious looking dishes: fried eggs, rices, chicken, chilis, stir fries of liver, tongue, cheek, different curries, noodles, and fish ball soup. For a whopping 20 baht (roughly 50 cents) I was given a hodge podge of offerings judiciously chosen by the tandem of index finger and eye. Cengiz walked away with what appeared to be chicken, mussels, and lots of bamboo shoots and procured two ice cold Pepsis (glass bottled) to wash the meal down. It was a pairing worthy of a master sommelier. This meal would not only serve as a fantastic beginning to the Bangkok experience, but the tamest moment of the next two days.

Though our plans extended no further than wandering around, sampling various street foods, the fates had other plans. A trip to the Department of Immigration was the second stop and was the most demoralizing moment of the trip. The office is the largest of several cavernous buildings residing in a government complex 20km from downtown Bangkok. The cab ride out there provided us with a better understanding of how massive the city actually was. Though we drove for a solid 30 min, we could barely tell we had moved away from the city center. The road leading to our destination was full of stop and go traffic and street food stands still lined the streets. To say the government complex was scary would be putting it mildly; it was construction on par with Nazi dreams of grandeur. The central building was a military base, of which Cengiz could only take 3 pictures (he was closely guarded by one of the rifle wielding sentries). Immigration was a 4 floored complex that surrounded a central lobby roughly the size of two parallel football fields. I don’t think it would be a stretch to say the building was about the size of an NFL stadium. The purpose of our visit was to change my tourist visa into a Non-Immigrant B visa, so that I could legally work in the country. I was quickly ushered through the initial lines and found myself in front on an officer remarkably fast. It seems things were looking up. Unfortunately, when presented with my immaculately kept, separated, and collated papers, the immigration officer rejected me faster than I could pull out a pen. Apparently, the papers that would probably have gotten me an NIB visa in the states, were about half of what was required here in the motherland. I licked my wounds over an Iced Tea on the cab ride home, but did not have long to sulk. I knew I would be back soon enough, with whatever papers were necessary to get legal, so we turned out attention to experiencing the city.

After being let off at the city zoo, we resumed our exploration. The first order of business was getting into the palace. Unfortunately, we went to the wrong palace. Instead of the gold encrusted “Grand Palace,” we made it to “Chitralada Palace,” the literal residence of the king and center of political activity in Thailand. We thought it was odd there were no picturesque, towering spires, but who were we to question the palace? Though we were intimidated by the second set of camouflaged, armed guards, we tried to look as local as possible and confidently stroll in. This was not allowed… We weren’t deported, so let’s just leave it at that.

On our way to the other palace, we were once again swept away by the wind. After strolling through the legendary backpacker haven of Koh Son road, we made some “friends.” They set us up with out first reasonably priced tuk tuk ride (5 baht a piece) to a boat launch unknown to most tourists. Yeah, can’t believe we fell for that either. The ride was through enough small, back alleys that the con was well played and we were let off in one of the coolest places we had been to yet. As we walked past two men Muay Thai training, we found a boat and bar that looked as forgotten as possible- we were thrilled. The con wasn’t too bad. We did, after all, have an entire longboat to ourselves to cruise the river and its canals, but 800 baht (just over 20 bucks a piece) was a lot to pay. Furthermore, though we paid for a loop of the canals, we only made it out one of the canals, and had to turn around. Seeing the same stretch of river twice isn’t amazing. But, we did get to boat by the “Grand Palace” (finally) and spend enough time on the water to soak in the breeze and sip cold beers we bought from a floating merchant (our two crewmen were also particularly happy to drift along the river with some alcoholic beverages we bought them). Seeing the housing built over the river and its aquatically comfortable inhabitants was great, a distinctly Asian experience, and a bit anachronistic in a city as tall as New York, sprawling as London, and neon as Vagas. Just as enjoyable was listening to the passing boats that trawled the river: some, like ours, were powered by chopped and screwed 1940s fighter engines but you could also hear the voices of massive 2 ton truck motors, and we even caught a glimpse of an engine who’s hood ornament was still attached to the remaining bits of radiator grill.

