Thailand Jan 2009:Bangkok (2
of 2)
You can eat on the street in Bangkok any time of the night or day. The food is very good and inexpensive. You've got to be quick, as vendors tend to move around. Several times we walked by something that smelled very attractive, but when we came back to eat the people had moved on.
A walk through Chinatown was an amazing experience. Narrow streets, traffic, people selling anything imaginable, and workshops building and repairing auto parts - sometimes right on the sidewalk. In short, sensory overload.
Even in the midst of the city, we found some wildlife. At Lumphini Park there was a healthy popluation of Monitor Lizards, both in and out of the water. This was a nice place to come get a bit of space around yourself and some fresher air.
The Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute has been raising snakes in Bangkok for about 80 years, to produce anti-venom. They had an impressive collection of Cobras and Pit Vipers there, and handlers that were not afraid to bring them out and show them off.
We bet you did not know Bangkok is a great Ice-Skating destination. Well, it has an ice skating rink anyway, appropriately located on the top floor of a shopping center. Zane survived his first ice skating experience without serious injury.
Determined to soak up a bit of Thai culture and history, we visited Wat Phra Kaew and Grand Palace, home of the revered Emerald Buddha. This place was unbelievable - every square inch of the place (which is acres in size) was elaborately decorated, there were miles of murals and tiles of all description - more sensory overload.
Wat Pho, with its massive reclining Buddha, is right across the street from the Grand Palace complex. Since we were in the neighborhood, we decided to stop by. For scale, note the doorway in the lower left corner of the picture.
We often saw interesting blendings of eastern and western cultures. Here's our old pal Ronnie, but executing the classic Asian "wai" gesture for greeting or respect. Tana seems to be getting the hang of it.