Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of the mrlukeniktravels blog coming from Bangkok, Thailand. Since last week I have travelled up from Khao Sok National Park on the Malaysian Peninsula to Thailand’s capital. It is quite a change to be in the city! The sounds of the jungle at night have been replaced with the sounds of the city. The cooling effects of altitude and proximity of water bodies have disappeared here on the plains. This is my second visit to Bangkok, the last being a little over six years ago. The city has changed a lot since then with many places I didn’t really recognise. As the traffic roars past outside, here is what I’ve been up to in the past week….
Travelling up to Bangkok involved an overnight train journey for me. It was an experience, opting as I did for second class. This meant I didn’t have to endure the wooden beach seats of third class. Mercifully, I lucked out being seated directly below a large fan which was a real help to get some sleep. Every station the train stopped at there were crowds of passengers, hawkers and taxi drivers. Perhaps what might be expected of a station stop in Thailand. The train’s diesel engines rumbled away throughout the night gradually taking me north. On arrival at Bangkok train station I faced the issue of the leaving the station, which was harder than it sounds. There were so many exits and I had to find the right one. Thankfully it wasn’t too far from the platform I had left. It was not to reminiscent of Tokyo station in the end…phew!
One of the principle attractions in Bangkok is the Grand Palace. Home of the Emerald Buddha and the state home of the Thai royal family. Originally begun by King Rama I the palace has seen many additions over the years. The complex still holds state occasions and places an important role in the coronation, which happened earlier this year. The Palace contains a lot of amazing craftsmanship, gold and tourists. The Grand Palace was only a few minutes walk from my hostel. I visited early in the day which was fortunate as when I was leaving the queue to enter was hundreds of metres long. A few of the buildings are open to the public, including the one that contains the Emerald Buddha. Found in the north of Thailand, the treasure represents the unity of the country after a tumultuous history. To look at it is perhaps a little underwhelming. Mounted high up on decorative pagodas covered in gold, the small statue looks dwarfed. I enjoyed the Grand Palace despite the swarms of tourists- sometimes you just have to grin and bear it!
Another wonderful experience in Bangkok has been the floating market. As the name suggests, most of the stalls are on small boats navigating a section of the river. The main reason I went was to find some food, although pretty much anything you could imagine was on sale. In the darkness the lights seem much brighter and dazzling. Most of the market appeared to me, an outsider, to be chaotic. I’m sure there were all sorts unspoken rules being adhered to, but I couldn’t work them out! Nevertheless I had some delicious food, some of it not for the squeamish or fussy eater. Insects, larva and spiders I thoroughly enjoyed, snake not so much. I didn’t come to SE Asia to eat international chain restaurant food that I can eat at home. That said, sometimes I enjoy the odd Western dish, pasta being a particular favourite.
The hostel I am staying at has bicycles to hire which I’ve made good use of. Bangkok is spread out over a large area, so getting from one place to another can be quite a distance. Cycling around the city is certainly an experience different the to rural lanes I ride along at home. I quickly learnt to have my wits about me with people, vehicles and animals all over the place! My brakes certainly had plenty of rapid use, but I avoided falling off which was definitely a plus. The quality of the road surface was generally pretty good, not too many potholes or sunken drains. It was a quite hard to find the bike again in a sea of others when I’d finished doing some sightseeing. Thankfully, I managed to return the right one each day back to the hostel…
That is almost it for this week, next week I shall be further north making my way towards Thailand’s second city, Chiang Mai. This time I shall be travelling by road following the River Kwai north- you may have heard that name before. Until then, there is always my Twitter feed which can be found via the @mrlukeniktravel handle. Additionally, I have an Instagram account which you can find at @mrlukeniktravels. If you enjoy reading these posts, you can subscribe to the blog email list using the link below. Finally, as always, stay safe and travel on!