Our ride finished at “The Temple of the Dawn,” the ancient stone Wat across the river from the “Grand Palace.” A mosaic of color, like a stone Korean palace, it resembled more a Gaudi building more than the gold, orange, and red Wats that dot Thailand. The main pyramid was guarded by massive stone guards and surrounded by 4 towering spires. The stairs up were so steep, it required all 4 limbs to scale them. In fact, the whole atmosphere was intimidating- like an Aztec pyramid of sacrifice, not the serenity and smiles of Eastern religion. We spent a long time atop the Wat, soaking in the history, view of the city, and making sure Cengiz didn’t hyperventilate. On the way out, we couldn’t resist purchasing some Indulgences: for 100 baht, you too can experience the thrill of “freeing the birds” to garner good luck from Buddha.

The best part of the trip came next: a meandering walk through Bangkok’s riverside China Town. Here the mechanical mayhem of Bangkok congestion is replaced with a dazed mulling of the neighborhood’s inhabitants. Rickshaws and laden two wheeled dollies are transportation of choice, shirts are optional, and when the river over runs its banks (like when we were there) shoes are discouraged. The area is the epicenter of Bangkok’s street food, as there is a massively sized labor force crammed in here. Boxes labeled “made in China” are everywhere (sometimes even buttressing sandbag fortifications against the floods). As we walked we ate, and ate, and ate some more: various meets on sticks, fatty pork cuts steamed, fried, and roasted, spring roles, fried bananas, noodles, fruits, etc. The list is endless. Our favorite corner of China Town was easily the flower market. It seems inconceivable that something so cavernous could be “hidden” away, but when it is tucked behind rows of storefronts, weaving through alleys, often jutting over the river, bound by inconspicuous picket, wooden walls, roofed by the ever present waffled aluminum, umbrellas, plastic tarps, and at times garbage, it is anything but an obvious attraction. The indoor garden was a great break from the smell and speed of Bangkok, but the relief didn’t last long. Immediately after leaving it was gone, as we hopped on a tuk tuk to expedite our trip home. The speedy, open air, 3 seat scooters provide Six-Flags worthy amusement- the exact daily, mundane danger we came to Asia to experience.

As I write this, a week later, the rush of Bangkok is still lingers. To be frank, it is a city in which it seemed we were the only people not on massive amounts of amphetamines. Patpong, the party center and red light district, that we walked to that night is the most fitting representation of Bangkok as a whole. The streets are packed with merchants, tourists, and risqué young Thais, all commingling. Sex shows, strip clubs, and girlfriend bars are stacked on top each other as efficiently as the street food vendors. Women (and the infamous lady boys) lean over balconies or out of doorways, enticing the passerbys with high pitched offers that join the sounds of the merchants and tuk tuk drivers in a debauched harmony. Stereotypical “creepy old guys” actually are all over, draped in women, or peering from corners, but this seems only natural in the setting. More disturbing were the families sharing a “life experience,” 12 year old eyes wide and terrified. Only a few Height worthy hippies are about, as most are on Koh Son road, walking the overly trodden path of British gap year backpackers and Aussie adventurers.

The we didn’t find the cobra venom shots we were after, or ever get in the “Grand Palace,” I don’t know that we could have done Bangkok any better. There was no time to make concerted effort for anything, as it was much more accessible and enjoyable to go with the flow, stumbling upon things, and making decisions as they came. Had we not, we would have missed amazing foods, life endangering rides, and all the fantastic failures that have us on the way to being street smart farang.

After recovering from the traumas of the last week we flew to Bangkok!  We are pleased to be staying in a nice hotel just out of the centre of the city.  The hotel was our preferred option because of Dave having been ill and also because hotels seem to be nice and cheap here!

