Bangkok Tour

I had a love-hate relationship with Bangkok. Generally, I'd classify it as another big, ugly, polluted, heavily-trafficked Asian city. Except this one has amazing temples in it and wonderful food, which if you know me well, you know is highly important to me. Bangkok was my first Asian city of any immersion, so it was here that I learned to negotiate and navigate in very foreign waters. It was also here where I was first scammed (I promise, in another story!).

I want to share first the things I found most beautiful. Clearly, the crown jewel of the city is the Grand Palace and accompanying Wat Phra Kaew. If you have a layover or only one day in Bangkok, this is where you want to go. It houses the Emerald Buddha (of which you can't take a picture) and which is very sacred to the Thai people. The Emerald Buddha is adorned in one of three costumes according to the season. Only the king can change his clothes in a grand ceremony. In this picture you can also see several styles of buildings, especially in the roof lines.

These guards are called Garudas, half man and half bird. For some reason they really appeal to me.

At every turn there were lovely statues to behold. This was a favorite of mine. Thai architecture and decoration is very ornate -- lots of goldplating, intricate tilework, and soaring lines.

This is part of the Grand Palace complex built by King Rama V. In the background is an earlier structure built by King Rama I.

Here's proof that I was very appropriately dressed for the occasion and thus was highly annoyed when stopped by a guard on the way in because my heels were showing. I changed shoes to satisfy him and then once inside when I saw all the Thai people with open-toed shoes, I had no compunction about changing back into my more comfortable open-heeled shoes.

Another favorite place was Wat Pho. But maybe that's because I got an amazing Thai massage there. (An aside -- Thai massage is very acrobatic, lots of pushing, pulling, and stretching you.) This temple had an incredibly large reclining buddha. And look closely at the detail of the tile work on the second picture, which is of Wat Arun. They make these mosaics out of broken ceramic cups and plates. Sort of an early Martha Stewart approach to decorating?

Shopping is another highlight of Bangkok. This first picture is from the famed weekend market called Chatuchak. I had a hard time getting into it though as I was still struggling to acclimate to the Asian heat and humidity.

Those green awnings each cover a little vendor stall. These stalls line every street. And when they close in one part of the city, they are open in another. Even at 3:00a.m.!

Also ubiquitous to Bangkok are Buddha shrines. They are tucked into parking lots, alleyways, alongside businesses, in front of hotels, and in every home. Here you see one nestled alongside a river shack.

These Thai dancers perform at a shrine in front of a hotel whenever anyone pays to give thanks for a wish granted or to request one. Everyone else, therefore, gets to see it for free.

I took this picture because the contrast of the shrine and an advertisement for the Internet amused me. That truly exemplifies Bangkok!