Friday, February 28, 2014

Thailand - Part 1 (Bangkok)

IMG_5524

Bangkok
2013/12/14~16 @ Bangkok, Thailand

I took my summer vacation the week before Christmas this year. As the weather was turning mighty cold in Korea, I got my backpack packed and headed out to a warmer climate. I flew out Saturday night and landed in Bangkok late in the evening. It took some figuring out, but I managed to take the metro out to Southeast Bangkok where I was staying at the U-baan Guesthouse. The place was great, and the owner, Joy, was incredibly helpful. I spent the first two full days of my trip exploring and sightseeing in Bangkok.



Weekend Market

IMG_5403
( This was the street that ran around the Weekend Market in in northern Bangkok. )

IMG_5405
( The street was lined with little vendors selling just about everything you could imagine. )

IMG_5408
( Apparently, this is the largest market in the world. I'm not sure how true that is, but it was definitely huge. ) 

IMG_5409
( Fruit vendors )

IMG_5413
( Large portions of the market were covered. )

IMG_5422
( The place was a maze. It must have taken me a half hour to just find my way out. )



Siam

IMG_5435
( This area of town felt much more like Seoul than any other. )

IMG_5436
( Tons of traffic, people & shopping )

IMG_5438
( But there were far more motor bikes and tuk tuks in Bangkok )

IMG_5444
( One more view of the area )

IMG_5446
( This guy was just taking a nap in the shade. )

IMG_5448
( The glassy side of a shopping mall )

IMG_5453
( After visiting Siam and its air-conditioning, I went for a little walk to see what I could find. )

IMG_5455
( All of these little street stalls had awesome food. Some of it almost burned my face off. )

IMG_5462
( I stumbled upon this statue, but I have no idea who it is. )

IMG_5464
( I think this was the bus station. )

IMG_5467
( Some nice colorful housing )

IMG_5475
( These little street-side shrines were everywhere. )

IMG_5490
( Thailand has an over-abundance of temples. I found this one while walking around. They are all covered in gold and don't try to blend in at all. )

IMG_5481
( Being lost again )

IMG_5482
( You'll notice in a few pictures that there are pictures of the King all over the place. While I was in Bangkok, I went to see the second Hobbit movie, and before the movie began, there was a two minute tribute slide show. During these two minutes, everyone in the theater stood up to pay homage to the King. )

IMG_5492
( I bought this at a 7/11, because it was the cheapest; turns out, it's not beer, it was some awful tasting rice liquor. )

IMG_5498
( I really like the older building around Bangkok. )



The neighborhood around U-baan

IMG_5516
( This guy had an amazing junk collection right outside of a temple. )

IMG_5543
( He was also some sort of artist. )

IMG_5531
( I thought that it was pretty neat that you could find such an ornate temple in the middle of a regular neighborhood. They were seriously EVERYWHERE. )

IMG_5536
( There were stray cats and dogs everywhere. )

IMG_5547
( This is an example of the many streets I got lost on during my trip. )

IMG_5699
( Here's another temple, but this one had an elephant statue out front. )

IMG_5700
( A stray dog and a monk were wandering around. )

IMG_5704
( The doors to enter were pretty incredible. )

IMG_5551
( This was a park under a gigantic bridge. )

IMG_5554
( By the time I reached the river, I was drenched in sweat. )



Ferry on Chao Phraya

IMG_5558
( I was specifically told my my hostel owner to take the ferry with the orange flags, because they are much cheaper and how the locals travel. )

IMG_5562
( When I arrived at the ferry docks, there was a line to buy tickets, so I did. That was a mistake; I paid three times as much to take the more tourist ferry. )

IMG_5564
( I wasn't trying to ride a private boat like this, but I was trying to ride like the locals. WHOOPS. )

IMG_5575
( Some housing along the river banks )


Wat Pho

IMG_5594
( This was a small shrine within Wat Pho. )

IMG_5592
( This Buddha was enormous. )

IMG_5595
( I don't know if this photo can make you fully realize just how big this guy is. )

IMG_5601
( Maybe this will help. These are his feet! )

IMG_5604
( The back of his resting head. )

IMG_5605
( The walls in this temple were beautiful. )

IMG_5624
( This is the building that houses that massive golden Buddha. )

IMG_5625
( The temple complex was filled with hundreds of smaller individual Buddha statues. )

IMG_5611
( This area was filled with these towers. )

IMG_5612
( Some guardians were protecting the place. )



Wat Arun

IMG_5583
( I took a 3 Baht ferry ride across the river. It was so cheap, but of course it was a minute and a half ride. This is a view of the area from across the river. )

IMG_5631
( This place was amazing. The temple was so intricately carved and covered with some sort of colored materials. )

IMG_5645
( This was the view from the top. )

IMG_5646
( From up there, you could see the Grand Palace & Wat Pho on the other side. )

photo
( I met some Korean ladies atop Wat Arun, and they were kind enough to take a photo for me. )

IMG_5658
( Wat Arun )

IMG_5659
( It was mighty dicy climbing up that second set of stairs. I definitely did not feel safe. )

IMG_5660
( Just so you get an idea of the type of designs that are covering this temple )

IMG_5662
( The King can be found all over town. )



Patpong

IMG_5671
( Patpong was one of the seedier areas of town. )

IMG_5677
( It's riddled with strip joints, gogo bars, ping-pong shows, prostitutes, and shopping. )

IMG_5684
( I did pick up some nice tank-tops from one of these shops. )

IMG_5692
( Apparently Super Pussy is one of the most famous ping-pong shows in town. I did not enter this establishment, but to be completely honest, I did attend a ping-pong show. I won't go into any details, but I will say that if you're in Bangkok, you must experience it. It was one of the most unique things I've ever seen. )

IMG_5694
( Chang was my beer of choice in Thailand. )

IMG_5696
( Some tuk tuk drivers were taking a break. )

IMG_5507
( Tuk tuk on a busy street )



How to get to Bangkok:
Buy a plane ticket and get yourself a map!


For more on my life in Korea, check out my tumblr account: Public Intox in Korea


Feel free to comment or email me with questions or comments: spenser.r.ford@gmail.com

Related Posts

Untitled   Untitled   Untitled   IMG_7702

1 comment:

  1. Come on buddy... I was expecting a few more details in regards to the ping pong show.

    ReplyDelete