Bangkok is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. Bangkok traces
its roots to a small trading post during the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 15th
century. Bangkok was at the heart of the modernization of Siam during the
late 19th century, as the country faced pressures from the West. The city was at
the center of the country's political struggles throughout the 20th century, as
Siam—later renamed Thailand—abolished absolute monarchy, adopted constitutional
rule, and underwent numerous coups and several uprisings. The city is
known for its street life and cultural landmarks such as the Grand Palace and
Buddhist temples, including Wat Arun and Wat Pho.
Getting there ...
We had a late night flight on 4/4 from San Francisco to Taipei (arriving at
4AM on 4/6), and a connecting flight from Taipei to Bangkok (arriving at
~10:30AM). We took the Bangkok Airport Rail Link and Metro Blue Line (the
connection between Airport Rail and Metro was easy but their stations were quite
far away from each other) and got to our hotel by the Chao Phraya River at about
noon. This was the first leg of our Asian trip this time. We will
continue to Nepal after Bangkok, and
then go back to Taiwan to spend
some time with our families.
Day 1 (4/6) ...
-
National Museum Bangkok
After dropping off our luggage at the hotel,
we took a Grab (Southeast Asia's Uber) to the National Museum Bangkok.
National Museum Bangkok is located in the area of the Boworn Sathan Mongkol
Mansion or the 'Front Palace' (Wang Na) which was built in 1887, the same
period with the Grand Palace. The mansion had served as a royal residence
for 5 prince viceroys, until king Rama V (reign from 1868 to 1910)
eliminated this position.
Bangkok National Museum is the first National
Museum in Thailand, established in 1859 to exhibit and showcase Thailand
history, Art history, Archaeology and Ethnology.
The National Museum Bangkok currently houses a few
permanent exhibition galleries: 1) The Thai History Gallery in the front of
Siwamokhaphiman Hall, 2) The Art History Gallery, in the North Wing Building, 3)
The Decorative Arts and Ethnological Collection in the old central palace
buildings. The quality and quantity of the collections are really
amazing and we spent more than 2 hours to wander around different exhibitions.
- Wat Arun
We took a ferry from
Tha Maharaj to Wat
Arun, a Buddhist temple on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River. Wat
Arun, also known as the Temple of Dawn, is among the best known of
Thailand's landmarks. The temple derives its name from the Hindu god
Aruṇa, often personified as the radiations of the rising sun. The main
feature of Wat Arun is its central prang (tall tower-like spire), which is
encrusted with colorful porcelain. The main prang (82 meters tall) was
completed in 1851, after nine years of construction.
- Riva Arun
Our room at
Riva Arun
has a perfect iconic view of Wat Arun and Chao Phraya River.
Day 2 (4/7) ...
- Grand Palace
We
walked to the Palace before its open time at 8:30AM, and there was already a
small crowd waiting at the gate. Rather than being a single structure,
the Grand Palace is made up of numerous buildings, halls, pavilions set
around open lawns, gardens and courtyards. We first visited Wat Phra
Kaew, commonly known in English as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and
officially as Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram. Wat Phra Kaew is
regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. As the royal
temple, Wat Phra Kaew continues to serve as the site of Buddhist religious
rites undertaken by the king and the royal family, including major events
such as coronations, royal ordinations, and many annual ceremonies of major
Buddhist holidays.
In 1782 the new King Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I)
decided to move the capital city to the left bank of the Chao Phraya River for
strategic purposes and used the canals to the west as defenses for the new city.
A palace was constructed whose grounds currently covers an area of 218,000
square meters that are enclosed by crenallated walls measuring 19,000 meters.
Throughout successive reigns, many new buildings and structures were added,
especially during the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). By 1925, the king,
the Royal Family and the government were no longer permanently settled at the
palace, and had moved to other residences. After the abolition of absolute
monarchy in 1932, all government agencies completely moved out of the palace.
It started to rain hard after we passed by the main
throne hall (Phra Thinang Chakri Maha Prasat), so we stayed in a
pavilion and went to a cafe
(Doi Kham) to have some sandwiches as our brunch. After the rain stopped,
we visited the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles (no photo allowed inside the
museum). Her Majesty Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother has long been a
role model for Thai women, especially in her promotion of Thailand’s traditional
crafts. Decades of Style : The Royal Wardrobe of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit
exhibition honors and celebrates Her Majesty Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother’s
90th birthday on 12 August 2022. Using examples from her extraordinary wardrobe,
the exhibition tells the story of The Queen Mother’s dedication and lifelong
work to preserve and promote Thai textiles.
- Sala Chalermkrung Royal
Theatre
After exiting the Grand Palace, we took the shuttle bus to
Sala Chalermkrung Royal Theatre to see a Khon Performance at 1PM (included
in the Grand Palace tickets). The performance of Khon (known as the
masked dance drama from Thailand) at Sala Chalermkrung is carefully carried
out to ensure its authenticity in all aspects; the traditional performing
details, the related rituals, the high artistic value as Thai heritage
- Wat Pho
Wat Pho (official name: Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram
Rajwaramahawihan) is first on the list of six temples in Thailand classed as
the highest grade of the first-class royal temples. The compound
incorporates a host of superlatives: the city's largest reclining Buddha,
the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand and the country's
earliest center for public education. We had a chance to sit in the
main hall to witness a Buddhist
ordination.
Wat Pho is also the location of Thai Traditional Medical
and Massage School known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage.
The Thai massage or Nuad Thai taught at Wat Pho has been included in UNESCO's
list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Wat Pho has trained more than 200,000
massage therapists who practice in 145 countries. We booked
massage sessions (30-min foot massage
for me, and 60-min Thai Massage for Woanyu) to experience the famous Thai
tradition.
Day 3 (4/8) ...
- Longtail Boat Canal Tour
I booked a
Longtail Boat Canal Tour since its meeting place was just 2 minutes walk
from our hotel. It's really a good experience to ride along the city's
canals in a traditional Thai long-tail boat. You could see the local
wooden house community along the canal and get a glimpse of how local Thais
live on the canals. We also passed by the biggest Buddha at Wat Paknam
Phasi Charoen, and visited Khlong Bang Luang Artist House (traditional
wooden house over 200 years old).
- Flower Market
We walked to Pak Khlong Talat (Flower Market), a
bustling busy local market offering a vast array of flowers, fruits &
vegetables.
- ICONSiam
We took a ferry from Rajinee to ICONSiam, a vast, stylish
mall with hundreds of high-end shops & restaurants, plus an indoor floating
market. Although we did not do much shopping in our travel, it's good
to see the modern side of Bangkok and enjoy the cool air-conditioning
indoors.
-
Baiyoke Observation Deck
After ICONSiam, we took a Grab to another
modern building on the other side of Bangkok, Baiyoke Sky Hotel’s
Observation Deck. The tickets included a 30-min foot massage at the
69th floor, Observation Deck at 77th floor, and Revolving View Point at 84th
floor. Although it was too cloudy to have a good sunset, the dusk
twilight with city lights (and traffic) was also fantastic.
Day 4 (4/9) ...
After a few days of leisure travel in Bangkok, it's time to move on the main
part of our Asian trip this time, Nepal.
Bangkok is a bustling metropolitan mixed with traditional Thai culture and
modern new world. Bangkok has been among the world's top tourist
destinations and has been named the world's most visited city consistently in
several international rankings. We had a short but good 3-day stay to
experience Bangkok and Thailand.
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