www.jseidl.de – Blog

Still not used to the changed hours, I tend to wake up sometime between 2am and 3am in the morning and won’t go back to sleep. If I was about 8 stone lighter I would probably start to resemble Al Pacino in „Insomnia“… Today though this was quite useful since we needed an early start anyway. After a quick breakfast we got picked up at 6.45am from the hotel and after gathering with other people from other hotels took off in a coach going North, to Ayutthaya, about 1 hour from Bangkok. On the way we stopped at the Bang Pa-In Summer Palace which was somewhat disappointing (at least if you don’t know what to expect) – when you arrive at the (pleasantly cool) former summer residence of King Rama V you feel like being zapped to Europe – the garden has a French feel to it, there is one bridge sporting a number of statues that looks like it was ripped out of Rome and plunked there, some buildings reminded me of Colonial and Victorian counterparts and to top it all off, the last building you get to is clearly influenced by Chinese architecture. If you are reading this and if you have been there and if you actually understand architecture you are now probably tearing your hair out because I got it all wrong!! Anyway, see for yourself whether this looks Thai to you:

We then went on to Ayutthaya, which is mostly a large collection of ruins (thankfully much cooler than Mi Son in Vietnam, also much more widespread). Some temples are reasonably well conserved, others resemble a large pile of bricks. Unfortunately the Burmese were quite thorough in destroying Ayutthaya in 1767, and serious floods a few years ago didn’t help things either – as a result the biggest Chedi (dome-like structure with a long stretching pointed top – see pictures) as well as some other structures are now leaning (a bit like the Pisa tower) and with ongoing erosion and the recent earthquake in Burma, people are afraid that some of the buildings could actually collapse. Ayutthaya is over-populated with rather aggressive souvenir sales people which is a bit of a shame. You also have the option to „enjoy“ a brief elephant ride, which is a bit of a shame, given that there are more and more responsible Elephant „villages“ where the majestic animals can spend a few more years after a long hard working life without having to do Circus tricks or carry tourists around the block for a completely pointless ride.

We returned to Bangkok on the Chao Phraya River by boat, where we were promised a tasty lunch buffet. To be honest, I expected the food to be forgettable at best, but it was anything but: I won’t be able to forget the sorry sight of chicken wings in red wine sauce (that’s what the label said, looked like tomato sauce to me), pork fillet in orange sauce (one guy who was covered in cheap tattoos and looked like he had an ulcer already managed to stuff his face with six pieces of said pork loin) and – wait for it – Spaghetti Bolognese (Welcome to Thailand!!) anytime soon. The Tom Yam Kung was just about edible although the shrimp must have been in there since we left Bangkok in the morning and the standard selection of fruit (watermelon, pineapple, papaya and cantaloupe) saved the day for me!! Word of advice – if you have the choice to return from Ayuttahya by boat, food inclusive, or by some other means of transport, even on the back of a camel – don’t take the boat!! The river views were okay though, to be fair.

One more remark about the hotel we’re staying at: I was saying in an earlier blog that it was quiet – this is mostly true, if you ignore the International school next door (I don’t mind children at all, so that was absolutely fine) and more importantly the band that was playing last night to accompany the outdoor buffet dinner – how that man could play Western songs (including – of course – the all time classics „Bessa Me Mucho“ and „My Way“) on his violin and make it sound like a dying cat in absolute agony at the same time is beyond me, but probably a special skill that took weeks to acquire…

Tomorrow we will be leaving Bangkok and travelling to Koh Samui, so the next blog entry may not be before Monday.

Seems like we won’t be able to escape… „Final Destination“ anyone??

