Somehow we managed to ride into Bangkok, the largest city in South East Asia, in three whole pieces. It was a sketchy process of ducking in and out of lanes on a motorway and dodging tuk tuks in the inner city.
The next few days we had off. We had a few things that needed seeing to. On the first day we went directly to the Vietnamese Embassy, mango shake in hand, to apply for our visas. The process was amazingly simple. We filled the form, attached the photos we already had, and paid the fee, the man instructing us to come back in four days time to collect the passports. I arranged the Cambodian visas for everyone as well. With paperwork covered we were free to enjoy the city for a few days. We stayed in a small backpacker place on a street near Khao San Road. It was an ideal location to walk, train, and bus around the city which we did for the few days we had.
On the bus
The bus got shoulder to shoulder at times
We saw the Grand Palace, Wat Pho (The Reclining Buddha), The Temple of the Golden Hill, The Temple of the Dawn, The Golden Buddha, China Town, plenty of markets and most other notable sights in the city. The days reaffirmed my belief in the city being one of the greatest in the world. It has a wonderful mixture of heritage, architectural beauty, and modernism.
One of the countless malls, each one dwarfing anything New Zealand offers. Most are connected with sky bridges. Some have Aston Martin shops in them, others Prada. It is in one of these we acquired our latest photography toy, a small drone called Don
You can go to the largest mall complex I have ever seen and shop for Prada and Gucci or you can wander the most raw and real markets and try incredible street food. It was really nice getting to know the city better and having the confidence this time to use the public transport and throw a bit of caution to the wind.
The beautiful three tiered roof of the Thai temples. The top tier representing Buddha, the second tier The Teachings, and the third tier The Followers
The many temples at Wat Pho, more commonly known as The Temple of the Reclining Bhudda, a 45m long gold plated Buddha
Being in Bangkok we had a few nights out. These started with dirt cheap large beers, buckets, and sometimes the odd Siam Sato. We saw the best and worst of the city by night. It certainly is a place of extremes.
We were lucky enough to meet up with Rob and his family who we met on Koh Lipe. He took us out for the most incredible 5 course Italian meal. We hadn't had Italian food since New Zealand so it was quite the treat. Salads, followed by soups, followed by pasta, then pizza and then dessert. Rob then took us on a tour of some of the hot night spots of the city for a few quiet beers. We had a fantastic time and continued with a few on Khao San after we parted ways.
High rise Bangkok. Home to upwards of 12 million people the city is growing fast and is one of the most powerful economic centres in Asia
On our second to last day the visas were ready. We had to collect them between 3 and 4pm. If we missed the window we wouldn't be able to get the passports for 5 days as it was a holiday in Vietnam. Leaving at 2:20 we thought we had plenty of time. The bus was late and the traffic heavy. At 3:40 we jumped off the bus and started running the streets. We made good progress but a large multi lane road got in the way. I got across and Art and Sean got stuck. With the tickets for the passports on me I waved to them I was going to push on. With ten minutes to spare I burst into the embassy, sweating and panting. We got the passports with our 3 month visas. With our time complete it was time to set off towards Cambodia. The great leg east.
Amidst the madness there is so much beauty. There are a number of flower markets in the inner city. It's so nice that this can exist as an industry
Tuk Tuks loaded with produce for the market
Misc puss puss
It's hard to summarise Bangkok in words. You really have to go there to experience it. It is an incredible place and well worth the time. We were actually fairly sad to be leaving the place a few days later.
Our finale shot. We got there right before open time at 7 45am and already crowds were massing to get a glimpse of the 5.5 tonne solid gold Buddha that rests in the temple behind us. The Buddha was covered in plaster to hide from invading enemies and discovered in the 20th century when a crane lifting it couldn't hold the weight, dropped it, and revealed the gold underneath.
