Bangkok, Thailand

My second trip around South East Asia in December actually started in Bangkok, Thailand. I stayed there for one day before I went to Siem Reap in Cambodia. After that I came back to Bangkok and met Karin and Lola, my two friends from NTU.

The capital of Thailand is with a population of over 8 million in the city and probably more than 15 million in the metropolitan area unbelievably huge. Even when standing on some high building in the center you couldn't make out the end of the city. Since the public transport is very poor (2 skytrain lines, one subway line) the traffic is always congested. I believe in whole Bangkok is traffic jam from 8am to 8pm, or even longer. That's probably why the pollution in Bangkok is really immense. After a day walking around in the streets of the city I felt my eyes burning and my nose full of black grime. I actually found out that the best mean of transport is the river taxi on the Chao Phraya River and the canal taxis in the different side arms of the river. They have a fixed price and they get never stuck in the traffic jam. Of course you have to take one of the so called "Tuk-tuks" at least once, or your Bangkok trip is not complete. Their exhaust fumes smell probably worst, their drivers like to scam you and you almost every time end up paying more than for a cab... but the atmosphere of riding in these passenger trikes is just unique.
The city is very lively and there are a lot of interesting things to see. There is an uncountable number of bigger and smaller temples. Some of them are definitely a must see, like the temple of the reclining Buddha. The river banks and some parks are nice places to chill out. There is a lot of shopping, anything from cheap street markets to expensive shopping malls - and of course all the tailors (well I was talked into buying a custom made suit as well...). The nightlife is very diverse, from cheap booze on the backpacker's street Khao San Road to expensive clubs and bars. Not speaking of the infamous Pat Pong, but I actually left this one out, honestly!

The first major tourist place I visited was the temple of the reclining Buddha. All the temple buildings have this particular Thai style and are extremely shiny and colorful. The Buddha statue itself is gigantic - 46 meters long and 15 meters high. And of course all covered with gold. It is a very impressive view and I especially liked his cheeky smile. :-)

After meeting up with Karin and Lola we went to the Grand Palace. This place served for a long time as official residence for the Thai king - you must know that the Thai people are very proud of their king. But the current king is not living there. Here again the abundance of gold, china and colors is just overwhelming. Within the complex of the palace is the temple of the Emerald Buddha. There you can see one of the most famous Buddha statues - but it is actually made of jade...

Another very famous temple in Bangkok is Wat Arun - the temple of the dawn. It is situated directly at the river and from the upper level of the temple you have a nice view over the city. The stairs to reach this part are actually quite steep...

Being in Bangkok for Christmas we had to check out the night life for sure. With temperatures of about 30°C and just some very kitschy Christmas decoration in the shopping malls we never really came into a Christmas mood. But we enjoyed ourselves anyway. On Christmas eve we have been to the supper club. Its quite a famous club with branches all over the world. The special thing about the club were the beds on the upper level. The music was a bit too Latin but we had fun nevertheless. There was quite a big crowd there, especially a lot of Westerners - interesting how many people have nothing better to do then clubbing for Christmas. ;-)
Two days later we went to the skybar of Bangkok. This place was really amazing - I have never been to an open air bar on the 63rd (or something around that) floor. The view on the city was breathtaking - so it really helped that the air up there was actually fresh. It was probably 5 degrees colder than down in the streets and is was clean - at least much cleaner than 60 floors below. The drinks were a bit expensive (500 Bath - ~11 Euro) but it was definitely worth it!

The last day in Bangkok - before we went on further South - we visited the Chatuchak Weekend Market. This one crazy place! The market is really huge, more than 1 square kilometer big and several hundred thousand visitors each day. You can virtually get anything there: cheap clothes, antique furniture, used books, pet food, plants, knives, tools, jewelry, faked brand stuff... The two girls went on a shopping spree - I was rather wandering around and watching the crowd. I bought a memory card and a book though.
After that it was time to leave Bangkok and catch the bus to Ko Samui. In conclusion the chaos in Bangkok is sometimes really crazy. But the city has a unique atmosphere and we definitely enjoyed the stay there.