Our flight arrived late into Bangkok, and as we walked through arrivals, waiting with warm welcoming smiles and a big hug was Julia's old family friend Ann. Such a great sight after a very long evening and journey for Julia following her food poisoning episode (which sadly still hadn't come to an end).
We jumped into Ann's car and were driven by an airline pilot of all things!; Ann's good friend Oui to her beautiful home in Sukhamvit, an area to the east of central Bangkok. With it being past midnight, Ann kindly showed us to our home for our stay in Bangkok; a little villa in the back of Ann's garden, in front of her pool, which was an amazingly homey and had a HUGE comfy bed - a real treat after all the bamboo bungalows.
Despite the comfort, the illness seemed to have taken hold (even of Chris) and after a night of very little sleep we decided to have a lazy morning catching up on sleep and letting our stomachs settle down again. But this sadly meant we had lost valuable time for sight seeing in the city, so we decided with Ann's kind help to push on through and get exploring!
We were met by Ann's best friend's son Oak. Studying tourism, he was the perfect guide to take us to see the Erawan Shrine; a last ditch attempt to end the string of unfortunate events that occurred during the construction of the original Erawan Hotel and the site of the (relatively) recent bombings. Followed by travelling on the local transport across the city (BTS Skyline 30ish THB) and local boat (13 THB) up the river to see Wat Pho.
One of the top sights to see in Bangkok, Wat Pho (100 THB, including a bottle of water) is actually known as Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklavas (try saying that when you need directions!). A royal monastery and temple dating from the first reign of the royal house of Chakri. Made famous by its 46m long reclining Buddha, who's feet are inscribed with the teachings of Buddha - sadly these were covered for conservation. It was a great time to visit, as it was late afternoon so less people and great light for photos.
Other highlights included multiple Buddha galleries and the beautiful ordination hall, where we came across a group of monks chanting. We ended up sitting to listen for a while as it was a soothing and peaceful sound to the ears.
Wat Pho is also famous for its Thai massage, as the certified place to study the art. You can enjoy a massage from one of its own trained masseurs but we were sadly feeling too delicate to be kneed and stretched this time round (even though Chris highly recommends it from previous trips).
Our second day, we awoke more fresh faced and headed out back to the river to the Palace. The river boat trip in itself is a great way to travel and see the two sides of the city - the old and the new, as the skyscrapers, hotels and shopping centres give way to smaller wooden stilted buildings and the temples of Wat Pho, Wat Arun and our destination...the royal palace (500 THB).
The palace was filled with Chinese tourists. We knew we had hit Chinese New Year, so were expecting it to be busy but it was completely swarming with them. We dodged our way around the sight, after Chris had borrowed some very fashionable trousers and headed firstly into the Wat Phra Kaew temple compound.
The three spires of Phira Siratana Chedi, Phra Mondop and Prasat Phra Dhepbidorn really do dominate the sky line and glisten in the sunshine - a beautiful sight to behold at the centre of the complex.
The Emerald Budda (actually made of green jade), seated in the Ordination Hall, is the most famous of the sights within the palace temple area, and is duly surrounded with golden decor and offerings galore.
The temple area is best explored at a slow pace, to make sure you take in all the details from the delicately painted murals in the undercover walkways, to the golden Kinaree (half swan, half woman statues) and giant Yaksha (ogres/giants from Hindu mythology). You can't return once you leave the temple area so grab a map to make sure you see all the best bits!
Once through the wall and into the palace grounds, the buildings are less extravagant in decor, but still beautiful to see. The main sight here is the crown room, but this isn't open on Saturdays so we didn't get the chance to explore.
After a day on our feet, we were greeted by Ann, Oui and his daughter for a delicious Thai dinner. Having been used to eating cheap at the small local eateries of the islands, Ann spoiled us with a tasty Thai dinner in Central World mall - ordering all the best dishes for us to try.
We ended our special evening together at the top of the mall in a rooftop bar for a cocktail with a view over the lit up skyline of new Bangkok.
Our final day was to be a new site for Chris, as Ann was going to take us to the ancient city of Ayutthaya, 80km north of Bangkok, an area that even she hadn't explored thoroughly before!
Ayutthaya is a feast of ancient sights and temples, hidden in among the now new city. We did a quick read up online of the best ones to visit and lined up a day of exploring them one by one.
