Loyal Paris

Entry 36:

Bangkok is probably the most talked about city amongst the backpackers. We had spoken with so many people about where to stay for our few nights in Bangkok. While most young people go to the Kao San Road for its cheap beer, cheap food, and exciting nightlife, we thought we'd be a little more sophisticated and stay near Sukhumvit Road. We also thought it would be a better location because of its proximited to the elevated Skytrain and the underground metro. When we arrived at the Bangkok Airport, we jumped on a bus to Sukhumvit Road.

While it was true that this location was convenient to public transit, it was nothing more than a crowded, noisy business district interwoven with a multilane thoroughfare. The area is frequented by business travelers and the guest houses had much higher nightly rates. We only stayed two nights and then made our way to a mellow neighborhood close to Kao San called Rambutri. This was a good choice as it was away from the craziness of Kao San (where you can get a fake ID among other things):

This would be as good a time as any to backtrack for a moment. You may have noticed that we did not post photos for Ranong or Khao Lak. While we were on the beach in Phuket, our waterproof water wallet wasn't so waterproof. Our beloved Olympus Stylus 1010 camera was no more than a fancy paperweight. On our first day in Bangkok, we headed for the malls to replace our camera. By coincidence, we purchased another Olympus camera and when we returned to the guesthouse, our hearts were filled with joy when we realized that while the original camera may have been lost, the memory card was spared.

So without further adieu, here are our photos. Let's start out with a shoutout to our friend Tang:

Before we had departed the United States, we tried gathering contact information for contacts in S.E. Asia. Our friend Jeff put us in touch with a former roommate who is a native Thai living in Bangkok. Chat and his partner Dave met us for dinner and then took us to the rooftop deck of one of the tallest hotels in Bangkok, the Banyan Tree Hotel. The change in temperature from street level to the rooftop was noticable and quite chilly.

We spent the next couple of days exploring the weekend market (Chatuchak) and stocking up on gifts for the family back home as well as memorabilia for ourselves. We passed on purchasing crickets, beetles, snakes, and other creepy crawlers, although we did want to purchase the amazing teak bedroom furniture set, but could not fit it into our backpacks. This market had it all.
Animals:

Art:

Massage:

Our guided tour of the Royal Palace (also pronounced by some as Loyal Paris) was interesting and we spared no photos there.

We continued on to Wat Po to see the reclining Buddha:

We also had a tour of the Vimanmek Teak Mansion. We learned that the different styles of buddhas represent various ideas, including an attempt to calm the ocean (when the hands are pressed outwards to indicate stop), forbidding relatives to fight one-another, teaching, and invoking victory.

Of all the touristy things we saw, the one we enjoyed the most was the Jim Thompson House. This house was once the home of an American who fell in love with Thai culture. He built a silk business, which is still going strong as evidenced by the expensive silk ties sold at the airport. However, during an expedition to Malaysia, he disappeared and his remains were never found.

This ended our stay not only in Thailand, but in S.E. Asia as well. After depositing our shopping items at the post office to be sent back home, we boarded a minibus to the airport. We spent our remaining Baht on ice cream at the airport and felt excited about the upcoming trip to India.

For more Bangkok photos, go to: grossmintblog.shutterfly.com