Day 2      12/3/21

Bangkok, Thailand

Frank's Trip

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OBSERVATIONS:

The hotel is in a really good location - pretty much downtown. Of course, as much could be said for places a few miles away... it's a BIG town! The hotel staff is just great and will help with anything at all - it is especially helpful to have one of the girls translate a place written in our alphabet into Thai language and script so the taxi drivers can get a better idea of where one wants to go. The hotel staff works 12 hour shifts and 5 days a week. They seem to have an abundance of workers and plenty of staff to keep things in order and help guests.

It isn't just the hotel that is clean. The town is very clean and it is rare to see trash or litter anywhere. Many years ago when I was in Singapore several times, I noted they had people sweeping parts of some of the streets... that practice continues here in Bangkok. They are sweeping mostly leaves, but any general littler - not small dirt, just the noticeable stuff. The people are just super nice and courteous. And they are very, very young. Maybe it is just that the youth has migrated to the city... I've rarely seen old people, black people, white people, fat people... there are a lot of Asians, though :-)

I'm going to hate leaving - it is just so pleasant here. Weather is great, too; days in low to mid-80s with little humidity and nights in mid-60s.

Temple of the Standing Buddha - Wat Indharaviharn

This is the first "tuk-tuk" I rode in with its driver - who has an unpronounceable name nor is it really spellable.

A tuk-tuk ride should be mandatory for all tourists. It really gives one the feel for the roads and insane traffic an drivers of Bangkok. Bangkok has a huge population... I don't know how they don't all get killed off on the roads! It's definitely an adventure. Hold on!! Brief video show a tame version of a tiny bit of my ride...

The tuk-tuk drivers seem to all have a side hustle. I had 3 of them and then decided to absolutely rely on taxi cabs except under very special circumstances. It was convenient to get one for what I knew to be a very short trip. He wanted 600 Baht... No way... I offered 100 and started walking away... I got the ride. Sometimes under certain circumstances, a tuk-tuk can be a good choice - but not that often.

Temple of the Lucky Buddha

It wasn't my lucky day at this spot... nothing at all going on and no one around and not much to see, but I did get a couple of nice photos.

This tour is about an hour... plus about another half hour waiting for canal locks to open/close. It is interesting, but an hour of it is plenty. This is a great place to get overcharged. I have some nice pictures of some of the interesting places along the canals, but there are many more that are anywhere from poor to beyond dangerous. Some are on solid ground, but many are literally on stilts... and lots of those are VERY rotted out and look like they will fail at any minute (see video below).

LEFT: Wat Arun Ratchawararam - Temple of Dawn

As seen from the river. An amazing place as you can see from the pictures on Day 5 (which has already happened as I write this).

ABOVE: The Grand Palace

Expecting to spend the whole day visiting it in a couple days - after the holiday.

MP4 Video of some of the less glamorous places along the canals... and my foot at the very end :-)

 

Wat Pho - Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm Rajwaramahaviharn

Wat Pho Revisited - more photos on Day 6

< Left & Right >

Details of base of image

I really didn't quite get to completely see as much of this complex as I wanted to and hope to get back to it again. This is a very large complex and easy to miss a lot of it.

Buddha Lokanat