Most of the sights are easy to reach on a bike, which can be picked up near the train station, but we were lucky to have Ann had her cousin to drive us between them all, so we scooted around and managed to fit in quite a few. If you don't have car to get there from Bangkok, it can easily be done by train and then rent a bike to get around the sites. Better still stay a night or two if you have time.
Wat Yai Chaimongkhon - lines of stone clothed Buddhas around a central Stupa; where people were putting gold leaf on the Buddha's inside. There was also a gold reclining Budda and Julia decided to get her fortune for 2016 by shaking some sticks...given what it said perhaps it would have been best not to!
Wat Phananchoeng Worawihan - a beautiful temple where we were very lucky to take part in the rare event of a dressing Buddha ceremony with Ann. Chris even got the chance to 'dress' Buddha (throw the orange fabric into a giant Buddha's lap over your head!)
Wat Phra Ram - which we saw from the top of an elephant as it rode through the park (thanks Ann!)
Wat Maha That - a picturesque ruin which hosts the famous photo of the Buddha head intertwined within the roots of a tree (its on the right behind the tree as you go in!)
Wat Ratcha Burana - although in scaffolding we were able to go inside the central reconstructed stupa which once housed gold treasures.
Wat Pharasisanpeth - part of the extensive original palace, this area is dominated by three grand stupa which would have towered grandly in the landscape back in the day.
Wat Lokayasurtharam - which now hosts a large reclining Buddha on the spot where the temple lay.
Wat Chaiwatthanaram - the grandest and most spectacular of the day - a great way to finish with the sun setting behind.
Watching the sun set behind the Wat was a stunning way to end our time in Thailand, as we really build up a view in our minds of what this country would have been like in the past. We know we have return to Thailand again - there is so much more to see in the north and mainland that we missed out this time. The islands were great for relaxing and enjoying some beach time, but Bangkok and Ayutthaya gave us more of a view of the old and new aspects of this great country, which is something we are both keen to explore in more depth again in the future...but that's for another trip!
We jumped into Ann's car and were driven by an airline pilot of all things!; Ann's good friend Oui to her beautiful home in Sukhamvit, an area to the east of central Bangkok. With it being past midnight, Ann kindly showed us to our home for our stay in Bangkok; a little villa in the back of Ann's garden, in front of her pool, which was an amazingly homey and had a HUGE comfy bed - a real treat after all the bamboo bungalows.
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| Meeting Ann |
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| mmmmmmm... bed |
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| Chris with Oak in Wat Poh |
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| Erawan Shrine |
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| That's one big Buddha |
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| Monks |
Our second day, we awoke more fresh faced and headed out back to the river to the Palace. The river boat trip in itself is a great way to travel and see the two sides of the city - the old and the new, as the skyscrapers, hotels and shopping centres give way to smaller wooden stilted buildings and the temples of Wat Pho, Wat Arun and our destination...the royal palace (500 THB).
The palace was filled with Chinese tourists. We knew we had hit Chinese New Year, so were expecting it to be busy but it was completely swarming with them. We dodged our way around the sight, after Chris had borrowed some very fashionable trousers and headed firstly into the Wat Phra Kaew temple compound.
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| The classic view of the Palace (from outside before the ticket booth) |
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| The three spires up close |
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| A Kinaree |
After a day on our feet, we were greeted by Ann, Oui and his daughter for a delicious Thai dinner. Having been used to eating cheap at the small local eateries of the islands, Ann spoiled us with a tasty Thai dinner in Central World mall - ordering all the best dishes for us to try.
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| Three lovely ladies (Ann, Julia and Oui's daughter) |
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| Happy chaps (Chris and Oui) |
Our final day was to be a new site for Chris, as Ann was going to take us to the ancient city of Ayutthaya, 80km north of Bangkok, an area that even she hadn't explored thoroughly before!
Ayutthaya is a feast of ancient sights and temples, hidden in among the now new city. We did a quick read up online of the best ones to visit and lined up a day of exploring them one by one.
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| One of the (many) Wats |
Wat Yai Chaimongkhon - lines of stone clothed Buddhas around a central Stupa; where people were putting gold leaf on the Buddha's inside. There was also a gold reclining Budda and Julia decided to get her fortune for 2016 by shaking some sticks...given what it said perhaps it would have been best not to!
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| Wat Yai Chaimongkhon |
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| Dressing Buddha |
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| On top of an elephant |
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| The famous Buddha head |
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| Wat Ratcha Burana |
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| Three huge stupa |
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| Reclining Buddha |
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| Beautiful sunset |
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| Sunset over Ayutthaya |
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