Sightseeing in Bangkok

This entry was posted in Adventures Our story of Thailand Thailand on December 6, 2014 by Fredde

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Today sightseeing was on the todo list. We had set the alarm early and went down for a big style breakfast. There was basically anything and everything you ever wanted (and not wanted) for breakfast. Sushi anyone? No? At least not Fredde who instead settled for freshly made pancakes from a machine…

We took the BTS Sky Train to Chao Phraya and then the express boat to the Grand Palace. It was nice to see Bangkok from the river.

Once off the boat we got hoarded off through some kind of market and people started to hassle us. For the first time in Thailand we started to feel annoyed at how people behaved.
Unfortunately the palace was closed due to celebrations of the kings birthday. Instead we made our way to Wat Pho to see the amazing reclining Buddha.
To show the proper respect Margreet had to cover her legs with a nice green robe before we entered the temple. The sight of the reclining Buddha is amazing and it’s hard to describe how grand it is – you simple have to be there… The soles of the feet are a piece of art all by it selves with its nacre inlays.

The temple grounds at Wat Pho are very beautiful and at first you are simply overwhelmed by everything and you don’t know where to start looking. After a while you get use to it and nothing really amazes you any more. And later you simply have had enough…
We saw a cool lizard and a lot of cats.

Margreet took a nice picture of some monks and started to talk to them. They were from Vietnam and Margreet told them that she’s been there and they all had a nice little chat 🙂
We also saw a model shoot.

One part of the grounds held rows upon rows of Buddha statues. Fredde took a little time and connected to his inner self… We also saw one half finished.

All over the temple grounds we found guardians. They came in all manner of shapes – scary and fearful, strange, funny and cute…

We made our way back to Chao Phraya and bought some street food and fruit to satisfy the worst hunger.

We took a small boat across the river to the other side and Wat Arun – The Temple of Dawn. The temple was a magnificent sight! Half way up the very steep stairs Fredde gave up due to his fear of heights and aching knees. Margreet kept on going but also thought it was challenging. Once on top the view was amazing!

In the distance we could see parts of the Grand Palace on the other side of the river.

They were restoring Wat Arun and it looked to be a very tedious job. We also saw an interesting ceremony where people gave gifts to a monk who in return gave them his blessings. At least that’s how we interpreted the ceremony.

We took the boat back across the river and had a great lunch by the water. We had to walk through some warehouse to get to the Italian restaurant :-). Lunch consisted of spring rolls with cheese and spinach and a pizza, a perfect combination!

Back at the hotel we relaxed by the pool.

We finished off the day with sushi, wonderful ice cream and the movie Big Hero 6 in 4D. The movie was hilarious – it was a long time ago that we laughed so hard at the movies. It was an interesting experience to see a movie in 4D (moving seats, spraying mist in your face, scents, flashes of lights from the ceiling and of course 3D). You couldn’t relax as you watched the movie but on the other hand you became very involved in the movie…

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