The flight from Siem Reap to Bangkok lasted about one hour, which gave us just enough time to recover from the life threatening tuk tuk journey to the airport. After collecting our luggage at Suvarnabhumi, we were impressed by the straightforwardness of the airport rail link and metro system (MRT). We got off the MRT at Sukhumvit, opposite the Terminal 21 shopping mall, and walked a few hundred metres to our hotel.
Usually, our next move would be to set off exploring the city, but not this time. My parents decided early in our trip that they would join us for two weeks of our adventure in January, and their flight landed in Bangkok just a few hours after ours. We met them at Sukhumvit station and made our way back to the hotel. They had travelled all the way from the UK, so after a quick catch-up, we let them get some rest. While they slept, Fionnuala and I sampled the delicious Christmas cake my sister had sent over with my parents. Our first evening in Bangkok was spent in Chinatown, where the four of us ate at a busy roadside restaurant with wonderful food. It was Friday night and the whole area was packed with a mix of locals and tourists.
After breakfast the following morning, we took the MRT to Hua Lamphong and walked back to Chinatown to visit Wat Traimit, home of the Golden Buddha. The temple and the Buddha are really impressive, but the history of the Buddha statue is what makes it so remarkable. In 1955, the statue was dropped while being repositioned, chipping the plaster surface. Intrigued by what they could see beneath, workers broke off more plaster, revealing the 5.5 ton gold Buddha inside. The next stop on our journey was The Grand Palace, but getting there involved a trip by tourist boat on the Chao Phraya River. The boat journey from Ratchawongse Pier to Tha Maharaj Pier afforded excellent views of riverboats, the modern buildings of the city and the towers of Wat Pho and Wat Arun.
The first thing of we noticed inside the grounds of the Royal Palace was the incredibly long line of Thai mourners, dressed all in black, who had come to pay their respects to their recently deceased monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. We made our way around the beautiful buildings, taking photographs of the statues. Having completed a loop of the grounds, we headed back to the river and took the boat to Phra Arthit Pier. From there we visited Khao San Road. As I had stayed there in 2008, I thought it would be good to show my parents where the backpackers slept. We ate lunch nearby, and had a good look around the many stalls.
Although tired from our busy day, we were all excited for the Midnight Food Tour by Tuk Tuk (bangkokfoodtours.com) we had booked. We met our guide, TK, and the rest of the tour group at Sam Yan MRT station. In total, there were three food stops, each serving wonderful Thai food. The other stops were at the flower market, a rooftop bar with brilliant views of the city and Wat Pho. Visiting Wat Pho at night was quite a surreal experience, as there was nobody else there. Although the reclining Buddha statue isn’t open at night, it was an excellent opportunity to take in the stupas and other buildings. In contrast to the motorbike-pulled remorques of Cambodia, the tuk tuks in Bangkok are powerful and rather fast. The drivers on the tour clearly enjoyed demonstrating their driving skills, and the highlight of the night was them racing each other from restaurant to restaurant, and finally back to the hotel.
The next day was mine and Fionnuala’s last in Bangkok, as that evening we took a train to Surat Thani, on our way to Ko Samui. After a big breakfast in the hotel, the four of us repeated our trip to Ratchawongse Pier and took a boat to Wat Arun. By the time we arrived, a light rain shower had become a heavy downpour, causing all tourists to shelter under the temple’s canopies. In the lighter periods of rain, we walked around the 76 metre high central tower and its many decorative features. After a short wait, we took a boat back across the river to Wat Pho. Having visited the previous night, we headed straight to the Ordination Hall, where the 46 metre long Reclining Buddha is housed. Getting a good photo of the Buddha isn’t easy, as the building isn’t much bigger than the statue, but we gave it a good try.
That night Fionnuala and I boarded a train heading south. There was no need for long goodbyes, though, as we would see my parents again the following day on Ko Samui.
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