Banging Bangkok and Other Places in Thailand

It's that wonderful time of the year again, Lunar New Year Break! I started off my vacation in Thailand and what a wonderful start it was. 

Day One: Bangkok Culture and Art Center, Siam Discovery, and MBK
I landed in Bangkok around 12:30 from Shanghai. I ate lunch and found the train to take me to my hotel Siam@Siam Design Hotel. It takes my train about an hour to get from the airport to my hotel. My hotel was late in cleaning up but to make up for that they gave me a free snack plate and then upgraded my room to a fancier suite! I had a bathtub and a separate shower, a king sized bed, a small dining area, a couch, and a closet big enough to fit the king sized bed. I loved that hotel. 

Dragon outside of the hotel

I walked the two minutes over to the Bangkok Culture and Art Center which was a free entry. The art is on the very top floor and floors 1-7 are shops you can eat and buy knick knacks in, which is why the art is free. During my time there they had live art displays in the morning and in the evening they had various musical performers. I saw a high school marching band walk through the halls, heard an opera singer belting out on floor 8, and an orchestra perform on the ground floor. 

The artist would come here to "plant" flowers during his live art performance. 

Afterwards I headed to Siam Discovery which is a giant mall and ate at Jamie's Italian Restaurant (which I had no idea it was a chain). They had nail salons, clothes stores, restaurants, and in the evening they had night markets. 


The staff was so diverse and I was to find that all of Thailand was like this! There are a high number of Buddhists, Muslims, and Christians along with transgender individuals all over and everyone seemed very accepting. I saw small altars for different religions all over the country. I wished I had come to Thailand to teach!

Day Two: River Kwai
I booked a tour for the River Kwai and Burma Railway to learn about the Japanese treatment of Allied POWs and of the native Thai people. The Japanese wanted to build a railway from Bang Pong, Thailand to a city in Burma. The railroad would be 415 km long and using slave labor the entire time. 
We began our trip at the cemetery where the POWs were buried. The bodies were originally buried along the railway but later found and moved. American bodies were sent back to the states but some of the Danish, Australian, and British bodies are still in this cemetery. 

Next we visited the JEATH War Musuem. JEATH stands for Japanese, English, Australian/American, Thai, Holland who were all part of the Burmese railway construction. We watched a short film, visited inside a recreated living hut, and then took a boat ride to see the River Kwai Bridge. We took a short break before getting on a train. 

While I think the train ride, boat ride, and the people I met were great I found that our tour guide really lacked. Whenever we asked a question she didn't know the answer. She also didn't book enough tickets for us to sit down on the train, so quite a few of us had to stand for the hour and a half ride. I was one of those people. Thankfully a very nice Australian let me sit in his seat for the last 30 minutes. 

Later that night I met up with some people I met on the tour. I am convinced that I get lost in every country I am in, and this was that night. I tried taking the bus and thought it was fairly straight forward. However, the bus stopped at a station every block, which confused me. Was this my stop? Did this count as a stop?

I got off the bus and turned on my GPS to see that I was still 45 minutes away from the hostel I was to meet these people at. I tried getting a taxi but was confused by them. There were taxis with red, green, and white lights so I assumed red meant busy but I found later that white meant busy and red meant free. Waving down the wrong colored lights meant that I got no taxis and ended up walking the entire way. 
The group of people who gave me directions couldn't figure out where I was and even when I looked online I could not find this hostel. The group kept saying they were on Khao San Road, which I was also on, which snowballed my frustration. I eventually called my sister who got out Google Maps on her laptop in the Czech Republic to help me. We found out that this hostel was not on Khao San Road but two blocks away from it and on top of that it was down two different alley ways.  

Khao San Road

When I finally arrived to the now infamous Bed Station Hostel (*note* there are two Bed Station Hostels but only one is near Khao San Road) I found out why the directions they gave me were so poor. Yep, they were already three sheets to the wind. They realized what had happened to me and bought me a drink as compensation and we played card games. It was a fun night but at 11:00 pm I realized I had to get home. I had a tour early the next day and then I realized that the train system was shut off for the night. I walked the entire way home. Even in the night, Bangkok was about 80 F (27 C). 

