Adventuring Through the Many Treasures of Bangkok, Thailand

As we made our way back to Bangkok, we were all starting to need a bit more rest, we had seen so much in such a short time! A few of us opted for some half day off of touring to relax by the pool or with massages. We were all starting to think about the impending farewell at the end of the week now that we were in the final city together, but first, we had a few more things to explore.

Silk and Dragons

Our hosts needed to teach lectures or attend meetings the first full day in Bangkok so we walked to explore the Jim Thompson house on our own, it was only a block away by walking through this building holding a coffee shop and a collection of galleries and coworking spaces, and along the canal where we watched water taxis speed by.

Jim Thompson was an architect until WWII, when he enlisted with the National Guard. By the end of the war he joined the OSS (predecessor to CIA) and was sent to Thailand and fell in love with the country. After retiring from the army he moved to Thailand and eventually designed and built this house in mostly the Traditional Thai style but with some more western influences such as indoor stairways. Proceeds from tours of the house go towards Thai charities and projects that support preservation of Thai’s cultural heritage.

He had also started the Thai Silk company which raised many Thai out of poverty by allowing the women who weaved the silk to work at home so they could earn money and still take care of the house. The silk was used in the musical The King and I and since then has prospered. Jim Thompson disappeared without a trace in 1967.

We did a brief coffee and snack stop on the way back to the hotel; I had an egg thread cake and matcha tea:

The afternoon we all decided to do our own thing. Mr. Wander and his dad walked around the university and to a park where they found a dragon! Technically called a Monitor Lizard, but either way it reminds me a bit of a crocodile.

The rest of us took naps, played in the pool, and/or applied for visas needed in the near future.

For dinner our hosts were able to meet back up with us at the art museum and we ventured into one of the malls near us, Siam Discovery. One section of the mall was completely full of restaurants, we found one called Audrey that had many different fusion options.

That night the grandparents watched the kiddo while us siblings went to a rooftop bar at the Sofitel. This hotel looked really interesting, there were 4 different elements listed around groups of floors, earth, water, air, and metal, and I wonder if the rooms are themed, maybe we’ll have to stay there someday. The view was amazing from the top.

The bar did not disappoint, we all got a round of cocktails based on our horoscopes and somehow, they were all a shade of red-purple. The second round we changed it up a bit but somehow we all found one that was orange! They were delicious! There was also a Karaoke bar next door so we were serenaded throughout our night.

The Old Capital

Today was a bit of a drive to Ayutthaya, which was the old capital of Thailand. We started with Bang Pa-In Summer Palace which was constructed by King Prasat Thong in 1632 but had to be rebuilt after the fall of Ayutthaya. Most of the buildings are from the late 1800s.

This was the strictest place we went to as to clothing, even the men had to keep their legs covered down to their ankles, but my tea length skirt was still acceptable. The grounds featured several stunning buildings and bridges around various ponds and rivers.

It was about 95F this day and very sunny…the heat may have gotten to us a bit in that one photo. Our next stop was not too far away but had much fewer escapes from the sun, Wat Chaiwatthanaram. This temple was built by the same king just a few years prior to the summer palace, but after the Burmese attack in 1767, its restoration wasn’t started until the late 1980s.

We were ready for a break from the heat so we went to a restaurant along the river known for its giant river prawns. The restaurant was called Baan Watcharachai, and can you believe it only takes 4 of these to make a kilogram?!? It was hard to finish all our food besides!

Credit for this excellent food photo goes to my SIL. I should take a class from her, hehe! The shrimp weren’t my favorite, unfortunately, but I’m not a big lobster fan either so I should stick to the smaller shellfish, I think.

After fueling up we weren’t quite ready for the heat again so we opted for the Chao Sam Phraya Museum because we heard it was air conditioned. The Museum held treasures found in Wat Chaiwatthanaram and other temples, most of which was gold. There was a lovely model of what the temple looked like before it was attacked.

Ready for a last spurt in the sun we headed to Wat Phra Si Sanphet. This temple was built on the site of the original palace from the 1300s but after the invasion only the 3 chedis and some of the foundation stands today.

In need of snacks before heading back to Bangkok our driver dropped us off at a nearby coffee shop with really creative desserts that looked like sushi or fruits.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped by Mr. Wander’s aunt’s house on the outskirts of Bangkok and met her sister, nephew, and the dog they rescued. I loved their back garden with several mango trees and many fresh herbs, fruits, and vegetables.

