Thailand Temples

I consider this day as my last day here in Siam because tomorrow noon ill be heading back south.My Thailand trip will not going to be complete without going to the temples.

Lets start the day with my breaky at Mc Donalds . By the way they have 2 types of ketchup spicy Thai ketchup and the American tomato ketchup.

breakfast time before my diy tour

After chewing my burger and fries I started walking towards Golden Mount and Democracy Monument.

Did you know that : 

 An Italian sculptor named Corrado Feroci designed the relief sculptures around the base of the construction. He later became a Thai citizen and changed his name to Silpa Bhirasi.

Democracy Monument between Old Grand Palace Demoand Dusit Palace

Next stop is Loha Prasat.Along Thanon Maha Chai. 

Wat Ratchanaddaram is a buddhist temple located at the intersection between Ratchadamnoen Klang and Maha Chai Road, in Phra Nakhon district, Bangkok. Meaning Royal Niece, the temple was built to the order of King Nangklao (Rama III) for Mom Chao Ying Sommanus Wattanavadi in 1846. The temple is best known for the Loha Prasat (โลหะปราสาท), a multi-tiered structure 36 m high

(source wkipedia)

After Loha Prasat I went to Wat Saket (Golden Mount)

Man made hill with temple on top.  To the reach the top of the Golden Mount, you must ascend an exhausting 318 steps. On a clear day, the view from the top includes old Rattanakosin Island and the rooftops of Bangkok.

inside Wat Saket (golden mount)

Its humid day in Bangkok so imagine me ascending 318steps. TIRING! Golden Mount may not be that notable but the view from top is great.I also saw a lot of Monks in the area.
After Golden Mount my next stop is The Grand Palace.

Im afraid to take the bus thinking I might be lost, so instead i walked from Wat Saket to the Grand Palace. Approximately 2kms I think. Haggard but i get to know some locals. The rain starts to pour so I decided to skip Grand Palace. Sayang!

Its raining =(

After the rain the the temperature dropped at least. I'm so dizzy and hungry at the same time. To pacify my hunger I bought a tea and chips on a corner store across Wat Pho.

Wat Pho or Reclining Buddha is directly adjacent to the Grand Palace. One of the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok. The reclining Buddha statue is the biggest in the world. The southern side is a Buddhist Monastery home of almost a thousand Buddha images.

crowded Wat Pho

Wat Pho Complex South Side

Bangkok in my mind is more than temples and Buddha.It is also home of great food,pleasant people, colorful cultures and rich traditions.Some locals embraces the modern world but still remains their old values. When I come back to Siam I'm hoping to visit Chiang Mai and Ayutthaya (wishful thinking)

A trip to Floating Market Damnoen Saduak

Damnoen Saduak -  is a district (Amphoe) in central Thailand in the province Ratchaburi. The central town is most famous because of its floating market held every day till noon on a khlong not far from the district office. However as it has become a prime tourist attraction of the Bangkok vicinity the market has lost its authenticity. (source wiki)

Welcome to Damnoen Saduak

After spending hours mending my stomach I still managed to get up early. Tour day!
7am is the call time and its almost 6:45 am in Bangkok. Am I late? I told myself it seems that everyone is packed up and ready.

I approached one of the local and asked if where can I find the van that will brough me to Floating Market. He checked me receipt and lead me to the van. Surprisingly we're the only asian inside the van. 

An hour away from Khao San Road we finally arrived in Damnoen Saduak.Its advisavble to get here early.Tends to become crowded with tourist.

locals preparing food

As I sat on front of the river all I can see is locals paddling their canoes in the center of the river. Offering a ride. I walked along the 100 meter market. Looking for a souvenir. Use my haggling skill and til now I still cant remember how we understood each other through her calculator.But yes she made her sales.

colorful fruits

 A tour around the village is included with the 200baht we paid at Ris. I got fascinated with Thai traditional way of life.Very simple yet colorful. Huge vases, picture of the king in every houses. It a quarter past 9 am and we are heading back now to Khao San Road. Its warmer and im excited now in our temple tour.  

Tip: I booked my Floating Market Tour at Ris Travel located along Khao San Rd. Got a 50baht discounts for Filipino tourist. 

Bangkok Thailand Ellen's Overview

It is the strong coffee and its aroma that wake up my senses. I pinch myself and realized I'm still in a foreign country. Its almost 8am when I check my wristwatch, within the next 3 hours ill be flying north.

Toast, Eggs and Coffee for breaky @ Kopitiam Tampines, SG 

Welcome to Sukhumvit Airport! I didn't bother to listen. I'm excited! Another foreign country, another foreign language.

