Wat Pho

Soon after we docked we walked through the market and further down arrived at Wat Pho. Those in shorts, sleeveless were made to wear some long coat for a donation, so it pays to go there in proper get-up.

Temple of Reclining Buddha

Also called as Wat Phra Chettuphon Wimon Mangkhlaram Ratchaworamahawihan. A 43m long Buddha covered with gold leaf encrusted with mother of pearl decorations. It also housed 1,000 Buddha images and is home to the First Thai Massage School. One of the largest and oldest temples in Bangkok.

Some leg repairs were being made on the reclining Buddha so it was pretty crowded inside the temple. We had a quick visit—you see ambient temperature at 38C, imagine the humid and you unluckily come a crossed someone with extreme body odors! Eww. 

We managed to exit the temple before we completely fainted, and good thing there were free bottled water. After rehydrating, we moved forward to our next temple tour- to The Grand Palace. 

See our The Grand Palace


Love,
itsmelory (^.^)

Chao Praya River Cruise

Today we have the whole day for ourselves so we sleep a bit longer. After the buffet breakfast, we took the Airport Link Rail to take us to Chao Praya for some surprise...river cruising. Chao Praya is a notable river in Thailand used not only for tours but for major transportation in Bangkok. 

Good morning Bangkok!

From Skytrain, we transferred to Silom Line to take us to the last station Bang Wa then take the boat to cruise Chao Praya. I've read so many tourist warnings that  scammers are likely present approaching tourists and pretending to be government officers and offer some tour package claiming some temples are closed that day, but then they will bring you to some shops and will force you to buy something.

From Bang wa, we walked a little to the  boat terminal. Some locals as approached us with brochures and telling us the boat service is about to leave. We politely declined that we don’t want to take the private boat but will take the public transit. We asked one local but he sound mad, even shouting at us (maybe because we did not took his tour he was speaking in Thai). We made our way to the booth to get tickets not minding the guy. We paid Bhat20 per head for the boat ride. Few minutes after the boat arrived to take us to Wat Pho and to the Grand Palace.

Overall, it was just ok. The view was not that exceptional except for Chinese temples, a floating restaurant, a mall and quite a number of constructions going on. The whole boat ride experience was very Thai but personally not even comparable to our Bohol river in my own opinion, but it was a good experience!


Please see also our Wat Pho Tour


Love,
itsmelory (^.^)

Chocolate Ville in Thailand

After the hefty lunch we had a quick nap and refreshed, mukhang tao na ulit kami. Our next stop is to The Chocolate Ville. The place is located at 51 Khan Na Yao, outside of main Bangkok.  Just to be safe, we had the address translated to English by the charming hotel receptionist.

Getting there

We took the Airport Link to A-Link Mall station, from there we got a cab to get us away from the crowded city!

this gold train coins are the cutest!
Please bring us to some Chocolate Adventure

To the Land of chocolates?

The place opens late afternoon and we were just in time since the place is not crowded yet. Get ready to click the cam and strike a pose! You are guaranteed heaps of photo ops. Chocolate Ville turns out to be a European themed village so no chocolate factory around..you've been warned! 

Oh well, it felt like I'm not in Thailand at all! 

I secretly wanted some lake house like this.

Dining at Chocolate Ville

When we decided that we've had enough photos (lols) now time for dinner.  The place was already jam-packed by evening. So many food choices  but mainly Western or American foods. We were getting ready to order but were informed that you have to reserve first at the admin office located far right from the restaurants which is not pretty convenient if you are at the far left side of the villa!  I'm sure this is something that can be improved. 
Anyway, we had some nice steak for dinner, rice, cold drinks and some cake. Took a cab to bring us to the hotel, Riza's also complaining this time because she's not feeling well. Grateful to recharge for a much needed rest! First day in Siam's just good. 


Love,
itsmelory (^.^)

Wat Benja & Wat Intharawihan

On our first stop,we went to Wat Benjambhopit. Wat means temple. Built by King Rama V in 1900's. Also known as the Marble Temple because the temple is covered with marble and impressive gold beams. Remember that proper dress codes is strictly implemented in all temples and be your best behavior. Since it was already midday when we have arrived dur to some traffic, sandals and shoes are pretty crowding the stairs going inside the temple.

Wat Benjambhopit

Riza's newly found friend

Lost in thoughts? or was I sleeping here? Not sure.

Wat Intharawihan

Our next stop is the Standing Buddha of about 32m high made with 24carat gold! We traveled roughly 30 minutes to go there, not bad considering Thailand's traffic on a mid day!

Map from Wat Benja to Wat Intharawihan

We told Anne (tour guide) we'd like to stop over for some quick snack before going in the temple since there are quite few food kiosks around the area. We sampled chicken and vegetable dumplings  (I gobbled 3 sticks!) for 12 sticsk we paid total Bhat 100. 

featuring Thailand's local dumplings

 sampling local foods. (^.^)

It passed my sister's meticulous taste buds. Hopefully, on her tummy too.

oops, not the right time to do shopping yet.

Temple entrance.

The tallest Buddha in Bangkok! You could go up the the stairs behind the statue. I think people here go to do more of worship than tours, but worth the quick visit.

Lovely window details...

Gems Centre

Then again, just like our other tours before, we were ushered to some Jewelry Shop. Thailand is known as the jewelry hub in Asia. For all your sparkling needs, or for just some sight-seeing, Thailand's Gems Center is the place to be. We did not do much but feast our eyes on expensive rubies, sapphires and diamonds and refresh with complimentary drinks. No pictures allowed inside the showroom.

Baiyoke Boutique Hotel

Finally time to check in, we needed to rest now. Located near Pratunam Market at Rajprapop Road near the Airport Link train and just behind the tallest building- Baiyoke Sky Hotel. The hotel lobby has a cozy old atmosphere, receptionist was all nice and speaks English well, bellboy was kind of helpful as well but do not be duped though, we later found out that A/C does not work properly and that drainage smell in the shower. The room is spacious to fit the 3 of us, but the wallpaper looks old and dark,  it could use some replacement! The buffet breakfast comes quite good, but imagine we have to deal with this for 3 days! 

The Curry Pot

After dropping our things quickly, we went out to eat lunch as we are literally starving, so we found ourselves  at the next door restaurant. 

Tom Yam soup, a spicy sour soup with prawns, crabs other seafood with generous helping of herbs, Spicy fried fish and some Roti to go with it. The pungent smell of tom yam is too hard to ignore. We had extra helping of Roti to go with it. Solved!

Please see also Our Chocolate Ville Adventure


Excited to be exploring Siam,
itsmelory (^.^)