Welcome to Bangkok! Thailand's wild capital is a genuine feast for the senses, full of intense smells, noises and music, unexpected tastes and sights that you'll probably remember for a long time. It also guarantees memorable experiences and adventures at all times. It's so full of contrasts, golden temples popping out between slums, full of tourists scams for example trying to talk you into buying a suit, full of delicious street food and cheap thai massage venues. It's a wonderful chaos.
However I wouldn't really reccomend it for the faint-hearted or for people who hate mess, bad smell or poverty. In such case only a package-tour is an option, but in my humble opinion Bangkok's most valuable experiences are not found in the Grand Palace but among its narrow streets where you sit down on a plastic chair and dine with the locals.
Okay, but to deprive Bangkok's main cultural attractions is a sin as well. They indeed are grand, and you just cannot miss them. The Grand Palace and an endless number of temples would be enough to occupy you for a few days in Bangkok.
The nightlife concentrates on Khao San road. It's vibrant, full of all sorts of entertainment - restaurants, pubs, clubs, massage parlours, carts with fruits, juices and edible insects. Usually swaying to tunes of live music. I would advie to be very careful though, many scams are just waiting for tourists who felt too confident.
Chao Phraya river flows through Bangkok and taking a water-tram is a must-do. Best way to get a postcard view of Wat Arun temple. It's again easy to be scammed there because local boats cost 15 TBH per trip where on a special tourist cruise it is about 400 TBH. They sure do know how to take advantage of tourists, eh?
Like I mentioned before, exploring local areas was the most interesting part for me. People carrying on with their lives in such a different manner than in the West was something I loved to observe.
The streets might be filthy but they are so colourful and filled with different kinds of plants.
Here is the Wat Arun temple, also known as The Temple Of Dawn. It stands out from other temples in the city - covered in porcelain mosaics with outstanding detailing. It's the main attraction located on the western bank of the river. There is a water-tram stop just by the entrance, that's how we reached it and I reccomend using this mean of transport.
It's a Buddhist temple but it also refers to Hindu cosmology. The complex consists of a massive central Prang (khmer-style tower) and four smaller sattelite prangs, their heights from 60 to 80 meters. The central Prang symbolizes Mount Meru from Hindu Cosmology, it's very common with temples of this type.
There are a few smaller temples beside it but raised in a different style.
Next we crossed the river again and went to see the Grand Palace.
First of all - the crowds that we met there made the sightseeing less pleasurable than I imagined. Asian guided tours were literally flooding the complex. Visiting it during the mid-day hours probably wasn't the best idea at all. Also, there are strict rules about acceptable clothing, showing shoulders and knees is not allowed and covering them up with a shawl isn't an option, so I had to wear a raincoat all the times (and nearly boiled up in the heat). All temples have these restrictions, but in the Grand Palace they really do pay attention to them and if you do not meet the requirements you might risk standing in a long queue and not being able to get it.
Now, the palace complex is enormous and extravagant. Raised in the XVIIIth century it was the home of Thai royal families, royal government, war ministry and state department for over 150 years.
It remains the most sacred place in Thailand as one of the temples (Wat Phra Kaew) contains a statue of Emerald Buddha - the most sacred Buddha statue of them all. The 80cm tall statue dates back to XIVth century and as a ritual its clothes are changed by His Majesty the King of Thailand as the seasong change. Visitors were not allowed to take pictures of it inside.
Another major temple is Wat Pho - the temple of the Reclining Buddha. The statue of Buddha inside is enormous, impossible to capture without a wide-angle lens as it measures 46 meters long and 15 meters tall, all covered with gold leaf.
And off to the streets again.
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