While there we got our first taste of durian! If you’ve ever been to Asia you have probably seen signs forbidding durian on buses or in hotel rooms because the aroma can be quite pungent. I didn’t mind it but I can’t see myself craving it. It also didn’t initially smell as bad as I had expected but it did seem to build over the 30 or so minutes we were hanging out. Then Mr. Wander and most of his family walked around the market just down the street a bit until it was time to get dinner back at the hotel. Mr. Wander ordered one of the fanciest (and tastiest) Pad Thai’s we have had so far.

My SIL and I had booked a massage after dinner. I opted for a calm style massage which was very relaxing, where she had an adventure with the traditional Thai massage. We both enjoyed pre-massage foot soaks and a spicy ginger tea after. Then we went for a few cocktails before heading to bed.

Farewell…for now

The last day with the whole family in Thailand began with a trip to the Grand Palace, with about 20 other tours and school groups! The day prior they had just opened a new entrance with an underground gathering hall so we were one of the first to test it out. It still took us a good 30 minutes to get in the door so I think they need to work out a few kinks. Despite the sheer number of tourists I did enjoy these buildings mostly for the colors. I especially loved these light blue towers near the entrance.

There were beautiful gold chedis as well.

There were lovely painted murals as well as colorful statues. The reason it was so popular was because this is the location of the emerald Buddha, but we were not allowed to take pictures from inside its temple. The emerald Buddha is not named for the material just for the color, although when you see it he looked mostly gold due to the seasonal clothing he was wearing, the garments are changed for each of the 3 Thai seasons, dry, rainy, and hot.

On the same property there is a Queen Sirikit textile museum we decided to peruse. You could only take pictures on the main level where it talked about the various textiles from around Thailand. The upper floor where we could not take pictures had dresses worn by the royal family for different occasions over the years.

We walked to a nearby restaurant for a quick lunch, after which many of the family went back to the hotel to rest in the A/C or by the pool. The rest of us went to visit Wat Pho (Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajwaramahawihan), also known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. This is one of the oldest and largest temples around Bangkok, and some of the area is still used as a monastery and a school today. It is likely the woman who had massaged me the night before was taught there as it is a school for traditional healing arts. There were many gardens with Buddhas representing the various healing arts.

In one of the gardens was a tree that is thought to be descended from the original Bodhi tree in India where Buddha first achieved enlightenment.

There were also 4 chedis for the first 4 kings after this temple was begun. The 4th King decided to place a barrier around the chedis so no others could be built for kings that followed him.

The reclining buddha was much larger than I had expected, 15 meters (50 ft) tall. Her feet were covered with pictures of buddhas life.

Since the van took the rest of our group back to the hotel, the five of us took a ferry across the river to Wat Arun. We didn’t go inside but I got an okay picture from the river.

After the open standing ferry that took us across, we got tickets for a nice air conditioned electric ferry that took us downriver. From there we could catch the elevated train back to the neighborhood where our hotel was located. That evening we all went to a restaurant for a farewell dinner for all 9 of us.

I decided to have one last pad thai since it was our last night in Thailand for several weeks. It was the most interesting presentation, the noodles wrapped up in the egg! It didn’t come broken I was just hungry…

The following morning we said our goodbyes in the airport, Mr. Wander’s family off to Japan on their way home, and us off to Vietnam. We’re hoping his family will join us on another adventure somewhere in the world later this year, as with my family (hint, hint if you’re reading this).

Learning a bit of Thai

I decided to start a new section as I post about each country, to help me remember what I’ve learned, especially parts of the language.

• Hello: Sawasdee
• Thank you: Khawp Khun
• Polite participle at end of either phrase: Ka (woman speaking), Krup (man speaking)
• Currency: Baht, 100 Baht ~ 3 USD at time of writing
• Can/bottle of domestic beer: ~60 Baht (varied by establishment)
• Most places have 3% fee for credit card so cash is better unless you have a Thai bank account to use their QR code system
• Grab taxi is like uber or lyft, a mobile rideshare app with upfront pricing
• Elephant pants are extremely popular (lightweight flowy pants with elephant design), especially for temple visits