Travel Fun with Wes and Annette: Bangkok III

Two of our dear friends from Houston, Jared and Hope, came to visit us in Hong Kong. After a few days in Hong Kong they became bored with the city and demanded that we take them somewhere more interesting, so we decided to take them to Bangkok. (Ok, so they didn't demand it... actually Annette just wanted to do some shopping and get a good foot massage. Also, Wes wanted to see if he could actually go to Bangkok without getting ill at some point).

On the first day in Bangkok, we visited the Emerald Buddha, the Grand Palace, and Wat Po.

Tuk-Tuk Ridin'. These are good for a quick ride, but you have to know exactly where you are going and be willing to fiercely negotiate with a driver bent on ripping you off or taking you on an unscheduled shopping trip where they will get a commission.

Tuk-Tuk

River Ferry

Jared on the lookout for pirates

Wat Arun from River Ferry

River Traffic

River Ferry

Wat Phra Kaew

Grand Palace

Wat Phra Kaew

Wat Po

Principal Buddha at Wat Po

After touring all day, we decided to grab some dinner at a Thai restaurant recommended in Lonely Planet. As often happens when we go somewhere in the Lonely Planet book, we found ourselves surrounded with people with copies of the book (surprise, surprise). But, the recommendation was a good one since the food was very tasty, especially the red curry.

Following dinner, we decided to check out the Suan Lum Night Bazaar, a huge nighttime market with a huge selection of clothes, furniture, souvenirs, etc. This area also had funny little booths were two or three people could pay 5 baht to sing karaoke. After shopping for a while our feet were tired to we enjoyed an hour long foot massage.

On day two we hired a longtail boat to go on a short tour of Bangkok's canals. Along the canals we got to see lots more temples where the water churned with fish - people would throw whole bread slices into the water and they would be devoured in seconds. We also got to see how people in Bangkok live. Some of the houses seemed very run down. However, others were brand new and had satellite dishes.

Longtail Boat Cruisin'

Longtail Boat

Canal Locks

Canal Scene

House on Canal

On the River

After our river tour, we visited the house of Jim Thompson, an American who moved to Bangkok after serving in the US intelligence department in the 40's. He is known for helping to revive the Thai silk industry. In 1967, he mysteriously disappeared while on a trip to Malaysia; some think he was kidnapped by the US or Thai government... others think he was simply eaten by a tiger. After his disappearance, the Thai government turned his house into a museum.