A selfie after my long hot walk home. 

Day Three: Ayutthaya
This was by far one of my favorite days. I was with a tour group once again but this time our tour guide was amazing. Donna was very detailed about the temples, Thai culture, and even the local food and souvenirs we should buy. While we were looking at Buddhas, Donna explained to us that the fat Buddha was her favorite because "it was just like her." We asked what she meant and she said, "The Buddha is fat and happy and Donna is fat and happy!" (Yes, she referred to herself in the third person.) Later in the day she showed us how to fold a lotus flower and place it on the statues. She told us that laying a flower on a Buddha every time you see it means that the next time you are reincarnated, you will be beautiful. "Donna likes being fat and happy but the next life Donna wants to be beautiful."

This is my new beautiful best friend Donna.

We saw four main areas with Donna in the city of Ayutthaya. The first was Bang Pa-In Palace. We were there the same day the Thai King was which was exciting. We had to be out of the palace before he got there. If he was there at the same time as us, we would not be allowed to leave until he left. 

Next was the Buddha in the Tree in the ruins of a temple. To understand the significance of this we had to learn about Thai culture. In Thailand the head is the most sacred part of your body, no other person is allowed to touch it and your feet are considered the least holy. Putting your feet up on furniture is extremely rude in Thailand. In 1767, the temple was destroyed and the Buddha statues were broken. Since no one can touch the Buddha heads, they stayed on the ground except for one. This special Buddha head was picked up by a tree and lifted out of the dirt. It is considered a Buddhist miracle.

Third was the Royal Temple. We learned that you could lay gold leaf onto the Buddhas and people leave flowers on the altar as well. Donna told us that in Thai culture there is a god for each day of the week. Whatever day you were born on is the deity your should pray for to protect you.  Each day of the week also has a color. The Thai king's flag is the color of the day he was born on. Most families in Thailand also choose one animal to protect for their life. Donna's family has vowed to take care of catfish and dogs. While we were at this temple, Donna fed the stray dogs who followed her around very patiently until she fed them. It was like following a saint around. She also goes to the local pond to feed the catfish. 

Day of the Week Deities

Finally, we saw the reclining Buddha and headed to our cruise back to Bangkok. The cruise ship had a buffet of western and Thai food. That is when I became obsessed with Thai chicken. As soon as I got back to China, I made my own. 

Day Four-Five: Similan Islands
Day four was spent flying to the Similan Islands and checking into my hotel. Nothing too exciting but day five was the fun day. 
Apparently I had bought the "expanded package" for this snorkeling day but I had completely forgotten about that or maybe the people there just gave me the expanded package by accident. Either way, I was going to take it. The tour picked me up in a van and dropped us off at the snorkeling center. As per usual with these tours, there were quite a few people and we got lumped in a group together. We were all given breakfast and I was given a towel, mat, and snorkeling gear while everyone else had to bring their own or pay a little extra for those. Everyone had their swimming suits on under their clothes. 
The first island we saw was just to climb the small mountain and play on the beach if we wished. I could have started swimming but I decided against it because I would have had to skip out on the mountain and this amazing view! 

The second island is where we got to snorkel. Our guide told us that if we were strong swimmers we could go without a life vest on. I thought about it but decided to keep mine on. I wish I had an under water camera to show you all but it was amazing! I saw parrot fish, groupers, bannerfish, butterfly fish, and emperor angelfish.

We took a lunch break and I found that I got a bento box meal while everyone else had a buffet style meal. I had fried chicken, spaghetti, salad, shrimp, and mushrooms in my boxes. Everyone got pineapple and watermelon and rice as well. I felt very swanky. The guide gave me a snorkel and fins and I was able to do a little snorkeling in the bay of the island. At one point I slapped my left foot on a reef and got a small green bruise which has to be the best bruise story ever. 

