Bangkok, oh Bangkok, where do I begin? Our homebase while in Thailand was Bangkok as that is where my dad is from and all of his family lives there. Honestly, I'm not quite sure how to describe Bangkok, it is such an interesting place. It has a lot of the same characteristics as large American cities. Dave and I have settled on calling it a "hot urban mess" but in a very fond way. Wealth and poverty are side-by-side in Bangkok. It is a big modern city as evidenced by it's numerous freeways, skycrapers, universities, world-class malls, hotels & restaurants, as well as the Skytrain which is a very cool public transportation system.
However, there is also the other side of Bangkok which shows the lack of urban planning and government zoning/control. Slums, abandoned construction projects, horrific traffic jams, narrow streets clogged with garbage, overgrowth and stray dogs are also common sites. Sometimes it's a wonder it all works out, the power lines a case in point:
 |
| This isn't event the most complicated and intertwined power line |
A prominent feature of Bangkok and Thai culture in general is the street vendor. The streets are lined with row after row of vendor tables, umbrellas and stands hawking everything from souvenirs, to food, to clothes to fresh plants and flowers. One of the best parts of Thailand is the street food, so cheap, so easily accessible and very good. In fact, in our experience in Bangkok, no one really cooks and prepares food at home but usually just buys it on the streets or at the fresh markets. The great part is that you can buy anything like charcoal grilled chicken, bags of soup and curry, fresh fruit, and desserts. Going to the fresh markets is really an experience for the senses.
Paige (a little hot and sweaty) at a fresh market
While in Bangkok we stayed almost exclusively with my dad's youngest sister and her family. They were so sweet and took us to all the tourist sights in the city. Our first day there we started out at the Paragon Mall, now the largest and best mall in the city (the old #1 burned down during the anti-government protests.) Every mall not only has all the usual shops and a massive food court, but they also have full grocery stores inside. Paragon Mall is a step above with a huge aquarium in the basement called the Siam Ocean Center. We had some great new experiences at the Ocean Center including "Happy Feet." More commonly known as spa fish, the girls got the chance to stick their feet into a tub of fish who nibble off all the dead skin. As you may have guessed, they were terrified. Ashley didn't even dare do it, but Paige managed to dip her foot in once or twice. Only our cousin Mim was brave enough.
We also rode in a glass bottom boat to view sharks and rays as well as walk through the glass tunnel.
 |
| This shark has an eye on the girls! |
|
| The girls with a character from the song and dance show at the Aquarium |
Dave arrived in Thailand 10 days after us and we met up in Bangkok and really began some sightseeing. Aunt Poa and her family took us to the Siam Niramit, which is a world class live stage show about Thai cultural history, called, "Journey to the Enchanted Kingdom of Siam." No cameras are allowed in the theater but it really is spectacular and rivals any Broadway show. I don't know how they do it, but there is an actual river of water on the stage that they float boats on and of course, live elephants are part of the show. It really was amazing. Before the show, you can tour the theater grounds to see re-creations of traditional Thai villager homes from various parts of the country. We also enjoyed a very nice buffet dinner before the show, what a wonderful evening.
Our family with costumed characters from the show
We also made a visit to the most famous tourist site in Bangkok---The Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It happened to be on the hottest day ever. Dave actually got sick from the heat and so the rest of us went on without him. It really was the most beautiful place. Ashley was really impressed. Unfortunately, we are all looking a little hot and bothered in the pictures but we really were enjoying ourselves, even if it was over 100 degrees.
Here are some shots of the Temple:
Here are some pics from the Grand Palace, the public is not allowed inside:
We had lunch at a restaurant that sits on the Chao Phraya River that runs through Bangkok.
The next day, we visited two of my most favorite places about two hours south of Bangkok. The first was the Royal Bang Pa-In Palace. The grounds here were absolutley breathtaking. In some of the pictures the scenery almost looks fake, but believe me it is real. This palace was built by the King, Rama IV, depicted in the King and I. We could definitely see the where the movie got it's inspiration:
The Chinese inspired guest house on the Royal Palace grounds
The second was the city of Ayutthaya the ancient capital of Thailand. Hundreds of years ago during a war with Burma (modern day Myanmar), the Burmese sacked and burned the city, destroying the temples and cutting the heads off of the Buddha statutes. Legend says that for this the Burmese were cursed. The capital was eventually moved to Bangkok but some of the most beautiful ruins are there today. We rode a motor boat and toured the city by river. It was very interesting. Besides the ruins, Buddhist temples line the banks along with restaurants and businesses. There are also a number of homes and people who live on the river. We saw families bathing in the water and people diving for clams. We also saw a number of water monitor lizards. Paige spotted the lizards first, a couple that were about a foot long. You can imagine our surprise when we started seeing 6 foot lizards, they were as big as alligators! I tried to get a picture, but they moved pretty fast. I wouldn't want one of those climbing out of the river and into my backyard!
It's hard to see but the lizard is climbing out of water on the far right side, (click to view full size)
Feeding the "enormous" fish after our boat ride. The fish were so frenzied they splashed water on us!
On my birthday, we continued our touring by visiting one of the famous floating markets at Damnoensaduak. It happened to be pouring rain that day so the crowd at the market was very small. Fortunately, for us just as we boarded our boat the rain stopped. We were able to enjoy the day without fighting the crowds or the oppressive heat. The floating market was really an amazing sight, it was so cool to see all the boats loaded with food and shoppers.
The girls making cane sugar
 |
| Our hosts at the floating market, friends of Uncle Mao |
After, the market, we stopped at the Siam Cultural Park Wax Museum. Never thought I would see the girls with Ho Chi Minh and Chairman Mao--weird! The grounds, however, were absolutely beautiful and green.
Unfortunately, this is also the day that I started to feel sick with an upset stomach. I felt nasueated for most of the day but managed to pull through and put a smile on my face for my birthday ice cream cake. Everyone was so excited for the cake and it was so sweet that the congratulations were written in English.
Towards the end of our trip, Aunt Poa took me to the Sunday or JJ Market. It is held every Saturday and Sunday and is basically the world's largest and best outdoor flea market. It really is awesome. It takes about 3 days to get through it all, the only downside is the heat. I could only handle one day for about 3 hours. By the end, I was pouring sweat and despite wanting to buy more, I just plain ran out of gas. JJ market another reason to go back to Bangkok!
