Archives for February 2010

We said that a lot.

Early the next morning Molly and I jumped aboard a train headed to Ayuthaya, 85km north of Bangkok.

We started our exploration at the local museum.

Ayuthaya was the capital of Siam (Thailand’s previous name) from 1340 to 1767 when Burma raided the area. Because Ayuthaya was the capital, it has an especially rich collection of temples. These days most of the wats are in ruins (the Burmese decapitated most of the Buddhas)… but that just makes them more magical to explore, especially on bike.

We saw soooo many wats on this trip that I can’t tell you which is which. However, if you ever visit Ayuthaya just hop on a bike and take a ride around town. You’ll find them!

xo, jill

Oops.

That “deal” I mentioned Jitra helped us get on a boat ride… well, I think we were duped.

The man offered us a boat ride around Bangkok that would stop at a few wats before dropping us off at the next place of interest, the Reclining Buddha. His first price was 1500 baht for 2 people. We said that was too much and Jitra talked him down to 1200 baht. We figured that was good enough.

Well… it was a boat ride all right. We weren’t taken to the wats along the way but we were dropped near the Reclining Buddha. Too bad that temple was closed for the day. We determined we might as well take the public ferry back across the water to the temple our boat trip should have taken us to in the first place. The ferry fare? 3 baht.

So I’d say we over paid.

But this is how we ended up at the Dawn Temple just before sunset. It was a beautiful sight as I quickly learned all Thai temples are.

As the sun set we began our long search for Chinatown. We were trying to find the main shops and markets that our guidebook mentioned. Well… we walked pretty far and eventually found Chinatown… but never the shops. Dinner that night wasn’t too memorable but there’s a good chance I doused my food in…ahem, fish sauce.

We hopped a cab and headed to Khao San Road (you know that place we decided we’d had enough of…) in search of a Thai massage. Found one. Amazing.

xo, jill

That day off was nice though.

After unloading our new goods from Weekend Market, Molly and I set off to explore the Grand Palace and Wat Phraw Kaew (“wat is Thai for temple). Because we read ahead, we knew we needed to be dressed modestly. Long skirts and no bare shoulders. Never dressed within those constraints before. I had packed one of my many long skirts and Molly bought one off the street the night before, so we were ready.

As soon as we entered the grounds we were solicited by tour guides. We decided to join up with Jitra, a little Thai woman with an abundance of energy.

Jitra not only imparted on us her knowledge of the temple, she also took charge when it came to photography. “Take photo of this!” “Take photo here. Very beautiful!” “You stand there. I take photo!” Molly and I have enough photos of us to last a lifetime… or at least the next few years. (Below is just a sampling). Jitra was enjoying directing our afternoon so much that she even directed me into which bathroom stall I should use. Now that’s a service not included in your standard tour guide fee.

Honestly, I don’t remember too much about Wat Phraw Kaew except that it was exceptionally decorated and full of tourists and worshiping Thais. I mean, it is supposed to be the most sacred spot in all of Thailand.

After our tour Jitra helped us get a “deal” on a boat ride to another wat across the river. Ahem… more on that later.

I believe this was also the day my suspicion that I’m allergic to DEET was confirmed.

xo, jill

I liked this.

xo, jill

Except that didn’t happen.

Bangkok is known for shopping. In fact, when I told my principal I was visiting Thailand she immediately said, “Oh, Bangkok? Shopping!!!” Since shopping is the national sport in UAE, we didn’t add it to our Thailand itinerary. But then we went to Weekend Market…

Our second morning was spent taking a short ride in a tuk-tuk and wandering around the market stalls at the largest market in Bangkok.

Only open on the weekends, aptly named Weekend Market is packed with goods of all sorts. After browsing for a bit and realizing we could mail our purchases home… we got into the spirit.

I can’t reveal all of our purchases (gifts and such) but a definite favorite was the paintings by this adorable artist.

I also managed to find two pairs of shoes and other such odd and ends. The bummer was that we didn’t buy some wooden utensils and beautiful bamboo bowls when we had the chance. The market was so large we could never find our way back. Despite searching through the rest of the country we never found exactly what we were looking for. Oh and the other bummer was that we never made it to the post office. Poor Molly packed the greatest bulk of the purchases. Good thing she’s a strong one.

Our hostel in Bangkok ended up being my favorite of the trip. Not only was it clean and quiet but the staff was so friendly and helpful. After we left I received an email thanking us for our stay. We had an open night at the end of our trip so we decided to return. It was so nice to be welcomed back! Here are a few shots of the place:

And the view out the window:

xo, jill