Bangkok

Coming straight from Cambodia, we got to Bangkok and scrambled to the exit to find us a cab. Jasper booked one via Grab and after a scuffle or two of finding the right meeting place, we were off to our 5-star hotel. It was such a lucky deal to find a 5-star hotel that was dirt cheap. Sure, it was quite old but the facilities and the room we were staying in were definitely of a higher caliber. We had a nice city view from the top floor with very comfortable beds and a bathtub to boot! The swimming pool was way bigger than the one we had in Cambodia but it also gave us a nice view of Bangkok. We were a bit pressed for time though since we already arrived in the afternoon so we were in and out of the hotel quite quickly and started to walk towards our first stop of the day: Wat Saket.

The walk to Wat Saket was not too long but not too short either. It was a good time to absorb much of the city's atmosphere. Definitely very different from the provincial Siem Reap. We walked along the river, spotting an iguana crawling and going into someone's home. Maybe not so different from Siem Reap after all? Wat Saket turned out to be that one temple high above the hill that we had to climb. I had initially wanted to back out but Jasper was the one who convinced me to go this time around. There were a lot of stairs but it was worth it as the Buddhist temples in Thailand were really intricate and made with so much reverence. It seemed like they spared no expense at making them as grand as possible. Wat Saket itself was known as the Golden Mount. The way down was much easier and we were soon rushing off to the next temple Wat Ratchanatdaram. This temple's unique trait was its symmetrical center. It was all white and gold which was a prevalent color in the temples, having arched gates and golden roofs extending in all four directions forming a square. We also stopped by Wat Thepthidaram and Wat Suthat. The former being the first time we saw these unique white thin stupa and the latter having the famous red torii gate-like swing. We also saw Wat Ratchabophit, it had a giant golden stupa surrounded by a dome with a blue roof. All of these temples were very huge in size and area but our last stop, Wat Pho, makes them all pale in comparison.

Wat Pho was one of the few temples aside from Wat Saket that required an entrance fee. The temple grounds were a mix of royalty and spirituality. It was one of the most lavished temples I have seen so far. There was a lot to see and we were quickly overwhelmed on where to go first so we started to just walk around aimlessly. Being one of the most popular temples in Thailand, it was pretty crazy that it wasl empty. We saw a lot of these tiny pyramid like structures with antennas pointing upwards, stupas and temples housing different idols. There were a lot of art and sculptures around the temple. The most popular one here was the giant reclining Buddha. I had seen one before in Myanmar and that one was much bigger but this Buddha also didn't disappoint as it was enshrined in a very large temple. It's walls had art depicting the heavens and there in lied the Buddha. All the way down the hall, Buddha's feet also had inscriptures on them, similar to Yangon's reclining Buddha as well. We stopped by at the final temple, housing a giant golden meditating Buddha. We had to take our shoes off before going in the temple and the guard gave me a mask so I could enter. Inside the temple, the monks sat at the elevated platform as they chanted while we sat on the carpet. I took the time to meditate here, letting myself drown in the chorus of chants. When we decided that it was time to go back, the temple was completely empty. Seemed like everyone had already went home so we found ourselves just walking in the silence on the way out.

My final itinerary of the day was to have dinner somewhere near the river to watch the sunset with a view of Wat Arun. We were supposed to visit both Wat Arun and Wat Pho but there wasn't enough time so I decided to just go there again the next day. We were having troubles finding a place to eat so we instead went to Vivi the Coffeeplace. I remember reading about this cafe and that it had pretty nice views of Wat Arun. I ordered a fruit shake while we just chilled and watched as the sunset behind the clouds. Unfortunately, no sunset again today but it was still pretty nice and to think we were in Cambodia just a while ago. It was now time for dinner so we started to look around for food and found a restaurant not too far from the cafe that had a rooftop. I ordered my favorite Thai food, green curry. I was quite excited to taste an authentic one. The overall ambience was perfect, a nice aerial view of the river and Wat Arun, the live music, the refreshing breeze and the onset of dusk made for one of the best meals one could wish for. Albeit the price was a bit expensive, I would say it was worth it for one night. The green curry was a bit more spicy than I expected but it had that classic taste that I really love. Satisfied with a fulfilling day, Jasper booked us a Grab to go back to the hotel. Upon arrival, we were off to the pool which was very cold under the night sky but that Bangkok skyline made me feel like a rich guy on vacation. I was just genuinely extremely happy and internalizing it all as I floated on the water. After swimming, I made good use of our bath tub and took a hot bath before plopping on my super dope mattress.Read more