Thailand Aerial View

From Sukhumvit Airport I rode the train located at the basement bound to city. I alighted at the last station Makkasan. I think I paid around 20baht for the train ride I honestly cant remember. Then I asked the train employee on how can i get to Khao San Road.

Airport Link Website

From Makkasan I rode the bus #556 that take me to Khao San Road for 16baht.

Where I Sleep:

Six months before the trip I booked a budget hotel in Agoda with free breakfast for 3000 pesos.

Welcome to Sawasdee Bunglumpoo Inn

Hotel Amenities:

Free Wifi ( stayed on 3rd flr I cant get any connection)

TV and Ref ( HBO is the only English channel)

Hot and Cold Shower

I must say I'm satisfied with my stay at Sawasdee. The staffs are accommodating and friendly. The rooms are clean and pleasant. Highly recommended for budget traveler like me.

Khao San Road:

Backpackers and budget travellers haven. This place is also close to historical sites in the city such as Grand Palace, Wat Po and the Chao Praya River. A very busy street with vendors left and right. Travel agencies are also scattered in the area that offers cheap tours around Thailand. But wait there's more this busy Khao San Road turns to into a street club at night. Amazing!

Khao San Road Daytime

Food:

Most local foods are spicy!  

Bangkok's Street Food Vendor

Pad Thai Spices

Pad Thai

spices,milk tea and local burger

dinner time and bar at Bangkok

Getting Around: 

With my 4 days stay at Bangkok bus is still the cheapest way to travel around intercity. Though, i got lost couple of times for budget traveller asking questions with the locals help me a lot to reach my destination. Taxi is okay though I felt like the driver cheated on me because he was reluctant to use the meter. So be careful and insist to use the meter all the time!With my 4 days stay i found tuktuk more expensive than taxi.

 There was this local who offer us to tour around the city for 20baht. Cheap right? so we went to two temples it was a small temples located inside the schools. Nothing special. The driver said there is an ongoing expo that we need to visit to check their local goods. But instead we went to a jewelry shop. So beware! We spent 2hours inside the shop, I mean I'm not interested in buying golds and jewelry so i felt like it ruined our itinerary for that day.

Tuk Tuk

Overall Bangkok is like Manila. Polluted, street vendors, traffic,the locals the look is similar to Filipino. But what makes this city unique is they  know how to value their historical attractions. Which i guessed we're lacking as I heard the old post office building in Manila is now being sold to foreigners. And soon will be Fullerton Hotel. Sad =(

Krung Thai

In the heart of Marikina  lies a hidden restaurant like no other.I visited Krung Thai after my  tiring trip from Coron. A friend of mine invited me over to eat out after a stressful shift. I asserted to eat at Krung Thai in Marikina to make the dine out more exciting. Both of us was not familiar with the place but because of our determination we were able to locate the restaurant.

The facade

At first I didn't recognized it because it was situated in the public market of Sta Elena. I've been reading reviews about Krung Thai on the internet, that aside from it's authentic Thai recipe it was also inexpensive.So let check what it has to offer. =)

Inside Krung Thai

We were the only customer that late afternoon.I didn't pay attention too much on the ambiance i twas just plain and simple. 

The menu

When the waiter  hand to me the menu I already knew what I want. Thai iced tea, pad Thai and crispy catfish.

I'm craving for those food for over a month now. However the waiter went back after 3 minutes informing us  that  the pad Thai is not available.I  scanned the menu again and order the bagoong rice instead.But wait there is another bad news the Thai iced tea was also out of stock. Huh?! impossible, Surely it’s extremely odd but  no choice.

The only consolation was our food served hot and quick. 

Bagoong rice P128

To die for. Tender meat with sweet and sour sauce, egg omelet cooked just right,  green mango strips with nuts and onions and the jasmine rice sauteed in bagoong. Truly delectable.The star of our table.

5 spoons for this dish

Crispy catfish with mango salad was another signature Thai recipe. The serving was good enough for four.This salad appetizer taste sweet, sour, salty, nutty and spicy hot.It was both look and taste good.

Crispy catfish with mango salad P243

Thai spring roll 3pcs P89

No difference with the spring roll serves locally, but for the P89  it was a good deal.We spent around P560, not bad. The only disappointment was the pad thai and thai iced tea but overall t was a nice experience

Krung Thai 

G/F Marikina Public Market, W. Paz cor. M. Cruz 

Sta. Elena Marikina

646-4041