We spent our first day looking around various Buddhist sights in the town centre.  The first thing we noticed was that the maps we have are pretty awful and it is hard to work out where anything is, or how to get to it.  However, we ventured out and found pier number 13 by the river.  A tourist river boat took us near to the sights we were heading for.  Upon disembarking we had to walk up a main road, where many random people wanted to chat to us.  One lady bypassed Dave, came straight up to me and said “aren’t you so white,” whilst putting her arm against mine to compare!!  Having worked on this tan for a while now I was a little offended, but won’t take it to heart too much!  Other people started telling us that the Grand Palace we were heading for was closed and we should go somewhere else.  Nevertheless when we got there it was open!

The Grand Palace, a royal building for special occasions, is very ornate and very very gold!  There is gold everywhere in the complex and you can visit various temples.  In the same vicinity is Wat Phra Kaew, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.  This is a sacred Buddhist site and we joined many other tourists and monks to take a look at the big green Buddha looking down at us in his gold coat.  It is pretty hot (extremely humid) here, so we were kind of relieved when a dramatic rain shower came and cooled the air a little.

After lunch we went down the road to Wat Pho.  This is where you can take a look at the reclining buddha.  This guy is massive and gold, and you can walk all around him.  Surrounding him are many little pots and the idea is to go round and add a coin to each pot.  We thought we should join in the tradition and therefore did so!  Not sure what the meaning of this is yet, but am planning to find out.  If anyone knows, please tell us!

That evening we were both really hungry and really fancied some ’safe’ food.  We headed to the Rembrandt Hotel in town, which was lovely and still a reasonable price.  Yum – pizza!!!

Today we wanted to check out the markets so we went to the weekend market at Chatuchak (as recommended by the tourist boat commentator we spoke to!).  This was really good.  It was where a lot of locals go and there were loads of bargains!!  I really liked all the bags and purses they had (think I bored Dave a bit)!  The market was huge (apparently one of the largest in the world), we have never seen one so big and it was really nice to walk around without being harrassed.  Speaking of harrassment, we later went to a smaller market at Khao San Road.  This one was much more touristy and the locals knew it!  However, it was really interesting to compare the two and we enjoyed walking around both of them, despite the immense heat.  At Khao San Road I embraced my inner hippy and got myself a hair braid!  The things we do when travelling hey – don’t worry it’s in tame colours!

We finished off the day by visiting the big standing ‘Buddha’.  This was another impressive gold Buddha!

Oh and by the way, we got our first Thai tuk tuk.  I was so frightened in the open air, on an 8 lane road, with a crazy crazy driver!

During the flight over, I still couldn’t believe that I was actually going.  When the plane was landing and I saw Bangkok for the first time I was still in awe that I would soon step foot in Thailand.  I couldn’t believe that I actually did it.  I actually followed my dream!  I met Jeff, the AYC Intercultural Thailand Human Resources Manager, after customs and I began my adventure.  We headed to Khao San Road which is the backpackers district and the place where I would be staying.  We found a place and I was shown to my room.  My jaw almost hit the ground when I saw the size of the room, oh and no window!

After Jeff left, I broke down.  What have I done?! I suddenly felt so alone even though I had been in Thailand for maybe two hours.  I felt so out of place and impossibly overwhelmed.  I quickly  went down to the internet room where they conveniently have cameras set up for skype purposes and I hoped that Kyle would be on.  Thank God he was because I definitely needed someone to cry too and he talked me right down from it, something he has always been good at.  He can talk me out of all my frantic moods and this was probably the worst of them.  He told me that this is the first time I’ve ever been alone and that its going to be great for me!  I was so nervous slash uncomfortable slash upset that I felt sick to my stomach.  Then Miley Cyrus “Party in the USA” came on and I felt more at home.  Thank you Miley!!  I calmed down and once I returned to my room it didn’t seem so small anymore. 

