Day 74

Friday 14^th January 2011

…. and we were awoken at 5.30am by a very loud call to prayer! In a predominantly Buddhist country we have managed to get a hotel within spitting distance of an Islamic Mosque…. Where they bloody well pray at 5.30am. Grrrrrrrrr! I had been looking forward to a lie in but no such luck!

We managed to doze until a more acceptable time to get up – about 8.30am when we were forced up by hunger. After the lady in reception had shown us where we were on the map I was able to orientate myself as this was my third time in Bangkok. It was Franky’s first time and so we had to do what all self respecting backpackers do on arrival… head to the

Khao San Road

. I was delighted to discover Bangkok hasn’t changed in the last 4 years and experienced all the familiar sights, sounds and smells as we walked down the busy, bustling streets lined with stalls and food carts.

As we reached the corner of Khao San there was an old guy outside the police station cleaning a gun with a toothbrush! I love the randomness of Thailand.

We meandered down the Khao San road looking at the wares. Amongst my personal favourites were the Mr Men T-Shirt ‘Mr Jihad’ and The Killers World Destruction Tour T-Shirt depicting Hitler, Stalin, Bin Laden and Bush! Franky is hoping to see them again as despite the fact that they are too unPC to wear they have to be seen to be believed. He hopes to buy them in Koh Samui

We had breakfast and then coffee as we discovered a Starbucks. We were offered iced green tea soy latte in Starbucks – can you think of anything that sounds less appetising?

And then we were scammed, all be it knowingly. We had the map out in the street trying to work out how to get to the Grand Palace when a Thai guy stopped to give us directions claiming to be an English teacher. He told us that today was a Buddhist holiday so the sights we wanted to see weren’t open until 3.00pm. It was currently 11.30am so he suggested a number of alternative sights on our map that we could see in the meantime. Then he suggested we got a tuk tuk to drive us around these sights. This would take 3 hours for the princely sum of 20 Bhat (about 40p). Seems like a good deal?! I was well aware of the scam. Basically as well as the sights (lucky Buddha, standing Buddha, big Buddha, black Buddha and any other description of a Buddha you can think of) you get taken to a series of shops as well including a tailors and a jewellery shop. The ridiculously cheap fare of the tuk tuk is offset by the money you spend in the shops. I was aware of the scam but also knew that we didn’t have to spend money in the shops. I explained to Franky that it was a scam but that of the Grand Palace really wasn’t open until 3.00pm it wouldn’t hurt to go and see a few Buddha. He agreed so we jumped into a tuk tuk and hurtled off into the crazy Bangkok traffic.

First up was lucky Buddha which apparently was just closing but they let us in.

Then we had to go to the Thai Factory where you could have any item of clothing made to measure. Franky was tempted by a cashmere winter coat – a direct Armani copy, but at 20 000 Bhat it was till £400. The owner of the shop dropped the price by £200 but that was still far more than our daily budget so we left empty handed.

Black Buddha was next, also ‘closed’. They suggested that we go to the Grand Palace in the meantime which aroused my suspicions that perhaps the Buddhist holiday had also been part of the scam as the lady in our hotel had not mentioned it that morning. The tuk tuk driver wanted to take us to a jewellery store. Franky was getting bored of the scam and so refused. The tuk tuk driver promptly told us he needed petrol and so he would take us to the jewellery store for 10 mins whilst he got some. This was interesting as he had ¾ of a tank of fuel… and he didn’t seem to want us to come for fuel with him. Exasperated we told him we’d skip the rest of his 3 hour Buddha tour and go straight to the Grand Palace. Realising he’d been busted he gave up telling us it was closed  even though it was only 1.00pm and took us straight there.

On arrival at the Grand Palace there were tourists swarming everywhere – it couldn’t have been busier. We were stopped on entry for our ‘inappropriate dress’ aka below the knee shorts!!! So we had to queue up to borrow more suitable clothing – a sarong for me and some fetching khaki trousers for Franky. They were ‘one size fit’s all’ so he was sporting some lovely half mast pants as he perused the grounds of the King.

The sun was beating down overhead so with our additional layers of clothing we were sweltering. It was worth it though. The temples are so opulent. Glittering jewels and gold shone in every direction.

Splendid uniformed demons stand guard of the Royal temples.

We saw the famous temple of the Emerald Buddha, Wat Phra Kaeo.



Actually made out of green jade he is one of the smallest and least impressive Buddha we have seen but he was brought back to Thailand from Laos after they had stolen him and placed here by King Rama I which makes this the holiest temple and him the most sacred Buddha in Thailand’s history. You weren't allowed to take pictures inside the temple but I grabbed this one through the window.

