Bangkok - Sightseeing

Took the really packed river buses down to Chinatown for a wander around the area. The streets are so congested, it's a maze of lanes and passages selling an incredible range of items, most of it imported from China. It was packed with people and the shops were interspersed with food stands & trolleys making a great atmosphere. Each street specialised in one particular thing, how they select one shop from another baffles us. One highlight was in the flower wholesale market, where each stall was crammed full of yellow flower heads being threaded ready for temple offerings. Also, was the ginger stall where the ladies spend all day finely chopping ginger for food stalls to buy off them. On our shopping list were bowls, mugs, a spatula and a cooking pot for New Zealand- we found plenty of options to choose from.
The next day we went by boat bus again to Wat Arun where a mix of Chinese and Thai Buddhism made for interesting temples and structures. All the designs on the Stupa were made from pieces of broken plates, jugs and cups from several hundred years ago.
It was great in the evening to meet up with a friend called Dina who we went rafting with in Nepal, 3 months ago. She was passing through the city at the same time as us so shared a meal and a couple of beers and chatted about what we've been up to.
Tomorrow we have an 8am bus to commence over 36 hours of travel..... The joy of it!Read more