26th November – 30th November – Bangkok
A longer than expected stay in this city of differences but we needed to spend a day planning the next leg of the route.
The Grand Palace is as its name states, the Emerald Buddha beautiful, Bangkok Art Gallery the best free thing to do for the day, the shopping in Siam Square ridiculous in its opulence, the traffic crazy in its static state, Wat Pho is majestic, Pro Bike shop is ok but not for tourers more racers but they are getting there, the tuk tuk driver scams are ever more cunning, the weekend market amazing in its size, scale and layout, the sky train by far the best method of seeing Bangkok north to south. Finally Bombay Blues Lounge next to our hotel has the best Indian food I have tasted since PP and the most awesome introduction to chocolate and mint Shisha!
The only thing that I still cant fathom is the badged and bespectacled touristas who spend a set amount of time as their tour guide will allow in these beautiful and amazing historical places. I know that they will have missed the detail on the pictures that hang around the Reclining Buddha because they spent so much of their time snapping, zooming, shoving and clicking with little regard to any religious, ethical or politeness that I see as being the way it should be. Hey ho, I will learn that sometimes you just have to let things be, observe, and comment only when it affects your experiences directly. So I leave Bangkok with you in picture format as that is the only way I can think to describe it. You will love it or hate it depending on how you land there and where your mind is. It has everything and yet seemingly no heart or soul in one place.
Chinatown is smaller than I thought and had read about and Jim Thompson’s house was well worth the visit to learn how one man on a mission who understood the culture of Thailand revived their silk industry.
So we leave having seen much, learnt some and very keen to get some miles on the clock
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| Wat Phra Kaeo |
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| detail |
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| dignitaries |
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| demon like |
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| detail |
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| entrance to palace |
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| a quiet day in Bangkok |
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| art in public |
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| art in a gallery |
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Add captionJim Thompson's bedroom |
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| and hall |
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| awesome signage |
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| Chinatown |
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| 1st Christmas Decorations |
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| Reclining Buddha is enormous |
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