Jenny here. Back from our trip to Sydney (we had an amazing time but stay tuned for details), I am now going back to our 1st day in Bangkok before Sam joined us for the weekend.
Given that we had a late one the previous night, plus Kim and Matt had just flown in, we slept in a bit and got out of the hotel by 11. We walked down to the river, grabbing our 1st street food of fried bananas on a stick and iced coffee on the way. I also introduced Kim and Matt to the wonderful aroma of the durian fruit. They weren't impressed and weren't too keen on trying it. That's fine because I wasn't about to eat it again myself!
We got down to the dock and bought ferry tickets to Wat Pho. This temple is famous for the massive reclining Buddha. The courtyards within the temple are filled with intricate smaller temples decorated with colorful tiling that made for some gorgeous photos. Add in a dark storm approaching with super dark clouds and we went picture snapping crazy! Spent a good amount of time here, and then ducked into a cafe for lunch just before the heavens opened. It was still pouring when we were done eating so what better way to wait out the storm then to have a bit of Chang beer. :)The rain did stop luckily so next we walked down the river and through a local fruit and veg market. It was amazing to see the local people cutting, dragging, chopping the fruit/veg by hand. There were no machines like would be used in the west. Everything was pure manpower. We then saw the local flower market which was very beautiful. Tons of flowers everywhere!
Next stop was a walking tour of the city to Chinatown. I think Kim and Matt were a bit over the heat and walking all over but I promised we were almost there! When we finally made it, there wasn't even that much to see. Sorry guys! :) So we hopped a cab to Khao San Road which is the famous backpacker area with lots of cheap shopping. We all split up to do our shopping and met back for dinner. I was so proud of my backpack purchase and pulled it out to show everyone, only then did I noticed that it said "North Ace". What the heck! I had inspected it up and down before I bought it. I insisted that the woman switched it on me at the last minute. Oh well, I still love the bag and it's a great story!
Took a taxi back and it started raining again. Yazz and I braved the monsoon to get to the store, only to get completely drenched. We found out Sam's flight was delayed so he ended up finally getting to the hotel around 10:30pm. We then all jumped a taxi to a bar called Saxophone and it was really cool. They had a live band playing and we actually heard some familiar Western music including 'Sweet Home Alabama.' There was a slight Asian accent...details. Taxi back and crashed after a fantastic 1st day in Bangkok and a reunion with Sam!Stayed tuned for more Bangkok action...
- Jenny and Sam
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