“BANGKOK ORIENTAL CITY”
This awesome capital of Thailand with its population of 8 million is one of the most popular tourist destinations of the world. Famous for incredibly friendly people, amazing temples, lots of beautiful Buddha statues, and delicious food, coupled with Thai Air expansion, the number of tourists in Bangkok continues to increase each year. Bangkok traces its roots to the Ayutthaya Kingdom (Siamese Kingdom from 14th- 18th century), and was later at the heart of the modernisation of Siam (later renamed Thailand).
We stayed in Four Points by Sheraton on Sukhumvit Road, an eclectic hotel just near all the major attractions.
It is really an amazing city with lots of things to see. You should dedicate one day to the Grand Palace, Wat Arun and Wat Pho. For the Grand Palace, former home to the kings of Siem which is still being used for official events, the earlier you visit the better, so you can avoid mass tourism that large buses bring. We got there around 1pm and it was unbearable. War Arun, Buddhist Temple of Dawn, famous ironically for breathtaking sunsets, is located on the other side of Chao Phraya River. It is full of unforgettable relief and so many photo ops that you won't know where to start. The highlight for us was Wat Pho temple with its magnificent reclining Buddha, a figure 15 m high and 46 m long, one of the largest Buddha statues in Thailand.
Second day in the city we took a one day tour through our hotel and visited Ayutthaya Historic Park. This one day tour will take you to several temples and explain all about the former kingdom. The highlight is the Buddha head in the tree.
The third day you can get up early and take a floating market tour- it will take you to wonderful, yet tacky floating markets where you can observe locals trading, probably for the pleasure of tourists. But you can buy wonderful souvenirs and food as you cruise down the river, to say nothing of the great shots you can make.
Thai food is world famous- everyone tried Pad Thai by now. It is no surprise that Thai food is much better in Thailand than in the States for example. The fruit available for breakfast is delicious and mango sticky rice is something we still dream about. We tried street food, including the wonderful mango sticky rice, and everything went fine, no one got sick. One thing worth mentioning though is that Thailand is not as cheap as people always tell you. Although it probably used to be inexpensive 10 years ago, increase of tourist is accompanied by increase in prices.
