Bangkok

After leaving Phuket late yesterday afternoon, we were finally back in Bangkok again to get a chance to see the city, and meet up with the tour group we had joined for the duration of our journey. As the venture into Northern Thailand could easily cause you to lose your direction in the sea of historical and cultural sites, we went with a tour for this leg of the trip to help guide us into the lesser travelled and lesser english-speaking areas...   

We arrived in Bangkok and after meeting the group, we all set out for a group dinner. Our tour guide is from Bangkok originally and currently lives in Northern Thailand and having her along for the ride has been a huge bonus and it's only been a day. She can negotiate prices, speak to the locals, and better than all the rest she knows some amazing locals restaurants. One of these we happened to visit for dinner and with a view of the river and waterfront seating it was a pretty amazing intro to the city and that isn't even including the spectacular bridge view included as well...

After that we were off to explore the infamous Khao San Road, the mecca for all backpackers coming through Bangkok. The road was like a blown up version of Patong with street vendors, local shops and more, just with a few less hookers along the way. The street was pretty impressive and you could buy just about anything you wanted from shirts and dresses to fake passports and diplomas. The picture below I would like to dedicate to my sister... for a mere 100 baht I too could have had an education degree from the internationally acclaimed Arizona State University... who needs to go through the real thing when a 100 baht here could save you so much time?!

Following the tour and a ride in a tuk tuk packed full with six people although only intended to carry three, we were back home for the night and getting ready for a day in Bangkok to follow. 

Our morning began a visit to the main temple in Bangkok. Inside was the spectacular Reclining Buddha exhibit built to honor those born on Tuesdays including yours truly. Apparently, in Buddhism, being born on a Tuesday equates you to being short-temper, stubborn, slightly irrational when frustrated, and one who needs to listen and think about what others say and do rather than just reacting... That description couldn't be further from the truth if you ask me... :)

As a disclaimer, if you aren't into Buddha, monks, temples and probably elephants too the remainder of the blog to follow may not be for you...

After the temple we were taken on a river tour of Bangkok in a jumbo-sized longtail boat. To say that the water was dirty would be putting it mildly... the water was disgusting-trashed filled and pollution tarnished we all came to fear any sort of water splashing that may occur. As we went through the various canals of the river we passed by many temples built right on the waters edge. All the water in front of these temples is considered holy and because of this fishing is illegal. Due to this, the fish flock to these regions and at the site of a simple piece of bread hundreds of catfish surface at once... it was terrifying.

Last on our Bangkok exploration was a stop at the Flower Market to check out the stands. Filled with gorgeous flowers and jewelry on all types made from their petals, the market was pretty spectacular to see. Overall Bangkok proved to be just the polluted, congested city that we had read it to be, but if you know where you are heading, there are some pretty amazing sites to see. Unfortunately our time was brief here and we were onto a six-hour bus ride to our first destination of Northern Thailand.