Suk 11 provides a huge breakfast combining toast with amazing strawberry jam and a selection of sweet Thai fruits. The pineapple over here is a standout!! They also serve a breakfast desert which is sticky rice mixed with coconut milk. This put us in good stead for a long day of exploring. We used our first day in Bangkok to get our bearings and become accustomed to the Tuk Tuk drivers who promise 20baht (80 cents) all day transport around the city. Thankyou to the lonely planet guide for telling us that this would involve visiting all the local suit & jewellery makers! After a few hours of walking and continued hassling it was time for a bit of lunch. Yummy pad Thai noodles of course and a chicken curry. We spent the afternoon relaxing in Lumphini park which is nice and shady and a temporary break from the constant roar of the traffic. After a quick stop back at the guesthouse we set out to the Bangkok night bazaar, a hectic market selling all types of tourist junk!
A green light in Bangkok, motorbikes always lead the way.
The local creatures found lazing about in Lumphini Park.
We managed to catch a ferry to visit Wat Pho, one of Bangkok's biggest temples. The 46m long and 15m high Reclining Buddha was very impressive. Across the way was the Grand Palace, which is home to Wat Phra Kaew, the temple of the Emerald Buddha. After sweating ridiculously for 2 hours in long pants we tried our luck on a street vendor who served up some tasty noodle soup. After lunch we decided to take a longtail boat around the waterways of Bangkok. It ended up being just the two of us in the longtail which was rather relaxing! Night time was apon us and we made the trek to Chinatown. This area was full of activity and food vendors are seen literally everywhere. We had another great dinner here, soaked up the atmosphere and jumped on the skytrain home to suk 11.
The reclining Buddha, massive toes!
Longtail boatride.
Chinatown - we only look a little bit tired here!!!
Day 3 saw us enjoy yet another super breakfast at suk 11. We caught the 30 baht ($1) skytrain to Jim Thompson's house for a taste of Thai architecture and Southeast Asian art. Jim was the silk entrepreneur of Thailand and his stunning house is surrounded by a leafy garden as well as numerous ponds filled with fish and turtles. After some coconut refreshments we were ready for lunch. The skytrain took as back to a massive Bangkok mall called MBK. This is known as the granddaddy of malls and the food court requires you to buy food tokens before choosing your desired meal. The vegetarian food stall was excellent, massive serving, super tasty and super cheap! We took the afternoon easy and rewarded our tired legs with some traditional Thai massage. Apparently my feet were a little on the smelly side according to my ridiculously small but strong therapist. After a very cruisy afternoon caught up with one of my mates (Hodgey & Steph) from Melbourne who we had randomly ran into the night before.
Jim's Garden.
We once again jumped aboard the icey cold skytrain for some drinks at a very interesting bar. It seems that Bangkok may be one of the only places in the world where you can put a bar slap bang on the top of a skyscraper!! Yes that's right, we were sipping on a very expensive beer on the 64th floor with entertainment provided by a wind blown band. Oh and the safety features, a thin glass perimeter up to belly button height with 30cm of light fabric to catch any stray glasses or smallish humans!! Probably not the best place to have a big night! Halfway through our beers we found ourselves looking down to watch some fireworks, yes looking down! The view from the Sirocco Sky Bar gives you a great sense of how massive Bangkok is.
View of Bangkok from Sirocco Sky Bar.
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