Bangkok is known for its cultural attractions and its great nightlife. We're too old to do nightlife anymore so we don't have anything to tell you about Bangkok after dark but we did visit all of the city's cultural attractions and we hope you enjoy the stories.
The most striking attraction in Bangkok is the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It's the most sacred temple in Thailand as Thais believe that the Emerald Buddha protects the country from harm. The temple houses the most ornate buildings that we'd seen in all of southeast Asia.
Next to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha is the Grand Palace which used to be home for the King of Thailand before he built himself a new palace (probably to escape all the tourists!). Unlike other palaces we'd seen, the Grand Palace is a series of buildings rather than a single one.
We'd seen plenty of temples in southeast Asia and we thought we'd seen it all but there were two in Bangkok that were unique. The first was Wat Arun which has intricately decorated towers. The second was Wat Pho which has the world's largest reclining Buddha statue at 15 metres high and 43 metres long.
We ventured a little ways outside Bangkok to see a floating market. You get driven around on a boat and check out vendors who are selling their wares from boats or floating shops. The shopping isn't great as most vendors sell the same cheap souvenirs you could get in the city but there were a few interesting things to see.
Here are a few more photos from around Bangkok.
This is the end of our Thailand adventure and the last of the good weather on our trip. We'd had three weeks of very hot and humid weather as we trekked through Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.
We now headed north to Japan and China. We pulled out our socks, long pants and jackets and braced ourselves for early spring weather and something we hadn't seen for a while - snow!
Blake and Vanessa
The most striking attraction in Bangkok is the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It's the most sacred temple in Thailand as Thais believe that the Emerald Buddha protects the country from harm. The temple houses the most ornate buildings that we'd seen in all of southeast Asia.
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| Gold covered entry to the main temple building |
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| Side of the main temple building |
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| Close-up of the exterior of the main temple building |
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| The Emerald Buddha - he looks big in the photo but he's 66 cm (two feet) tall |
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| Two yakshis guard the entry to the temple complex |
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| A pagoda (Buddhist shrine) |
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| The temple's library |
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| Exteriors of all the building are intricately decorated |
Next to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha is the Grand Palace which used to be home for the King of Thailand before he built himself a new palace (probably to escape all the tourists!). Unlike other palaces we'd seen, the Grand Palace is a series of buildings rather than a single one.
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| The main hall in the Grand Palace |
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| A soldier stands guard |
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| One of the throne halls on the site |
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| The throne |
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| A garuda is the symbol of Thailand and the royal family and is seen on all of the buildings |
We'd seen plenty of temples in southeast Asia and we thought we'd seen it all but there were two in Bangkok that were unique. The first was Wat Arun which has intricately decorated towers. The second was Wat Pho which has the world's largest reclining Buddha statue at 15 metres high and 43 metres long.
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| Wat Arun seen from the river |
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| The detail on the towers is amazing |
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| Porcelain is used as decoration throughout |
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| It's a steep climb to the top of the main tower |
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| Nice view from the top |
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| The Reclining Buddha |
We ventured a little ways outside Bangkok to see a floating market. You get driven around on a boat and check out vendors who are selling their wares from boats or floating shops. The shopping isn't great as most vendors sell the same cheap souvenirs you could get in the city but there were a few interesting things to see.
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| In our ride for the day |
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| Special price for you! |
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| There were lots of folks cooking in their boats |
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| Traffic jam - the market is a popular tourist attraction |
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| Fresh fruit comes to you |
Here are a few more photos from around Bangkok.
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| Bangkok is a sprawling city with 12 million people |
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| "Street meat" is available on every corner but we weren't brave enough to try it |
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| Another street-side vendor - it smelled good but ... maybe we'll be braver eaters on our next world trip |
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| You see the gleaming, new side of Bangkok along with river |
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| You also see slums along the river |
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| We haven't posted a cute cat photo for a while |
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| A nice dinner |
This is the end of our Thailand adventure and the last of the good weather on our trip. We'd had three weeks of very hot and humid weather as we trekked through Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.
We now headed north to Japan and China. We pulled out our socks, long pants and jackets and braced ourselves for early spring weather and something we hadn't seen for a while - snow!
Blake and Vanessa
