Bangkok-The Land of Smiles

I have a hate love relationship with Bangkok. I love the yummy food (especially Tom Yum soup!), the relaxing massage (I pampered myself with at least one session everyday) and the exotic Wats. But I also hate the ever hot and unbearable weather, the never ending traffic jams and the many scams set to snare the foolish and unwary.

The Grand Palace

tuk tuk

I remembered my first trip out of Singapore by plane was to Bangkok many years ago. I was fascinated by the sights of Buddhas statues at almost every streets and corners in the city. The devoted Thais are very friendly people although I learnt to beware of those over-friendly ones. Always be on your toes when someone offer to bring you to a "government-approved" gem shop or to see "The Lucky Buddha". Good chance a scam is in store and you will find yourself not so lucky at all!

Travelling in a tuk tuk would always be a thrilling and unforgettable affair for me. The driver would always manage to squeeze and manoeuvre through the harsh traffic jams to reach my destination. For first timer, it is something similar to your maiden ride on a high speed roller coaster except your chance of dropping out from the vehicle is real! The cost of taking tuks tuks has escalated over the years. The Bangkok government has limited their numbers on the road and that has actually benefited the tuk tuk owners. The tuks tuks have become "rare species" for the tourists and expensive to take. I have avoided taking one in my later visits to the city. Taxis and Metro have become my favourite transports since.

Wat Arun

Wat Pho

Stupa at Grand Palace

The Wats have always been the places I never miss every time I visit Bangkok. Their intricate and unique designs and constructions have never fail to amaze me. If you are going there for the first time, remember to plan to visit the Big three Wats. They are Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) located in the Grand Palace, Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha) and Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn). Your later visits shall include the likes of Wat Ben (The Marble Temple), Wat Traimit (Temple of the Golden Buddha) and Loha Prasat. Many visitors comment that a visit to one or two big Wats are good enough as "all Wats are the same". I readily beg to differ. All of them are special in their own way and I am glad I have visited all the above Wats to witness their glamour and uniqueness.

Loha Prasat

The Marble Temple

Wat Traimit

The traditional show at Siam Niramit is certainly worth mentioning. The 80 minutes show with over 100 performers is truly spectacular. In my opinion, it's worth every bahts of the ticket and my knowledge of Thai's culture and history has raised a few bars after watching the show though I found it already much commercialized. Well, which tourists' spots are not?

Fountain at Siam Niramit

Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho

One blog is surely not doing justice to cover my trips and thoughts of Bangkok. There are still the Chao Praya River, Chinatown, Dusit area and many others to be mentioned. I will cover them in my later blogs. I have no plan to stop visiting Bangkok anytime soon and my next visit will be my fourth trip there. Till then, we meet again :-).

Bot at Wat Arun

Family Photo at Marble Temple

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