This was the first proper full day in Bangkok and it was also the last full day in Bangkok, so we were determined to make the most of it. I think we succeeded in that even though we still took our sweet time in the morning getting ready 😛 As our booking at Hotel Icon did not include breakfast, we headed out. It was only then that we learnt of the hotel buggy service, this is basically a golf buggy-looking vehicle that took us from the hotel to the main road. The distance wasn’t really that far to walk but it was good to have this option in the hot and sticky weather. We were dropped off by the main road at a small shopping centre called Ploenchit Centre and since it was already past 11:30am (yep we took our sweet time), we headed inside to look for food. We quickly settled for a very local looking café. Wing went for a pork rice, I went for a fried noodle and we got stir fried morning glory to share. They were really pretty good!
Next stop was going to be the Grand Palace so we needed to grab a taxi. Wing and I contemplated for a long while about ordering a GRAB (like UBER) or just flagging on down on the street. In the end we flagged one down. By the time our taxi got close to The Grand Palace, it was clear how the area was very different to Sukhumvit where our hotel was. There were no tall buildings, roads were much wider and definitely more filled with tourists than local. Having said that, it was not very busy, likely as a result of Covid.
The Grand Palace
When in Bangkok, one must visit The Grand Palace. For 500 Baht each, we got a ticket that give us access to a number of buildings located within The Grand Palace complex. These include the Wat Phra Kaew which is famous as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, The Royal Thai Decorations & Coins Pavilion and The Queen Sirikit Museum of Textile (although we ran out of time so didn’t see this one). What we did not realise is that the ticket price even included a dance performance (which we did go and see so more on this later!)
On entering the complex after grabbing our ticket, all I thought was Wow! It was impressive. I have never seen anything like it. The architecture and the colours of the temples, particularly the gold simmering under the sun instantly made us feel like we were at a very special place. The Phra Siratan Chedi (see golden, bell-shaped stupa in gallery below) was basically sparkling. We scrolled around just admiring the shapes and detailed decorations on buildings, the art work on walls. There were a lot to take in.
Fast forward a couple of hours, Wing and I were pretty tired from taking all the sights in and ready for some food/ a break but then we realised there was another part of the ticket! This is for a dance performance at the Sala Chalermkrung Royal Theatre. We were like where on earth is this place. Thank goodness a staff pointed us to a shuffle which took us straight there. (There are 5 performances daily from Monday to Friday) The dance was only about 25 mins long and took us by surprise. It was a Khon performance, known as the masked dance drama which is a form of classical dance. The performers and costumes were good and the stage included a small screen that provided one liner explanation of scenes that were being acted out which was helpful.
We were definitely glad we got this little taster of dance even though embarrassingly, we did fall asleep for part of the performances 😛 but this was because jetlag was hitting us plus the slow music, dimmed theatre and cool air con were literally pulling our eye lids down! After the performance, we even got to queue and take photos with 2 of the performers. Here is Wing being confused about where to look…
Late lunch
It was already past 3:00pm by the time we left the theatre, we needed food so headed towards Ama, a café/ restaurant that is also an art gallery. We both went for Pad Thai (1 chicken 1 squid) and got spring rolls to share with a drink each.
Food was actually pretty good but I want to talk a bit about this wonderful purple drink that I had! This was a butterfly pea soda drink. I must say when I saw this on the menu, I ordered it because it sounded unusual. What I did not know at the time is that butterfly pea is a plant that people used to make blue coloured tea. While my drink did not really have a distinct taste maybe because the soda has masked it. It was so refreshingly cold and I just could not get enough of the colour!
Wat Phra Chetuphon (Wat Pho)
Next stop was the Wat Phra Chetuphon (also known as Wat Pho) which famously features a giant reclining Buddha. The statue is really very big (46 metres long x 15 metres tall). A must see in Bangkok.
