Bangkok is the land of temples, hot air, rickshaws, flowers, rivers and good food. And buses with air conditioning, very high towers, golden colours, loads of people both locals and tourists. Visited there already twice, still dreaming to come back and being lost its crowded streets, dining its delicious and spicy cuisine, enjoying its magnificent buildings, and just feel the rhythm of the city.
Bangkok is full of Buddha images and several of them are recognised by UNESCO as cultural heritages. Even though, if you are not a Buddhist, still visiting to Wat Pho or Wat Saket or Ayutthaya Historical Park, you can feel its spirit. And if you go to the right time avoiding too many tourists, then even you can get a blessing or prophecy from a Buddhist monk.
Wat Pho is a building complex, where the Temple still gives services for people. It has been providing place for one of the first schools for the traditional Thai massage and its school still open for public. You can see the longest Buddha ever in Wat Pho besides the largest collections of Buddha images in all over Thailand. Reclining Buddha is 46m long and huge. It takes at least 10 minutes to walk all around it among thousands people.
Another beautiful and extraordinary building of Bangkok it is placed in my ‘must visit again list’ is Wat Saket or better known among tourists as the Golden Mount. Truly, it is an artificial man made hill with a golden chedi on its top. It seems to be a hard job to climb up its 300 steps to the chedi during the hot season, however it is well renovated and it takes only 5 minutes to circle around the hill to the top. Well, sometimes 10 minutes…The view out of the chedi is something marvellous. You can enjoy Bangkok above the roofs of the houses with a bird view. The chedi itself is a very special place with several Buddha images from different centuries. Bells are everywhere and even you can leave your wish on golden trees that maybe some gods will hear about it and fulfil it. Or not. You will see. Requesting a prophecy here, you should be careful. Yours can be an amazing one, or the opposite, that it is better to forget there and walk away even without remembering it. I had a luck, but even two of my friends didn’t.
For more Buddha and time travelling, you should visit to Ayutthaya Historical Park, where the old capital of Thailand and its Kingdom can be found a bit outside of Bangkok. The ruins of Ayutthaya were built up in the 14th century and it served 35 kings during its existence. Nowadays it is part of UNESCO World Heritage and a magical place to be lost in time and space. It is built up from several buildings in a quite big area, so it is beneficial to spend at least 1 day in its surroundings. Walking around the ancient temples, ruined by time and weather Buddha statutes and golden images, smelling the bergamot lime and listening to the birds singing are quite spiritual experience. If you wait for the sunset among the ruins, even you can enjoy or being scared from the inhabitants of the old ruins. When the sun goes down, exactly at twilight, hundred and hundred bats fly out from the deep of the ancient ruins through its rifts. It is a heart stopping experience.
Bangkok and its surroundings are full of markets. Two of them are the most popular such as floating market and railway market. There are rickshaw drivers who just pick up tourists in the streets and taking them to local sailors and vendors offering boat trips to the floating market of Bangkok. However, it is safer to participate in a tour offered by official travel agency or organised by a Hotel. The most well-known are Maeklong Railway Market. It is very special as all vendors are just offering their products such as seafood, spices, fruits, vegetables next to the tracks and the people are walking on the tracks. When the train comes, all vendors make places to let the train goes to the city centre meanwhile people are standing among the products just inside the small cabins of the vendors. The train is so close to the people that if you were crazy, you can touch it. It is a surrealistic experience.
All floating market is crowded. Of course, it is very popular among tourists. You can sit in a motor boat and stop among houses that are standing just above the surface of the river. Delicious food, vegetables, fruits can be bought and enjoy from the local vendors. Nevertheless, if you have a chance to avoid the crowd, just go after the market is closed. Then by the motor boat, even in the area of Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, you can explore the nature life of the river, shadows of the mango and banana trees and if you are lucky one, you can catch a sight of several sunbathing goannas among family Buddha shrines next to the river bank.
Boat trip in Bangkok
Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
And it is impossible to write about Bangkok without mentioning its cuisine. It is spicy, of course, however it is still enjoyable for a European and very healthy comparing to some of our food. As a sea food lover, I felt being in a heaven. The best prawn I have ever eaten I found in Bangkok, close to the Baiyoke Tower II. It was freshly grilled and just made on the street next to a shopping centre on the way to the Tower. Well, just sitting on the stairs of the shopping centre and eating the grilled prawns by hand, was a Lucullus feast. It’s better not to think of cleanliness and table etiquette in this context. Then, still I am alive and the experience was great! Hopefully, have a chance to repeat it again one day.
Then as closing a wonderful day in Bangkok, it is worth going to the top of second tallest building of Bangkok, called Baiyoke Tower II. It is a Hotel, however its Roof Top and Music Lounge is open for public for entrance fee. It is located in the 77th floor, and then you can walk to the 84th floor where the 360 degree revolving roof deck can be found. First time being there, we didn’t know that the roof will revolve under us and we got a smaller heart attack when it had started. The best time visiting there is the sunset. It’s the best timing to arrive there when the sun is still up and then just follow how it goes down behind the skyscrapers and the thousands magical Temples of Bangkok.
Thanks to Marcsi Thongklam (https://www.facebook.com/marcsi.thongklam/) for the wonderful and funny moments and the magical guiding in Bangkok.
