It always feels pleasant arriving in an asian mega-city airport and having a familiar face waiting for you. This is how we felt when we saw Katerina at the arrival gate, as soon as we landed in Thailand. Bangkok is a dispersed, chaotic, cosmopolitan, multicultural city with population over 10 million. However transportation works relatively fine, at least as far as human mobility is concerned and for cer
tain social classes*.
tain social classes*.We were so lucky that Katerina hosted us and avoid at first the hassle to find accommodation in some rather over-touristic neighbourhoods. However it proved once again completely different to get to know a place from someone that he stays there for long time. We might have been a bit "spoilt" since Shanghai, as Alex showed us what difference does it make. As a traveller you don't pay any more much attention on the way you transport, where you eat, the cost of food and in a way you become lazy comparing to previous places that we had to find out all we needed.
We were also lu
cky and delighted to meet Venla (hunaja), a friend from Finland, for two days there and as she has been travelling around the past 3 months she gave us a handful of tips. regarding Chiang Mai and Laos. Wish her to find a way to come back, as she left her trip almost in the middle.
So sightseeing became early next day with Wat Arun (wat means temple), a nice wat with steep steps that lead you to a nice viewpoint of the city. Palace is just at the opposite site of the river. In general we saw many kind of Buddha, as it was expected. In Mongolia we had our introductory lesson to Buddhism where they told us that there hundreds of Buddha, sitting Buddha, inclining Buddha, lying or standing Buddha, little Buddha, happy Buddha, and even budha for doctors, for lawyers ... sorry no Buddha for engineers. They are not of respect maybe ...
Temples in Thailand are characterised by an over-decoration, the use of hundreds different colours and materials from tiny little broken glasses to golden aluminium foil. Automatic doors with movement sensors, water and fizzy drinks vending machines in the yard, stands with clothes and souve
nir cards, or in some cases dragons and weird statues as guards in gates. Some temples are being visited from thousands of tourists per day and some other by few locals, like those we saw in Northern Thailand. Golden colour of course dominates everywhere.
In Bangkok we spend sometime with expatriates that live there some years and we got closer to their life, than those of the usual tourist that stays some days in the capital. We attended a EU get-together gala, we watched local live jazz band, we had dinner in a posh restaurant, but also in city’s the best pad-thai restaurant (in our neighbourhood). Absulemente, we paid once more tribute to numerous street cooking stands and we consumed tones of pineapple, mango (out of season now), bananas, dragon fruits, lynches etc ...
* There is an interesting social approach to mention in a further post regarding the use of means of trasnport in Bangkok.
We were also lu
cky and delighted to meet Venla (hunaja), a friend from Finland, for two days there and as she has been travelling around the past 3 months she gave us a handful of tips. regarding Chiang Mai and Laos. Wish her to find a way to come back, as she left her trip almost in the middle.So sightseeing became early next day with Wat Arun (wat means temple), a nice wat with steep steps that lead you to a nice viewpoint of the city. Palace is just at the opposite site of the river. In general we saw many kind of Buddha, as it was expected. In Mongolia we had our introductory lesson to Buddhism where they told us that there hundreds of Buddha, sitting Buddha, inclining Buddha, lying or standing Buddha, little Buddha, happy Buddha, and even budha for doctors, for lawyers ... sorry no Buddha for engineers. They are not of respect maybe ...
Temples in Thailand are characterised by an over-decoration, the use of hundreds different colours and materials from tiny little broken glasses to golden aluminium foil. Automatic doors with movement sensors, water and fizzy drinks vending machines in the yard, stands with clothes and souve
nir cards, or in some cases dragons and weird statues as guards in gates. Some temples are being visited from thousands of tourists per day and some other by few locals, like those we saw in Northern Thailand. Golden colour of course dominates everywhere.In Bangkok we spend sometime with expatriates that live there some years and we got closer to their life, than those of the usual tourist that stays some days in the capital. We attended a EU get-together gala, we watched local live jazz band, we had dinner in a posh restaurant, but also in city’s the best pad-thai restaurant (in our neighbourhood). Absulemente, we paid once more tribute to numerous street cooking stands and we consumed tones of pineapple, mango (out of season now), bananas, dragon fruits, lynches etc ...
* There is an interesting social approach to mention in a further post regarding the use of means of trasnport in Bangkok.