A hot and sunny day in Bangkok, with rain forecasted for the afternoon. So we spent the morning visiting Wat Phra Kaew, the Grand Palace and Wat Pho. With more than 100 beautiful buildings inside a wide-spread area, Wat Phra Kaew (which is co-located with the Grand Palace, uniting Religion and Royalty in one complex) is the must-see tourist attraction of Bangkok. I am afraid St Paul’s and the Tower of London or even Vatican City are struggling to compete with the stunning beauty of this place. Unfortunately you have to make it past a number of people outside the area’s walls first who are trying to explain to you that the area is closed and that you should go somewhere else (see yesterday’s blog) – some of them even dress up in jackets with „Grand Palace“ stitched onto them, pretending to be official guards. When inside though (350 Baht admission fee) you are rewarded with incomparable views (see some of the photos below – as you can imagine there are many more!). The attention to detail and artful craftsmanship applied over decades and centuries demands respect – which is sometimes difficult to show with the thousands of tourists pushing through the area. Inside the main temple resides the Emerald Buddha, one of the most important Buddha statues in Thai Buddhism which I find rather charming given that the statue is only about 66cm high. The statue sits amidst hundreds of other religious figures inside the temple (photographs are not allowed) and at the beginning of each season (hot, cool or rainy), the figure is being dressed in different royal robes. It was a little annoying to see a number of Caucasian tourist taking seat (on the floor) in the front rows while these were clearly kept available for Buddhists who came to actually worship their God…

What should have been only a short walk from the Grand Palace to Wat Pho turned into an interesting stroll through a street market which stretched all along Th Maharat, the road leading to Wat Pho. Rather than fake Rolex watches and Lacoste shirts, this market was selling mostly odd and interesting items, from thousands of little religious statues and amulets to car parts, from mobile phone chargers to a large pile of buttons and from bottled water to fragrant soups. My wife decided to buy a green and golden lion statue (to decorate her Lotus Beauty & Wellness studio back home) which turned to weigh about 20 pounds or so… She insisted she wouldn’t mind carrying the weight and continue our explorations!

Wat Pho is a much less busy temple which is most famous for housing the world’s largest reclining Buddha. I guess the temple was actually built around the reclining Buddha because at 46m length and 15m heights it is only slightly smaller than the actual inside of the temple. As you step in and walk along the golden statue that naturally dominates the room, you wonder what the trickling, metallic clicking sounds are that seem to emit from the statue – as you reach the massive Mother-of-Pearl decorated feet (massively flat feet, I may add!) and look around the corner, you discover the origin of the sounds: for 20 Baht, Thais and most Foreign tourists buy a tin full of small change which they then distribute into a large number of metal bowls that are lined up alongside the wall behind the Buddha’s back. An ingenious way of getting people to donate a little more money, which seems only fair given the fair admission fee of 50 Baht.

Since the lion statue my wife bought at the flee market was quickly turning into the proverbial millstone around our necks, we decided to take a taxi back to the hotel rather than enjoying another rather picturesque boat trip down the Chao Phraya, the way we came in the morning. The taxi driver immediately tried to negotiate a fixed price rather than turning the meter on which would have resulted in a fee more than twice as expensive… My wife is now doing some professional research (as in enjoying a Thai massage in the Spa co-located with the hotel) while I am writing this blog. Tomorrow we have booked a day trip to Ayuttaya (the ancient ruins about one hour North of Bangkok that were once the capital of Thailand) and unfortunately I left it too late to book a table for Sala Rim Naam, the supposedly best Thai restaurant in Bangkok located in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, for tonight, so we will have to look for some alternative grub.Despite the annoying attempts to rip us off I have to admit I like Bangkok – while it is very busy, it doesn’t seem as hectic as Hong Kong or Tokyo and people just seem a bit more laid back. More importantly I love the many smells of the city – the air is fragrant, wherever you go,  and hardly ever are the smells sickening or revolting. After our day trip tomorrow we will move on to Koh Samui on Sunday – however, I am looking forward to come back to Bangkok for a couple of nights before we return to Europe!

After a rather sleepless night (jet lag I guess) we had a late breakfast (good buffet, covering English/American style, Continental and Asian breakfast – I stuck with the fresh fruit and rice noodle soup, very tasty) and then headed into town.