Wat Pho is not just about reclining Buddha though, the rest of the temple has got very impressive architecture and murals (especially the Chedis and Stupas)! There are also many other Buddha images in different poses and postures.
Snack time РHome Caf̩ Tha Tien
Satisfied with the amount of sight seeing & culture for a day, it was time for a snack. Although it hasn’t been long since lunch, one has got to eat and keep eating when in Bangkok! So here we go and got to Home Café Tha Tien. Wing ordered a fried noodles and I ordered the Thai mango sticky rice dessert (who doesn’t have mango sticky rice when in Thailand!) Both dishes were very enjoyable and the bonus was in the pretty clean loo (which one cannot take for granted!)
Sunset at Rooftop bar – Eagle Nest bar
With a full tummy, we went on a mission to find a rooftop bar for the sunset! We picked the Eagle Nest bar. It is slightly hidden and on the street level, we only saw the sign saying ‘Sala Arun’ so we had to ask a staff where the bar was. To get to the 5th floor roof top, we had to climb a narrow metal spiral staircase which was interesting in itself. As we have expected, the bar was popular for the sunset for sure. There were already quite a lot of customers but we got ourselves a seat and ordered drinks. From the time we placed the order till the time we ended up with the drink (which wasn’t actually that long), I managed to change seats about 3 times, each time to move to a better seat for the view of sunset and Wat Arun. I was pleased with our final seats though so it was worth the hassle 😊 It was really nice to watch the sun going down slowly behind majestic temples, it just felt so calming. It was also interesting to watch the fellow customers enjoying the view. Many were taking more photos than I was and some were doing recording probably for a timelapse video later on. We stayed for a while, till the sun went down completely and to appreciate the night lights.
Party time at Khao San Road
At this point, the great day we had is about to turn epic because we decided to take a cab and go explore Khao San Road. It was to provide a very different scene to the tranquil temples we visited earlier in the day because the few streets which make up the area is where you head for party and a buzz!
I would describe the area as pretty chaotic and yet feels right. It was teeming with life – backpackers, street food vendors, bars everywhere and massage parlours so busy that customers and masseuses overflow onto the road.
After exploring the strip, we settled on a quieter place for a few Chang beers (I found out later that the place we picked is called Nam (Orm) and I think it is a guest house) To take in the full atmosphere, we picked a table outside for Al fescro drinking but we were also careful to pick one further in so we didn’t have hundreds of people walk by us every 10 mins. Wing and I just sat there drinking, people watching and chatting (about what I have no idea!) and time just flew by. I can’t tell you how long we were there for but we probably had a few more beers than we should.
While sat at Nam, we checked out a bar right opposite us. It is called Khao San, 1986. It had a live band performing western pop music which was spot on for a couple of tipsy people like us, so we moved our bums over there and got ourselves a table inside this bar. We switched to cocktails.
As the familiar music got louder and Wing and I got more and more drunk, we couldn’t help to feel the music and wanted to get on our feet to dance. The only thing stopping us was the fact that we had 2 backpacks with us so we felt the need to keep them close to us on our seats. It didn’t stop us tapping and banging the table to the beats though. As we started to do that, our neighbouring tables caught on and they too started to tap and bang their tables to the beats. We then all started singing shouting along to the music. The whole place was filled with this buzz and we felt like we had somehow started a movement! Then it got even better, I cannot remember how but we got chatting to one of the neighbouring tables (they were a group of friends travelling together) and somehow we started hanging out and dancing around our tables together. It was just a great time!!!!!!!!!!
At some point, Wing and I came to the realisation that we had a flight to catch the next day and really ought to get some food to soak up some alcohol and head back to the hotel. So what did we do? We rolled out of the bar and scout around the many food vendors along Khao San Road. I don’t recall exactly how much food we ate but I think we had fun looking for/ eating the food as evidenced by the following photo.
Thinking back now, we managed to fit in an incredible amount in one day. Thanks for a great time Bangkok, we will be back!.