Thailand is a country in the center of the southeast Asian Indochinese Peninsula. It is a kingdom and the King is very important to the residents. We have decided to visit the capital – Bangkok and enjoy the island Koh Samui after that. Our first impression, after coming to Thailand has been city crowd, high humidity, traffic jam, different kind of buildings… big ones with glowing signs and advertisements and small, ruined houses in the neighborhood. On the other hand, friendly faces all around and smiling people… look very nice during gentle tilting when greeting. Finally, my definitive impression regarding Thailand – the land of smile.
Bangkok – the colorful capital
After checking into our hotel, we have started with sightseeing immediately, no matter that it had been evening and night had already fallen, there hasn’t been time to waste…
Since our hotel was located near the Chao Phraya River, we started by boat right to the next station, where we stepped on the Sky Train to reach the Night Market. In June, we experienced very high humidity and hot air, even in the evening. There were a lot of people in the market and since temperature was quite high, it was a challenge to try on clothing (jeans, jackets etc.)… Right next to the market, you could also find different kind of night clubs and places for different kinds of entertainment. For shopping lovers, it is important to mention that, except the Night Market, there are a lot of different shopping malls where you could find something for everyone’s taste, for acceptable prices.
What is absolutely worthy to see in Bangkok, are their beautiful temples, such are:
Wat Arun – The temple of Dawn
It is located on the left side of the Chao Phraya River. You can see four small towers around the one big tower (8/79 meters), everything is made of porcelain in many different colors. Important information when you visit the temples is that you need to be appropriately dressed (not short pants and naked shoulders).
Wat Pho – The temple of the Reclining Buddha
It is the one of the six most important royal temples in the whole Thailand. Here you can see a lot of very important statues of the Buddha, but the most impressive is 46 m long and 15 m tall statue of the lying Buddha, that is also gold-plated. Inside the temple, there are 108 bowls and on the way in, you can buy coins for the bowls. The history behind this is that Buddha completed 108 positive actions on his way to becoming perfect. Additionally, this temple is considered as the place where the Thailand’s massage has originated from.
The temple of the emerald Buddha It is located in the area of the big Palace, on the right side of the Chao Phraya River, as opposed to Wat Arun. The temple of the emerald Buddha is one of the most important in the whole country, because of the statue inside, which is 66 cm high and made of one piece of jade.
In the Thailand – the land of smile, the majority of residents are Buddhists. So, you could also find different temples outside of the main city. Additionally, we have experienced all day trip to visit river Kwai with combination of transportation by road and old rail.
It has been very interesting to see different kind of plants (different plantations) and animals (monkeys near the road and on the trees). I recommend boat ride by the river and tasting of local specialties in the small local restaurant right next to the road…
Also, you could visit some of existing asylums of elephants, where you could enjoy looking at those beautiful animals, feeding and cuddling them…
Language: Thai is the local language but you can easily communicate on English language. Currency: Thai Baht is the local currency, exchanging at around 36 Bahts per EUR. Climate: Bangkok is hot and humid throughout the year. Rain is most common between May and October. We have experienced heavy rain in June, but it has been hot and short.
More about Thailand – the land of smile and visiting Koh Samui, you could read in may next post:)
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