Two Days in Thailand

I feel a little weird writing this post about Bangkok as I sit in my room in Cambodia, but since I have a few weeks to describe my various escapades within this country, I've opted to go ahead and tell you all a little about my short visit to Thailand.

I left Mumbai early Monday morning. A rickshaw driver (hand-selected by the man that helped us find our flat) picked me up at 1am and took me to the airport. From there, I took the short flight to Bangkok. 3 ½ hours hardly seems like it should be long enough for an entire change of country, language and culture, but that's how long it took for me to go from the loud, dusty and crowded streets of India to the quiet, clean and orderly ones of Thailand.

After getting through customs and exchanging my Indian rupees for Thai baht, I caught a bus to Khao San Road, a well-known tourist area of Bangkok. From there, I walked a few minutes to my hostel, which I had reserved nearly 2 months ago. I found my room, plopped my stuff down, and after a 15 minute cat-nap, went back out to start discovering the city!











Khao San Road

Since I only had one full and two half days in Thailand, I wanted to make the most of my stay. So, Monday afternoon, I spent my time orienting myself to how to get to various monuments and looking in some of the shops nearby. That evening, I ventured out to Siam Center for some quality time with the Thai mall scene. (Hey, I am on vacation!) After having gazed at enough over-priced merchandise there, I caught a tuk-tuk (the Thai version of a rickshaw) to Patpong Market where I haggled my way through a few frivolous purchases before heading back to my wonderful hostel bed.



The next morning, having benefited from the first noiseless night's rest that I've had in months, I was ready to hit the ground running! After enjoying complimentary breakfast on my hostel's terrace, I headed for the most famous monument in Bangkok- The Grand Palace.




There, I oohed and aahed over the amazing architecture and ornate detailing that covered every nook and cranny of the buildings within the Palace walls. While I could take the time to describe the incredible beauty of the construction, I think these pictures do a better job than my writing ever could. So….

Next stop on my list was Wat Pho, also known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. Personally, I think this is one of the more impressive monuments I could have visited on my trip. Measuring 150 feet long and just under 50 feet high, this statue took up the entire room in which it was built.

The rest of my day was spent riding ferries across the river, walking through markets and just enjoying the beautiful Bangkok scenery. I went to bed that night feeling fully satisfied with my accomplishments for the day.



Sadly, Wednesday was my last day in Bangkok. But, since my flight wasn't until the afternoon, I did have a few hours in the morning to walk around a little more. I didn't want to go far, so I mostly walked through the stalls on Khao San Road. Then, a little before lunch, I packed up my luggage, grabbed a quick lunch on the run, and caught the bus to the airport for the next leg of my journey.

While I have already had an amazing time in Cambodia, I think I will save those stories for a later post. But, just so you know that I did in fact get here in one piece, here is a picture of the wonderful welcome I had at the airport in Phnom Penh!



With Dennis and Sharon Welch in Phnom Penh, Cambodia!