Franky took the opportunity to enter into the buddhist spririt with the holy water!

We saw the King’s palace with his impressive selection of Bonsai trees and were lucky enough to witness the changing of the guard. This was home to the Royal family until 1946.

We slipped into a few more Wats (temples) and saw the King’s throne room and much more opulence. By this time the temperature had soared to 32^oC and we’d had enough of our extra layers of clothing and decided it was time to move on.

We made our way down to the Chao Phraya river and crossed on a boat for the princely sum of 3 Bhat (about 6p!) to Wat Arun or the Temple of the Dawn.

This was a 104 m tall impressive structure comprising a main prang or tower that fights for space with the skyscrapers on the Bangkok skyline. This was the home to the Emerald Buddha after he was recaptured from Laos before being moved to Wat Phra Kaeo in 1785.

Despite the extremely steep steps we just had to climb it.

Back across the river (another 6p – this sightseeing might really blow the budget today!!) we made our way to the last stop of the day Wat Po. This was the home to my personal favourite Buddha in Bangkok – the reclining Buddha. I haven’t seen them all as there are 440 Wats each with a different Buddha but this guy would be hard to beat and so I wanted Franky to see him. But before we went to see him I had another treat instore for my husband so we hot footed it through the grounds to the National Thai Massage school – the oldest one in Thailand. For 30 mins we were pummelled and prodded and bent into the most unlikely of positions. And we paid for the privilege! It’s not too comfortable at the time as every single joint is ‘cracked’, doing all my toes at once seemed a bit brutal, but the after effects are fantastic.

Feeling super relaxed we headed over to see the Buddha. First we stumbled across another Wat on the same site. This is where the remains of King Rama I are buried under the altar so it was worth a look. It was also 5.00pm so we happened across the monks of the Wat as they began to pray. It was very tranquil and calm in there with the monks chanting the prayers as they prostrate themselves before the altar – quite amazing and we felt extremely privileged to be able to stay and watch.

From there we went to the reclining Buddha. He is 46m long and 15m high housed in Bangkok’s oldest and Thailand’s largest Wat, The reclining position is said to represent the dying Buddha in the position he adopted to attain nirvana. He is made from brick covered in plaster, lacquer and gold leaf. The soles of his feet are decorated in mother of pearl with 108 signs of Buddha.

This concluded our cultural tour of Bangkok and we had worked up quite an appetite so we headed back to Thanon Khao San in search of sustenance. This is the other reason I love Thailand and I was keen for Franky to experience it – proper thai food! We had chicken and cashew nuts, spring rolls and red curry. It was amazing – a taste explosion. Franky was equally impressed declaring it was one of the best meals he had had on this trip – and the cheapest! It was also our first taste of the country’s brew. I opted for Singha whilst Franky was on Tiger.

The busy day of sightseeing was catching up with us as was the jet lag so we headed back to our room for a nap…. And woke up 3 hours later at 10pm. This is becoming our party piece whenever we move continent. I could have happily turned over and gone back to sleep but I also knew how much fun could be had on a night out in Bangkok so I persuaded Franky that we should make the effort and go out. I’m glad we did.

By 11.00pm we were showered, changed and heading back to the

Khao San Road

. About 20m in we happened across Chart bar that was advertising 2 4 1 buckets. This was something Franky was keen to experience and I was game so in we went. I took charge of the ordering. I went for sang som (Thai whiskey), red bull that comes in little brown glass bottles like medicine and coke (just a splash) – after half of the first bucket I was feeling like we’d been out for hours. By the second my eyes were doing the backstroke through a sea of whiskey and I won’t mention the third!!!

Making friends in Bangkok is easy – especially when you’re all drinking buckets! Within 15 mins of arriving at Chart bar we had switched tables to join 3 Aussies – Jackie, Reece, Buckie. They were already wearing colourful hats and further on their way to planet drunk than us. Jackie declared that we NEEDED hats… and after only our first bucket we were inclined to agree!

From here on in I think the pictures tell the story far better than I could in words!

We also met John, a Canadian fella who was impressed with Franky’s Jacko impression with the hats and a couple of German girls, Nadia and Freya. It was an absolute blast with music pumping and buckets flowing.

So much so that John fell off his stool and broke it in two!

The bar closed at 2.00am and John, Franky and I headed to Gullivers the late night club on the corner. I ordered 3 beers and then performed my party piece of falling asleep in a club. John insisted that Franky take me home and that was the end of our first night – I love Bangkok!