The Chatrium Hotel is located right at the river in the southern parts of Bangkok. That means it is quiet (we can actually leave the balcony door open or sit by the pool, which is located just a few yards from the river, without being disturbed by the usual hustle and bustle of Bangkok) but it also means that you can’t just step outside the door and immediately start your sightseeing. Instead we decided to use the complimentary shuttle boat provided by the hotel which is just a five minute ride from the Saphan Taksin station, which acts both as the Southern terminal for the Chao Phraya Express boats navigating the river and as access to the Skytrain. We soon found out that the advice given in The Lonely Planet Guide to Bangkok was spot on: within one hour, three different people approached us and suggested – in a very friendly helpful way – to rent a Tuk Tuk to take us to different places. The Tuk Tuk would be really cheap and they would help us negotiate a good price and agree the round trip with the driver. We did not accept the offer but instead decided to believe the Lonely Planet Guide which was suggesting that the Tuk Tuk would take you anywhere but where you actually wanted to go (usually to cheap Gem shops and tailors). Only later did I remember the other advice which was that these people would usually lie about temples and other sights being closed due to Buddhist holidays, which is actually what two of the guys did who tried to talk us into a Tuk Tuk ride. Unfortunately we believed that part of the story and went to MBK Center instead (just follow the Skytrain line to the terminal stop, National Stadium), perhaps the most famous shopping centre in Bangkok. Its size is mind blowing – on five floors, there are hundreds of shops offering clothes, shoes, electronics (especially mobile phones), cameras, and so on. There are a large number of appealing restaurants as well, selling everything from simple Thai fare to sophisticated Japanese food. For the cheaper places, you need to buy food coupons first which you then use to get your food. We had two massive Mango Smoothies and after a late breakfast skipped lunch. I resisted the temptation to barter for a Galaxy Tab, which – together with iPads – were sold as the most prominent electronics device all over the fourth floor.

To avoid the mid-day heat, we returned to the hotel for a swim (the pool would be ideal for swimming since it is nice and long – if it wasn’t for being only 1.20m deep) and a nap. We then headed back into town to chase down some food – and got really lucky. We just left the Skytrain at Siam station and wandered around aimlessly. In a narrow shopping alley we came across a small restaurant called Som Tam. Since I recalled that Som Tam was the name for the Papaya salad typical for Northeastern Thailand I got curious and after noticing that the place was packed pretty much exclusively with Thai people we decided to give it a try. We did not regret it. We ordered a mixed Thai Papaya salad, a Thai pork sausage salad and a minced beef salad with sticky rice (all typical for Northern Thailand) and some fried chicken wings, covered in a garlic crust (a bit boring, to be honest). The salads were fantastic, enriched with herbs (coriander, mint), lime, fish sauce and in one case a splash of tangerine juice. The chef wasn’t holding back on the chilli either and looking around us we couldn’t help but feel that we got lucky to have found some real Thai grub the locals also enjoyed. Indeed, when we left the restaurant, people were queuing up outside the restaurant, already placing their orders. We paid 500 Baht (about £10) for the food, two ice teas and a Pepsi, a third of what we paid in the hotel restaurant the night before which wasn’t even half as good. We then strolled around the area a bit more (sampling some lovely fresh tangerine juice on the way) and headed back to the hotel. All in all not a bad first day. Tomorrow we will go for some of the temples again, and not believe people when they tell us they are closed…

Arrived a few hours ago and checked into our hotel Chatrium Suites Bangkok right at the Chao Phraya River. After an early dinner in the hotel restaurant (wife was starving, I would have actually preferred to explore some of the surrounding areas for food) we are now sorting out the schedule for tomorrow. Spacious room with riverview, food was good but – as to be expected – relatively expensive. Nice view from balcony and bedroom – see pictures. The idea is to keep this blog alive during my holiday – I am not promising that I will actually get around to updating it on a daily basis…