Bangkok Things to Do Tips by thedouglas

I love staying in Bangkok Chinatown - from hitting the streets early in the morning, and mingling in the morning markets, with so many wonderful and often alien foods - watching the monks go about their food gathering and blessings - being looked at as a curiosity while people go about their business - and smiling wearily as I gesture and take their photos. A little time later, these markets clear - shutters go up and the day shops open. The lanes are amazing, and so easy to lose your bearings in! People - bikes - food stalls - shops and shops - tailors and food vendors - jewellery - shops dedicated to single items, like plastic bags, sheets, string, hair decorations, watches - buy by the dozen! No personal space sensitivity allowed - and nobody seems the slightest bit hassled or harried - just like the traffic. The next shift is the start of the nighttime bustle - so much food - so many things to buy.

I love the smells - they are so familiar to me now. I just love to get amongst Chinatown here - the whole mix of things to see and do, the assault on your senses.

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Address: Ratchawongsi Pier, Chao Phraya River Tour, Bangkok
Directions: To view typical China Town scences straight ahead to Ratchawongsi Road until the intersection of Yaowarat Road.

The weekend market in BK is the first time I have been all done in shopping - after two full days of this market, I really don't care if I see another thing to buy - until the next day at least. The variety of things is amazing - and I defy anyone to say there is nothing of interest to them in the varied and vast market. The usual BK bustle - and claustrophobia to the max at times - but its well worth the time - and the sore feet.

It was amazing at the end of the first day - got home, got it all out - as you do! - and pronounced that I MUST be broke! In the frenzy, I really hadn't kept track. Foolish husband advised that I had spent a fraction of what I had estimated, looking at the floor! Of course, this called for an encore performance!

Seriously though, I AM a shopper, but really done in by the end of day 2!

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Address: Mo Chit Station, Bangkok
Directions: Simply take the Skytrain to the end terminal called Morchit which is exactly where the market is located.

I usually spend two full days at the weekend market in Bangkok - and still have no hope of seeing it all. Helps if you have a map before you get there - which sets out all of the pavilions and the type of goods sold in them - organised into type of item, which makes it easy to include or exclude. Need to have good spatial skills, or you get lost and confused anyway.
Send the husbands and nonshopping sons to the wildlife, and take the girls and get lost amongst the endless array of clothing and other accessories.
Be prepared to see things you have never seen before in some of the shops - and those you may never want to see again!
Some of the antiques and artefacts are amazing - although there is always a risk in buying a so-called genuine artefact for big dollars. Also need to be aware of what you can and cannot take out of the country, cost of transport and cost of customs at the other end.
Take plenty of cash (but ATM's are there), comfy shoes a must, comfortable bag(s) for the shopping (or a porter), a good sense of humour and tolerance, and don't forget to drink water. Of course, if you drink, you'll have to find the loos - which are to die for - literally. They are usually crowded, dirty and hot - best loo is near the station and the book section - newer and cleaner. Thai female toilet queue customs are also different to ours in Oz - they line up in mini-queues outside individual cubicles, rather than forming a giant conga line like we do.
Have a ball - and stop and pinch yourself every half hour or so!

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Address: Mo Chit Station, Bangkok
Directions: Simply take the Skytrain to the end terminal called Morchit which is exactly where the market is located. Taxi from Chinatown is roughly 150Bt.

A visit to Wat Pho and Bangkok's famous reclining Buddha is on every tourist's itinerary - its a must. When we went the first time, I had my palm read. Being the skeptic I am, my tongue was planted in my cheek - but not for long. I was gobsmacked - and remain so, as I look at the notes my husband took - at the accuracy of this man's statements about so many facets of my life, and not just the usual stuff fortune tellers say to people, and enough of it is right or a close enough fit.

He tried to articulate my occupation initially - not being able to find the right words - and described my children by gender and personality, my relationship with a range of people in my life, my personality quite well etc..... . So, I would be interested in someone else's experience and impressions.

My daughter had her signs (relating to date of birth) done, and we'll have to wait and see, as much of this is centred on life prediction.

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Address: Tha Tien Pier, Chao Phraya River, Bangkok
Directions: The entrance to Wat Pho is on Chetuphon road. Entrance is 20B. It's open every day, opening hours are from 08.00am to 5.00pm, with a break from 12.00pm to 1.00pm.