The next day I woke up at 6 after a night of waking up every single half hour.  No idea why, I wasn’t that uncomfortable.  I think it was just the shock of being in such a new place.  I finally decided to just get out of bed and start my day.  I walked around and happened across a Wat (temple), which is a commonplace in Bangkok, there seems to be one on every corner. I went in and sat in on their morning prayers.  It was very peaceful and it was amazing how it was just one continuous prayer for probably a good twenty minutes, and I’m sure they went on much longer after that, that just happened to be the amount of time that I watched them.  I kept wandering around a bit and decided that this cart on the side of the road looked like a great place to stop for breakfast.  Naturally I had Pad Thai, a wonderful breakfast, and while I was eating I met a guy from California as well, Stephen.  He was on his way through Thailand to visit his family in India and after talking briefly he told me he could show me the ropes a bit on the public transportation.  I told him that I had to stop by the AYC offices and he still agreed to go with me.  After almost THREE hours at the office, I was finally finished and I felt SO bad, especially since it happened to be his birthday!  We decided to head over to the Chatachuk Weekend Market, which is the biggest flea market/swap meet that I have ever seen.  Its just miles of amazing handmade crafts and knicknacks and I just wanted to stay there all day and spend every last cent, but I knew I had nowhere to put my treasures so I decided that I would have to come back before I left to stock up on wonderful souvenirs.  I wish I had a house to decorate in Thailand because there was some of the most amazing furniture and household items.   We spent the rest of the day exploring a little bit in the downtown area, including their malls, which are utterly ridiculously huge and there are about 5 of them right next to each other.  This is also where I discovered the absolute insanity of Bangkok traffic and driving.  They don’t use lanes and if they want to go they’re going to go.  Stoplights pretty much don’t do anything.The basic laws of traffic don’t abide.

  After that, Stephen decided to go get a massage and I wanted to head back to Khao San to relax for a little bit.  A new adventure was ahead for me because I was about to man the bus alone.  On my way to the bus stop, there happened to be a concert going on in the pavilion at one of the malls.  It was hilarious.  The group that was singing was like the Backstreet Boys or Nsync (of course 10 years ago boy bands) of Thailand because as soon as they took the stage all the girls started screaming.  I had to stop and watch for awhile because it was just so intriguing.  It made me remember when I was 13 and would scream when the boybands came on stage.  I pulled myself away from the show and ventured to find the bus stop, which I thought I found.  45 minutes later all the other buses had come except for mine so I decided to just take a cab.  Well instead of a cab stopping, a “tuk tuk” stopped and I decided that I needed even more of an adventure especially because tuk tuks try and fit between traffic and NO ONE in Bangkok uses lanes, it seems to be a lost cause there.  On my ride I saw a few interesting things: an entire family on a motorcycle, dad driving with little boy in front of him and mom on the back carrying the little girl, incredible, a lady riding side-saddle on a motorcycle (which I have seen countless times since then) and a tuk tuk with twelve little boys in it!  Transportation is insane here!!

I relaxed for a bit and later I met up with another AYC teacher named Sean to have a few drinks.  It was nice to meet someone else in the same situation as me.  

The next day I ventured out again with the intent to take one of the river boats down the river to the Grand Palace and see the place.  Well, that didn’t quite happen the way I planned.  As I was trying to find my way to the river I ran into a Thai man who started talking to me and insisted that I take a Thai boat on the river.  I didn’t quite understand what he was saying but he planned this whole route out for me where I would do the river ride, go to a tourist office (yeah no idea why this happened) and then go to the Golden Mountain where the Golden Buddha was.  Without really letting me protest he called a tuk tuk driver over, negotiated that the driver would stay with me the whole time for only 30 baht (which is pretty ridiculous keeping in mind that my tuk tuk ride the night before was 100 baht).  So off I went not sure where I was going or what I was off to do.  I ended up in a weird part of town and somehow by the river where the driver took me to another Thai man who told me that a river boat ride was 1500 baht.  Definitely not what I was aiming for since the public river boat was maybe 15 baht.  This ride was different since it was in a longtail boat and it went down the canals so I thought it would be interesting, so I agreed to do it.  It was of course totally worth it!!  I got to float down the canals and see some pretty cool things! 

