Old vs. New
My first full day (and also my last) in Bangkok was dotted with contrasts.
In the morning, I visited the three most famous temples in the city, all conveniently located within 10 minutes of one another.
The Grand Palace was the largest, and contains several buildings, each subsequently added with each new King, spanning approximately 150 years. Among them was the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, which houses a large statue of the Thai Buddha himself. The statue is actually carved out of a single block of Jade, funnily, since the Thai associate the emerald name only to its color and not actually its material. This room is used for prayer and religious ceremonies, and I had to obey the customs as well (no shoes and no slouching when sitting).
The Grand Palace complex also houses Thailand’s longest and most complex mural, depicting the Buddha’s life and his path to enlightenment.
The second and third temples were more modest in size, but impressive nonetheless. The Wat Pho, or Temple of the Reclining Buddha, houses a 46m Buddha statue, and is surrounded by beautiful statues and fountains, as well a school for young children!
The last temple, the Temple of Dawn or Wat Arun, is named as such after the Hindu god Aruna, symbolizing the rising sun. It has four enormous pagodas inlaid with intricate jewelry and porcelain, surrounding one central tower.
After the blazing heat, I rested for a few hours back at the hostel, and then headed back out in the early evening.
For dinner, my Estonian friend and I ate some delicious Snakehead soup with Chrysanthemum tea, and embarked on an evening stroll to see the more upbeat and modern part of town. All those temples and night markets had taken their toll on our force of will, and we needed to relax and treat ourselves a little bit. To help us in this task, we opted to try out public transit.
The Bangkok Skytrain is one of the city’s newest features, having been built not even twenty years ago. Because of this and the sheer size and tightness of the city, it’s entirely above ground and is instantly recognizable by its futuristic and dark sci-fi look.
We rode the Skytrain into the busy financial core of Bangkok, in order to find a rooftop bar overlooking the city. After a few altercations around the one-way boulevards, we had reached our destination. The Vertigo Too, as it was called, is a rooftop bar located on top of a 5-star hotel, and offered a magnificent view of all of Bangkok from a unique perspective. It was also full of expats, rich entrepreneurs and tourists, which made it feel a lot more international than our previous destinations.
A few drinks in, and we eventually headed back to our hostel to end our day.
This concluded my trip to Bangkok! And what a ride! I wish I had spent a few more days to visit the floating markets, or Chatuchak, Thailand’s biggest open air market, but that trip remains for another time.
Over the next few days, I’ll be on Phuket and enjoying the beach! In all likelihood, my posts won’t be as frequent or as dense. But hey, I’m on vacation.
Until next time!