Even though I have read lots of times that Wat Arun is not especially worth seeing, I have always enjoyed it - we call it the "china plate temple" for obvious reasons - and I love to take close up pics of it. The silhouette is an unmissable sight when you travel on the river - and the temple is quite different to any of the others I have seen in BKK.

Any - if you are a shopper - the best range of T-shirts seem to be here - and the adjacent shops actually have quite reasonable things to see - and buy of course! There are the monks at the exit from the pier into the temple, and a quick blessing never hurt anyone - the cutouts of Thai dancers you can shove your head through for a pic (for a cost of course), the costumes you can hire for photography, and man with the carpet snake for photograpic opportunity - the options seem endless really!

The history of the temple is also quite interesting, as it is really made from Chinese ballast porcelain - just like the incredible number of Chinese statues at the Grand Palace and Wat Pho - all ballast!

Wat Arun was also the home of the sacred and valuable Emerald Buddha, before it was transferred by Rama I across to its current location in Wat Phra Kaew in the grounds of the Grand Palace comlex.

If you have to cross the river, it costs a whole 4 Bt each way - so what is there to lose!

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Address: Tha Tien Pier, Chao Phraya River
Directions: From this pier take a cross river ferry to Wat Arun.

............fancy sort of ballast from Chinese vessels stopping at Bangkok..............and dumped.....they really don't waste a thing. Apparently there were tons of this "waste" left behind.

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Have I mentioned that I don't care how touristy it is, I still love Khao San Road!!? You just never know what you are going to see there.

When I took my sister to Thailand, we happened to be at Khao San during shooting of a Bollywood movie, starring Amitabh Bachan! It was awesome to watch - and invade. They kept asking us to move - very politely of course! - can't see why! "You are in the frame" ...... "yeah, that's the idea!..."

The street was tranformed from Thai and tourist occupied to Indian actors, crew and onlookers. Action and gorgeous men everywhere. Why would you want to be anywhere else!?

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Address: T. Khoa San Road (KSR) BKK

This was definitely one of those outings planned for the male members of the group - who did lots of things for the girls - mostly shopping. So, we all set out for the Royal Barges National Museum - not particularly full of anticipation. Boats are, after all, mostly a boy thing. We took a ferry to Tha Rot Fai on the Thonburi side of the Chao Phraya, and walked on to the museum - past poverty and amazing housing arrangements. You actually walk along little alleys - no footpath - and, any windows open reveal what life is going on inside - eg. a very elderly, sickly and frail looking old lady who was bedridden - of course, photographs not even considered, and utmost respect attempted, as you really feel like you are walking through their houses.

Amazingly, in someone's "entry", there might be an esky full of meat, basic grocery items and fresh vegetables, which, I guess is a sort of equivalent to the "corner store". I really felt intrusive walking by - but, typically, the Thai people here were unhassled, acted as though it happens all day every day (which it must!) and either continued dozing or lazily nodded and smiled in response to our smiles.

Then - the museum is upon you - full of gold and the wealth abundant in any cultural association with royalty and religion in Bangkok. Of course we all enjoyed it when we got there - and, as with most places you wander in Bangkok, plenty of interesting things to see along the way.

If you visit the museum, be prepared to have to buy a pass and the right to photograph the barges as well.

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Phone: (02) 4240004
Address: 80/1 Rimklong Bangkok Noi, Thanon Arun Amarin

In the Eastern courtyard of Wat Pho, you will see these stone statues of rishis (hermits), all naked, except for hats, and carved in the posture of healing massage - rather than just being a random assortment of little statues. If you look at each, and try to replicate the pose, you will not only look like an idiot, but be addressing your inner healing the sense of self!

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Address: Tha Tien Pier, Chao Phraya River, Bangkok
Directions: The entrance to Wat Pho is on Chetuphon road. Entrance is 20B. It's open every day, opening hours are from 08.00am to 5.00pm, with a break from 12.00pm to 1.00pm.

These goegeous glass glazed garuda's which adorn the outter of stupas at Wat Phra Khao are something to truly behold, and you can spend all day trying to catch them on photograph. That is, if you are lucky to be visiting when they are not undergoing peeling and refreshing the glass mosaic tiles which form the decorative "crust". Due to the smog and general exposure of these figures, they are renovated twice a year, and each time takes a few months - so there are few months when you can see them without scaffolding etc. impeding your full enjoyment of them. However, a bonus can be to watch the craft of the work. June is one of the lucky months to see them freshened up, i discovered!

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Address: Maharaj Pier, Chao Phraya, Bangkok