The only part of it that made me sad was that other boats were passing by with couples and groups of people and I was all alone.  It was actually really nice alone and I didn’t mind it, but it definitely would have been nice to have someone along for the ride.  Its been really great to have some time to focus on myself.  I need to do some soul searching for sure and find who I am and this is going to be a great opportunity for me.  I have months and months ahead of me as well to do just that!  I took a lot of great pictures on the way.  When the trip was over I got back to the dock and found that the tuk tuk driver did indeed wait for me!  He insisted that we go to the tourist office, which I really didn’t need to go to, but I said fine ok and he drove me through a really interesting part of town yet again.  I guess its fun to do that because I never would have seen that part of town otherwise, so it was exciting nonetheless.  When we got to the tourist office, it was a hole in the wall and I was literally in there for five minutes and we were on our way again.  This time to the Golden Mount and I thought our agreement was that he was going to wait for me and take me back to Khao San Road but when we got there he asked me to pay and that was it. Soooo I was stranded and I wasn’t exactly sure where I was.  The beauty of living in the backpackers district is that everyone knows where it is so I didn’t worry too much.  I continued onto the Golden Mount and found an amazing view of Bangkok. 

I’m beginning to find that most Wats are pretty similar, but they are all beautiful, so I guess that never gets old.  When I was finished I decided that I wanted to try and find my own way back.  After wandering around for a good 45 minutes and not able to find even where I am on the map I decided to get a tuk tuk back (I’m already pretty comfortable in them).  I found a free wifi place (which hasn’t worked since then) by my hostel and got to call Kyle on Skype when I got back so that was great.  I still tear up a little when I talk to him because sometimes I just feel super lonely.  And yes I know at this point its only been TWO days but its been a real overwhelming experience for me.  I also have found that living in my little room I have had to become very resilient to unidentifiable bugs. 

Monday I was supposed to substitute teach at this school completely on the other end of Bangkok.  After a 500 baht taxi ride (which is ridiculous) and a ride on a muddy dirt road, I made it to the school and was showed to a classroom.  I was given no direction and no materials so I was a little lost.  I had a few lesson plans  but I needed paper and a photocopier so I was a little panicked for I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do, but I guess that’s the excitement of the first day teaching.  Well a teacher came in and told me that I wasn’t needed and that it was a big misunderstanding and I was left in the middle of nowhere (something that happened again on Thursday)!  I called Jeff and he had me come into the office, where we were going to sort things out.  Another long taxi ride back and I was there unknown of the other little adventure I was about to take.  Working for AYC I need my own bank account so they can just direct deposit money into my account.  To get to the bank, I was to take a motorcycle with a Thai lady I didn’t quite know and who didn’t speak much English.  Grrrrrreat….. Mind you this is my first time ever on any type of motorcycle.  I grabbed a helmet and latched onto the back of the bike because I wasn’t too comfortable clinging to her for my dear life in the crazy Bangkok traffic.  To give her credit, she didn’t drive too crazy and my first motorcycle ride wasn’t a traumatic one, I made it back in one piece (I’m sorry I don’t have a picture from this momentous occasion).  Back at the office I found out that I needed to go out to a school on Chonburi and do an interview/demonstration for a teacher.  The only reason why I was going to go was because they didn’t have any other female teachers in Bangkok yet and I was to represent AYC.  I was set on going to Chumphon (who wouldn’t want to live on the beach?!), but all the ladies at AYC kept asking my why I wanted to go there and not to Chonburi.  I think they just didn’t want it to look bad when I interviewed, was offered the job, and then it was a different girl that showed up.  I didn’t let them talk me out of it but I of course agreed to go with them, especially since I was going to get paid for the day anyways.  At the office, I met these two UK guys that worked for AYC in the office and we shared a taxi back to Khao San and I we got along great.  One of them, Steve, had a couple friends in town and I told him that I’d definitely meet up with them later.  When we made it back, it was absolutely POURING!  This was the first time I’ve seen it rain here, which is pretty common I hear, and it was definitely a baptism by fire because we had to walk through Soi Rambuttri road (the actual road we’re staying on near Khao San) while everyone watched us as they sat under covered areas.  When I made it back to my room, I literally looked like I had jumped into a pool.  It was absolutely insane!  Steve called me a few hours later and I met up with the him and the girls and we boarded the Chao Phraya River Express and took a trip down the river.

