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Playing Bangkok Tourist

Posted by Stuart at 08:09 PM on April 27, 2003

Today I played tourist. The soi that I live on has several guesthouses, so I picked one to start my day with an American Breakfast (figuring that's the tourist thing to do). The breakfast was edible, and so that's all I have to say about that.

Walking back past my apartment, I went to the San Saep Canal where I caught the taxi boat that carries people through the heart of the city. I usually take this west to Bangkapi, but today I took it to the east, towards the Grand Palace.

The boat ride doesn't go all the way to the River, as I had hoped, but instead stops near the Democracy Monument. But I found out that there are some interesting sites to see in that area:

* First, I wandered into what looked like an old fort. It was not on my Lonely Planet map (grr) and I had no idea what it was. What I found there was quite interesting though: Inside the walls of the fort, a small village of 150 year old wooden houses exists. Apparently, next week all of the people who live here are being evicted so that the government can build a park. I agree that it would be nice to make the historical area accessible to visitors, but I think that the people who live there should be allowed to stay as well. Hopefully they can find a compromise soon.

* Across the street from the fort, Laha Prasat is a unique white, black, and red colored "temple". It had 7 levels that were reached by climbing a circular staircase in the center of the building. Each level is a little bit smaller than the one below it and many of them contain Buddha images in all positions. I really enjoyed walking through and marvelling at the interesting symetrical architecture.

* I climbed to the top of The Golden Mount, which has a golden chedi on top of a man-made hill. Even though the hill is not very tall, it is just tall enough so that you can get a good view of Bangkok. I could even see both of the two apartment buildings I have lived in from here.

* I then walked a kilometer or two down a wide tree-lined yet empty street to Wat Benchamabophit, the Marble Temple. The temple itself, made of white marble, is beautiful, but I thought the best part was its collection of Buddha images. The images are in all different poses, and are from different countries (even Japan!) and different time periods. Each has a sign in Thai and English describing the pose, where the image was found, and when it was made. Very educational!

* Most of this tour I was alone. It was very strange to walk down the big avenues and not see anyone around. That all changed when I visited the Dusit Zoo. The zoo is exactly what I would expect in Bangkok: crowded, noisy, dusty, and unorganized. But these things don't make it a bad place. It was actually kinda fun to walk around and see all of the Thai families picnicing around the big lake in the middle of the zoo, or to see small kids straining on tip-toe to peer inside an animal cage.

I finished the day getting a massage. My friend Mag took me to a new place and not only was it super-cheap (even by Bangkok standards) it was also the best massage I have ever had. One and a half hours of bliss, although I think I was only awake for an hour of it! The perfect end to a day of exploring.