One night, David and I decided to hop a ferry to see the buildings and temples of Bangkok, all lit up. It was really pretty as we cruised along the Chao Phraya River.
Wichai Prasit Fort on the west bank of the river is now on the grounds of the Royal Thai Navy Headquarters.Wat Arun at night.
We got off at the Grand Palace pier to walk around and see the buildings lit up.
Gate and wall around the Grand Palace.
The Grand Palace with a lone jogger running by. Notice the seven of the eight towers that represent the eight aspects of Buddhism….Right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. These steps are a guideline to help you integrate into your life in order to walk closer to the Buddhist’s beliefs. The rooftop of the building to the left of the photo is the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The Thai people love their king. This was outside of the Grand Palace Wall. There were pictures, similar to this, throughout the streets of Bangkok! Across from the Grand Palace is the Ministry of Defense.Wat Pho the temple that houses the Reclining Buhhda. Notice the picture of the king to the right.
From the Grand Palace area, we walked toward the Pak Khlong Flower Market which took about 20 minutes. There are many night markets throughout all of Southeast Asia. I believe they started in the early Tang Dynasty (618-907) in China. They are a popular place for vendors to sell all kinds of goods – clothing, vegetables, food stalls, souvenirs and in the case of the Pak Khlong market, flowers.
Night markets are definitely a cultural experience not to be missed when traveling throughout Southeast Asia. I am not 100% certain why they exist but after experiencing the heat and humidity in the afternoons, it makes sense to sell vegetables and especially flowers in the cool nights. They are a place for social gatherings as well. People meander through the stalls and often will have something to eat. It wasn’t uncommon to see whole families sitting around small tables sharing a meal. Some night markets are out in the open and some are in large warehouse-type buildings with tin roofs. I could only imagine how hot those buildings must get during the day with the sun beating down on them.
This was the Pak Khlong Flower Market.
There were several buildings for the flower market but around the buildings, there were many stalls selling flowers.
The yellow flowers in the bags are marigold garlands that are sold and used as offerings at the temples. More outside stalls selling flowers.
Here are some photos of the beautiful flowers that were on sale at the market. I especially was in awe of the orchids!
Chatuchak Weekend Market
We were looking for something to do one Saturday and I saw in our guidebook that one of the world’s largest markets was in Bangkok and open on the weekends. That sounded like a “must see!” It was a skytrain ride to get to the market area. The guidebook suggested we go early, around 10:00 AM, to beat the heat and the crowds but to expect to spend a whole day there.
We didn’t get there early enough and it was crowded and hot…just like the book said! The place is big! There are stalls inside narrow buildings and the isles can get quite congested. There was the food area for buying vegetables to take home or to grab something to eat while you are there. There was also an animal section but I passed on visiting that area. I could only imagine the kind of conditions they were kept in and just didn’t want to see any of it.
We probably stayed about 3 hours and decided we had enough. Since it was the beginning of our trip, we didn’t want to purchase anything as we would have to carry it for the next 7 weeks. Some of the sights and experiences we had at the Chatuchak Weekend Market.
This is coconut ice cream. It is served in the shell of a coconut. There are unusual toppings to put on top…..coconut gelatin, nuts, corn (?), raisins, shredded mango to name a few. I am not certain about the green food in the bowl next to the nuts but I think it might be some kind of wasabi. We tried the ice cream but without the toppings. I recommend trying some of the toppings, the ice cream was pretty bland and not very sweet.
Have I mentioned how hot is was during our time in Bangkok? The humidity made the warm days that much hotter. Before we left, we went to the nearby Chatuchak Park to relax a little before making our way back to the apartment.
Around Bangkok…..
You never quite know what you will come across while walking around a new and different city. These are some random photos that I took of things I found interesting.
Walking around the city, I noticed these memorials or shrines. They were most often constructed the same way, a small roofed structure on a pillar and surrounded by carved statues of people, animals, offerings of flowers and food. These are spirit houses that are on most properties and are used to give the spirits a place to go and protect the people from any mischief or evil an unhappy spirit might cause. Some spirit houses are very elaborate such as this one. Others are more rustic, like this one. There are all sizes and varieties throughout the country. The food, animals and people statues are placed as offerings to the spirits to appease the good spirits so they will hang around and keep the bad spirits away. Notice the red Fanta in as part of the offering. Red Fanta is a popular offering, along with fruit, cakes, and other sweet goodies. It is believed that the spirits like sweet things and that red Fanta attracts a spirit that is a magic and invisible baby. I actually took this picture the first day that we arrived in Bangkok. This is a guy, “hanging out” on his way to work. We were amazed at how the Asian people, throughout the whole trip, would string up a hammock and take a nap!Namaste blessings from Ronald McDonald!
Just loved this statue. It was in front of a mall.
Our very first tuk-tuk ride. Tuk-tuks are the modern motorized version of a rickshaw that Asians used to travel in. It is a three-wheel vehicle with two seats in the back for passengers. It was really fun to tool around in.
I cannot believe that of all my photos, I didn’t get one photo of a Thai Tuk-Tuk. I got this one off of the internet to share what they look like. They are popular in many countries throughout the world.
An interesting design for a building in Bangkok. Bangkok has a certain reputation as being the world’s sex capital. I really had no desire to see this part of Bangkok but “when in Rome.” We actually ventured down to the Patpong area on a rainy, Sunday night – not much was happening. There are three red light districts in Bangkok – Soi Cowboy, Patpong, and Nana Plaza. I guess that Patpong is the least popular. It isn’t anything that I would recommend to see/do in Bangkok. Part of Patpong Red Light District is a night market. Beautiful OrchidsI said it earlier, the Thai people love their king. His picture was everywhere you looked!
I initially thought that the “pug” was a mistake in translation on this sign. After going on the smokinpugbbq.com website, I discovered it was no mistake. It is a play on words by the two American owners, who have a pug. If you are in Bangkok and are missing good ol’ American barbeque, this place got good reviews on TripAdvisor…we didn’t go in as we don’t eat meat!Yes, Virginia, there are swan boats in Bangkok. These were in Lumphini Park which is a popular spot for the locals to jog and escape from the noises of the city. My parting shot for Bangkok…a sleeping kitten.
I hope that I have done the city of Bangkok justice. The next city we visited was the ancient capital of Ayutthaya.
Always amazed at how much you guys can pack into a trip, Sharalyn. Thx for sharing!
Thank you ever so much for taking the time to read my post, Lori! I hope you are enjoying FL! Joy and sparkles!