 I loved the two girls that were with him, one reminded me of the sister in Notting Hill and the other was absolutely amazing.  She took a sabbatical from her job in the Fire Department in the UK and was taking a nine month backpacking trip through the South of Asia, New Zealand and then ending in America.  It was a trip she had been saving for a planning for over twenty years and I was completely in awe.  She had just come from India and Nepal and I was of course hanging on her every word.  It made me want to go to Nepal SO badly and even though she said India was depressing and shocking she told me that everyone should go there at least once in their lifetime.  She was doing a bunch of organized trips so I feel like that’s the great way to do it when you’re alone.  Her stories just completely made me dream to do that one day!  I don’t really want to do it alone so I might have to convince Kyle to do it with me years and years down the road.  We grabbed some dinner and few beers and I had such a great time with them.  They were going on a three day trip the next day and I really wish I could have joined them but I want to try and work as much as I can before the teacher’s seminar.  They’re getting back in town on Friday so I hope they call me!

Tuesday had an interesting start with my cab ride to the office.  My cab driver got completely lost and I ended up being late to meet the girls that were going to take me to Chonburi.  I was completely frantic, which I need to learn to control especially here in Thailand.  I’ll work on that.  On the way ot Chonburi, I actually had a lot of fun with the girls in the car.  They were really sweet even though at times hard to understand.  One spoke pretty good English so she was kind of a translator.  Once we got to the school the teacher was extremely late so we just had girl bonding time while we talked about our boyfriends and shared pictures.  When the teacher finally came we began the interview.  Her first question definitely stopped me in my tracks: “What would you do if one of my students fell in love with you.”  I literally stammered and said “I obviously …uhhh…wouldn’t condone that….”  I really had no idea what to say to that!  She went on asking me question after question and then talked in Thai with the girls for a long while.  Apparently, she loved me and wanted me to teach at her school.  When I got back to the office they of course told everyone about it and a few of the other girls approached me and sounded like they wanted to get me to go to that school, but I stuck to Chumphon and its pretty set that that’s where I’m going to go.  Coming back to my little room makes me especially lonely.  I’m fine all day but when I’m reminded that I’m alone here I get upset.  I finally got to talk to Kyle after a few days of not talking to him and I found that if I have Skype up when my computer time runs out I can still use it, so I got to talk to him for an hour and a half!! It made me feel so much better!  Its great having him in life to calm me down and always be the voice of reason haha. 

I set out Wednesday to explore the Grand Palace and the Wats around it.  I didn’t end up going into the Grand Palace because it was 350 baht and I felt like that was an investment I should make when I have someone with me to take actual pictures of me in front of things instead of me holding my camera out (There will be lots of those once I post my pictures on facebook).  I stopped off at Wat Pho which is the home of the Reclining Buddha.  Now this was one of the most ridiculously huge things I’ve ever seen!  Pictures can’t even capture how big it is (I guess I’m not a good enough photographer yet to capture it but I’ll get there). 

