Our Other Stories in Bangkok

Aside from food, there were other things that occupied our time in Bangkok. Although I must admit, food became a focal point anywhere we went and it wasn't hard at all when almost every corner in Bangkok, there are food carts. I haven't expected myself to morph into something like this but here I am now, as if every travel must now revolve around food. Does it come with age? Anyhow, I digress. But does it even matter? :D

Victory Monument

While we waited for our departure time to the floating market, we spent some time on an elevated walkway, staring at this roundabout and just watching Bangkok's traffic. Of course, munching on green mangoes, dipped in chilli for good measure.

We commuted often on BTS Skytrain which I found really modern and convenient. Air-conditioning works also really well to fight off the Bangkok heat!

We also made our way to Chao Phraya River which splits Bangkok into two, like the Han River in Seoul and Seine River in Paris. I always find a certain calmness when I am in a boat, cruising along the waters while taking in the city views. Save for strong currents and a rocky boat!

The flamboyant boat above is one of the many boats that are exclusive for 5-star hotels situated alongside the river. That explains the scanty crowd.

Meanwhile, for us who were blending in with the locals, we got on a different boat. Here is a typical crowd waiting in the pier. It's a must to be alert because the queue suddenly disappears at some point. haha

Does it look like Venice? It's cool that hotels have their own docks!

Wat Arun Temple as seen from the river

There was some sort of an upcoming festival in Bangkok around that time so, we got to see boats, decked with lights and colorful decorations. We passed by the Wat Arun temple which looked seemingly magical with its lights at night. I was really trying my bestest to come up with not so blurry photos. But who was I kidding? I only have a point-and-shoot camera and a moving boat made it all the more impossible! haha I did try doing manual settings but it was cumbersome to find the controls and that for a brief moment, I appreciated DSLR's many accessible buttons. I finally managed to get a decent photo of the bridge when we had safely landed and my shadow as the photobomb. I was holding my breath that time just to get this. Spell effort.

Phra Sumen Fort

On our way to Khao San Road from the pier, we came upon this age-old fort. It is remarkable that Bangkok has provided lights for these structures, making it an interesting sight at night.

Khao San Road at night

It is apparent that there are a lot of street shops along Khao San Road, selling clothes, souvenir items and whatnots. But alas! Food veered us away from any shopping.

So, on our second day and sadly our last day as well, we raided two markets to fill in the void. lol First, the Chatuchak market.

There is a huge park right after we exit from the train station near Chatuchak market. It is refreshing to see greens in an urban jungle and to while away your time by feeding pigeons makes it even better.

Pigeons would fly from all sides of the park, eagerly looking out for those who would likely feed them. You can buy food pellets from the many peddlers in the park. In the above photo, all our pigeons had flown to the other side except this lone pigeon that's slowly making its way to us. Freedom, who didn't seem to appeal to the pigeons was almost begging this pigeon to come near her.

But even this pigeon had better things in mind. haha

Finally, a pigeon that had kindly perched on Freedom's hand for some snack. Most of the time though, the pigeons were disinterested. It was a mystery to us why.

 

Prices at Chatuchak Market are higher compared to those less well-known markets. I only bought one blouse here for my sister. It was priced at THB100 and I know I could get a lesser price from the other markets. Oh well.

The King of Thailand. Must be a photo of him when he was younger.

The market where we went last was near these big malls, carrying international brands. But we were not in Bangkok for that. By the time we got to the market however, many stalls had closed for the day. It wasn't so bad really. We even got tired going through stalls upon stalls and choosing what we wanted to buy was already almost like an ordeal. One must need a lot patience, endurance with the heat and wheeled bags for one's purchases!

At the end of our day, we got on a tuktuk since Kate said that it would get us fast to their apartment. haha

See you again Bangkok! Hopefully, in a much longer period. And we are even more looking forward to visit again, now that Kate and Edgar just have their first-born son!