Thailand 2024 - Bangkok Part 2

We had 2 full days in Bangkok and our strategy was to bash out as many of the cultural sites as we could on the first day, so that our final day could be a little more chilled. 

After a good breakfast at the hotel, which did include Thai curries, rice and noodles, we walked to the nearest MRT station, grabbed a train and headed to our first stop, the Grand Palace. 

The Grand Palace is actually a large complex of very ornate buildings, temples, statues, relics, and other historical items. Despite the name, the royal family no longer live here, and good thing too given the buses of tourists who visit each day. As with many sacred sites and temples in Thailand, you can not visit unless your shoulders and legs are covered. We came prepared with our own clothes to avoid having to either hire from the temple or panic buy the classic elephant pants. 

The Grand Palace is a huge complex with no air-conditioning and little protection from the sun. We enjoyed walking around the murals as there were fans making it slightly cooler. The buildings are impressive and statues are incredibly detailed and colourful, our videos and photos really do not do it justice. The prime attraction in the Grand Palace is the Temple of Emerald Buddha (or Wat Phra Kaew). It is considered the most important Buddhist temple in Thailand. Huge numbers of people swarm to get into this building, and there is a strict no camera policy, with people being forced to remove pictures from their phones and cameras by vigilant guards. Still, it's worth seeing. The Buddha is carved from a single jade stone, he is meditating, and dress in an outfit which changes by the seasons, with only the King and the crown prince allowed to touch him. We obviously don't have any pictures so if you're interested, you'll have to Google him. 

After a smoothie in the Grand Palace cafe to cool down, we headed next door to Wat Pho. This temple complex is beautiful, and a lot quieter than Grand Palace. There are 4 chapels, with over 300 Buddhas, statues, waterfalls, and more gold leaf than you'll ever see in one place. The main attraction here is the massive gold reclining Buddha. 

Next to Wat Pho is the river bank and here there are shops, bars, restaurants, and street vendors. After a look around, and a cool drink, we hopped on the ferry which crossed the river so we could see the next temple, Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn). The surface of Wat Arun reflects the first light in the morning, which is why it has its name. The stairs were only open part way so we couldn't get to the top of the temple, but that's probably a good thing given how sketchy the steps were. This temple seemed to be a popular place for people to dress up in traditional Thai outfits and have a photo shoot. 

We headed back over the river, picked up a Tuk Tuk and headed to China town. We got completely lost in the maze of shops. We felt safe the whole time and enjoyed the experience of not knowing where we were going or what we were going to see. We eventually found ourselves back on the main road (thanks to a little help from Google Maps). We stopped for a drink in GenZ Bar & Bistro, a roof top bar in the heart of China Town, to waste some time before the food market opened. 

The China Town food market, on Yaowarat Road, is the largest street food market in the world! It is huge and goes down every side street you can see. The food was phenomenal, it really was some of the best food we had ever had. 

Bellies full, we headed back on the MRT to our hotel for a power snooze and cold shower before setting off for our evening adventure. More on that in part 3!