After exploring Wat Pho I set out to go to the Grand Palace and it started raining.  I passed a tuk tuk driver and he told me that the Palace was closed right now and that he would take me to a few other temples while it was raining and then take me back (Later that day I was reading my Lonely Planet book, which said that tuk tuk drivers use this as a ploy to get tourists in their tuk tuk where they can bring them to certain stores that give them a commission if they bring people there…which mine did but he told me that he would get free gas if I got something, which I didn’t.  Later on my way to the Grand Palace I ran into another that did the same thing, I kept walking and the Grand Palace was of course not closed.  I just thought that it was hilarious that I read the book after it actually happened to me!)  Even though I fell for it, I had a blast and the tuk tuk driver was super nice and everytime we drove by something he would tell me what it was so it was worth it.  He took me to a few temples, which I love and I got to get out of the rain as we drove around.  It was a cheap way to pass time and I got to make a wish on a Buddha that is supposed to bring good luck in business.  I was in a temple all by myself and I knelt down and prayed that I would find happiness by myself.  I’m frustrated with the fact that I’m not doing so well at this whole being by myself thing.  Because this is a trip for me to become dependent on myself, I felt I needed a little help, especially because I wasn’t doing to hot at it so far with little breakdowns almost every night.  I decided that I would do this in every temple I visited.  

Wats are my favorite part of this crazy city.  They are nestled in the middle of the hustle and bustle and they are extremely peaceful.  So far I haven’t been the biggest fan of Bangkok, but I’m sure it would grow on me.  Too much is going on and people are in a hurry ALL the time.  The city is completely overwhelming, there’s ten times the pollution than Los Angeles, the traffic is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen and people are everywhere.  Wats are where everything stands still and I can actually think.  I love that.  I really need time for myself and even though I’m spending all day by myself some days this city still doesn’t allow me to be by myself.  I can’t wait until I get down to the south where I’m teaching and I can just sit on the beach or go on a hike and really focus on myself.  That is what this trip was about.  Seeing the world and finding myself.  I guess I need a little more than four days to do that so maybe I should give myself a break.

There are 2 mode of transports that I’m particularly fond of – by train and by ship. As long as it’s a ride on the railway track, or a floating object on the water, I will be delighted. My favourite pass time in Bangkok would have to be a boat ride along the Chao Phraya River. This river offer a glimpse into the life of ordinary folks in the Thailand’s capital, where you’ll be able to see people from different social levels.  By paying only 13 Bhat, you are able to enjoy a ride from Sathorn Pier (near Saphan Taksin Skytrain BTS Station) to Phra Arthit Pier (N13), where I would normally walk to the hippies heaven of South East Asia – Khao San Street.

(Wat Arun – Temple of Dawn, Bangkok)

This part of the river actually lies in the Old Bangkok, where most of the important landmarks are situated. Hence, this 15~20 minutes boat ride guarantees spectacular views of Wat Arun (The Temple of Dawn), Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaew (Emerald Buddha), etc, especially during the dust and dawn. And there is another thing you must do in Bangkok - dine in a good local seafood restaurant along the River. Having your spicy tomyam gong, while enjoying with the view of RAMA VII Bridge and the local live gig performance, it could be your perfect dinner experience.

(Grand Palace, Bangkok)

New post on Gadling about Bangkok – recommendations, observations, and plenty of photos (most of which have appeared here in July).

Article @ Gadling

Bangkok should be dubbed “the city where two worlds collide.” I say this because I mean it in every way, and for lack of a better term, Bangkok is two-faced.  On the one hand, you’ll encounter the ritzy shopping malls with posh stores parading each and every corner. Fendi, Chanel, Salvatore Ferragamo, you name it and it’s there. You’ll also ride the Sky Train – an MTR type transportation above the sky – but it’s only for the wealthy Thais and tourists since it is too expensive for locals to ride.

And of course, on the other side of the coin, you have the poverty-ridden Bangkok. Once outside these shopping malls and on the streets, you’ll find street beggars with missing limbs, blind people singing with a microphone, young children whose parents make them beg for money all day. That’s the “other” side to Bangkok.  No sparkly shopping mall floors; filthy streets instead.

It’s a reality that cannot be avoided while in Bangkok. And although you may wish you could help them or do something about it…it is what it is.  It is still a developing country, and there is hope for the future.

However, I assure you that the Thai people are friendly, beautiful people. Though the poverty and street beggars may scare some, Bangkok is an amazing place to visit because there is so much beauty to the people, places, and things in this city.

