One Night In Bangkok!

On my way to the island of Koh Samui (where M. and K. are tying the knot), I stopped in Bangkok for one night and one morning. Ok, half a night and a morning—since my plane landed at 2 a.m.. First impressions of the city, though, were very positive.

Reasonably clean, modern, and orderly (by third-world … or, say, Detroit, standards), the city nevertheless retains a lively, colorful, and – most-importantly – flavorful street scene. Roads are lined with tiny tuk-tuks, booths, and carts selling clothing, sunglasses, and food. It is the last of these that interested me. My hotel had provided a Thai breakfast (green curry chicken), so I only had spare capacity for a few road-side delicacies: fish cakes, fresh melon, and squeezed-to-order orange juice. All yummy, all cheap. I’ll spend a few days in the city later in the trip & look forward to more nibbling. The fish heads looked particularly good. (Seriously.)

Only had time for one site – the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. This is the main building of a temple complex, which adjoins the Royal Palace complex. One could easily spend a day here – I had two hours. Ornate to the point of gaudiness, without actually being gaudy (or at least not very much so), the temples were fascinating. Gold, colored glass, mosaic tiles, painted wood, lacquer, stone, you name it – if it is a building material and/or ornamentation – it was in use. Needless to say, everything was eye-catching, but the highlight for me were the murals of the Ramakian (an Indian epic). Apparently, they captured the whole book—the murals snake around an entire (large) courtyard. My photos don’t do it justice.