We got another snorkeling excursion. I noticed that everyone was swimming around the same area and being the cool kid I was decided to swim on the opposite side of the boat where no one was. I was having a grand old time when I saw it...about 40 yards (36 meters) away from me was a shark! He was maybe only 4 feet long (1 meter) but it both scared and amazed me. Here I was in the same ocean as this shark! I didn't say anything because I was worried that maybe sharks aren't from that area and I could have mistaken this fish for a tuna or something. I found out later that it was in fact in a Grey Reef Shark and are common sights in that area!

11/10 would do again

Day Six: 
I flew back to Bangkok this day and that night was to go boxing. However, the driver took me to the wrong stadium by accident. Thankfully, the company was able to reschedule me for the next day. 

Day Seven: Wat Arun, Wat Pho, Grand Palace and Muay Thai Boxing
This day I had to take a taxi for the first time to get to my first stop, Wat Arun. Before leaving for Thailand I had learned that taxis can scam people by not using their meter. The first two taxis I hailed both refused to use their meter but thankfully the third one did. It only cost me 100 Baht to get to the temple from my hotel! (about 3 USD) By the way, shoulders and ankles should be covered when going to these areas, no ripped jeans allowed either. 

After that I headed back to the street to hail a taxi. This is when I finally learned about the taxis lights. After failing to get a taxi, a man on a moped and orange vest stopped by and asked if I needed a ride. I had seen these guys around, they are moped taxis! I hiked up my skirt and off we went to Wat Pho. Again, it only cost me around 100 Baht. 

This temple was giant. It is the home of the Reclining Buddha which has pearl laid into its feet. It is so big, it is hard to get a full picture of it, especially with the pillars in the way. 

They were many temples with Buddha images throughout the area and the stupas were in all different colors like yellow, green, and blue. They were so beautiful! I also got a massage before leaving the facility. 

My next stop was the Grand Palace. This place is truly massive. They have giants guarding the gates, multiple stupas, a museum, the palace of course, and where they keep the Jade Buddha. Pictures aren't allowed of the Jade Buddha but where it was kept was insane. The walls are covered in beautiful art and there is special place for Thais to go pray. I honestly thought that heaven must look very similar to this. 

The giants guarding the gates.

I ate lunch at a local restaurant where I ate some delicious Pad Thai Noodles and two very large glasses of iced lemon tea. Like I said before, Bangkok is hot. The temples close by 3:00 pm so I got another moped taxi back to my hotel, showered, and got ready for my boxing class. 

My coach was a tiny man, maybe 4 feet 5 inches (1.4 meters), but he was super flexible and had a ton of energy. When we did our stretching he looked at me like "Oh man, another one of these untrained losers." For those that don't know, I am just able to get my first knuckles to touch the floor and can barely do anything beyond that. However, he was fairly impressed with my boxing moves and we went on to perfect my kicks. Overall, I was happy with the training and was glad I got to enjoy the national sport of Thailand.  

Day Eight: Chatuchak Market
My last day of Thailand was at the largest weekend market in the world! I was here from when it opened at 9:00 am to 1:00 pm when I had to get back to my hotel, check out, and get on my plane to my next destination. The market closes at 6:00 pm and honestly I could have stayed there for that long and would have come in the next day. I went through the used clothes section, and up to handicrafts, and down to plants and gardening. I had a foot and shoulder massage, bought some soaps and fake flower arrangements, and had my nails done. Not to mention I got to eat mango ice cream!

A map of the market. 

The market is so big that each section has a subsection and then a hallway number so you don't get lost. 

I thought the wind chimes were so lovely and they are all supposed to be hand made as well. 

I loved Thailand and would 100% go back again. When I was telling my sister about it I said that I thought it would make a great honeymoon spot. It's warm, there are a ton of things to see and do, and everything is so cheap. Plus the people are incredibly polite. 

So from me to you, Kob Khun Ka for reading!