BANGKOK: THE 11

1. Weekend Market
It is only open on Saturdays and Sundays from 8 am – 6 pm, but I suggest you get there as early as possible because you literally need the entire day to cover all bases. I shopped for 7 hours, but by the end of the day, I was itching to stay there longer but it was closing time! The Weekend Market is a huge flea-market type venue with everything: clothing, furniture, jewelry, food, and more. But here’s the best part: if you’re a teenager/young adult, you will find many boutique stores with one-of-a-kind clothing for inexpensive prices! I’m talking about $5 for a cute, trendy dress! For these, you MUST go to TENTS 4 – 6!

2. Rajawongse Clothier – Custom Suits for Men
http://www.dress-for-success.com/

President Bush, First Lady Barbara Bush, and Jesse & Victor

President Bush and his entire family, along with many US government officials come here to get custom suits and dress shirts. It is quite famous, and the owners – Jesse and Victor are extremely friendly Thai – Indian. Mostly American and European businessmen come here, and it gets packed during the evenings! For two custom-made suits, three dress shirts and three ties, it costs around $800 USD. What a deal! Just remember it takes around 5 days to make, and it requires multiple fittings.

2. Always Drive in Metered Taxis

Don’t get ripped off. Some taxi drivers try to give you a set price from location to location, and it may seem cheap, but if you tell them you want it METERED, it will be even cheaper! The starting flat rate is 35 Baht – so make sure this is the start price.

3. Ayutthaya Ancient Ruins

Ayutthaya

It will be best to hire a driver and English tour guide for this because it is an all-day trip. Ayutthaya is the ancient capital of Siam (the former name of Thailand), but today it is known for its ruins and ancient temples. You’ll drive from place to place and visit many sites such as Wat Chai Mongko (giant bronze reclining Buddah), and more.

This is part of the Ayutthaya area, and it is a beautiful, picturesque summer palace of the ancient King Rama IV. It’s filled with luxurious guest houses, greenery, lakes and shrines. Still today, the Royal Family comes here to relax.

5. Wear the Appropriate Clothing When Visiting Temples/Palaces

Wearing a traditional Thai sarong at the Summer Palace

For most temples in Thailand, your shoulders must be covered out of respect. There are guards before you enter, and they will not let you in if you don’t do this. For the Grand Palace in Bangkok, your shoulders and legs must be covered – but they give you free sarong and pant rentals.

6. Baan Khanitha – Thai Restaurant
This an upscale Thai restaurant that specializes in seafood, so be prepared to fork out $40 or more per person. Try the scallions – the most delicious I’ve ever tasted in my entire life!

7. Khao San Road (Backpacking District)
This area is filled with, well, backpackers galore. Restaurants, hostels, shopping, internet cafes – you name it and it’s here. It’s fun to lounge around the coffee shops or try out the street foods because it definitely has the “backpacker vibe” – chill, laid-back and friendly. Spend an afternoon here and lounge around the area!

8. Grand Palace in Bangkok
The Royal Family lives here, and it’s like visiting Buckingham Palace. It’s massively large, exquisite architecture, and tourists galore! It will take half a day to walk around the area because there are several temples and sights to see – but if you speed walk through the area, it can be done in two hours.

9. Pick the Right Time to Visit
Bangkok is extremely hot and humid during the summertime. It is so hot that I almost fainted in Ayutthaya, despite the fact that I was drinking water all day! All of the locals say the best time to visit is in November, so you might want to keep that in mind. But if you’re a student traveler like me, the summertime is your only chance! It’s still worth the visit.

10. Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn)

Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn)

You can take the taxi boat here, and it is nestled along the banks of the Chao Praya River. It’s called the Temple of Dawn because it’s near the beginning of the river, and when travelers or foreigners would enter the river, it was the first thing they saw!

11. Take the Taxi Boat on the Chao Praya River
The taxi boat is an interesting form of transportation in Thailand, and it’s beautiful during sunset (great for photography). Just jump on the boat, and take it to Wat Arun – or anywhere else you’d like to see along the river.