We woke up to the doorbell, breakfast is served! Fried egg, toast, margarine, bacon and sausage. Shortly afterwards we got the all clear from our PCR test. Were free!
Except its Saturday. Banks are closed, so we got some cash from an ATM (at an exorbitant charge) and headed towards the famous Kaosan Road. On the way we saw the city waking up, food stalls opening, lots of flower sellers making and selling offerings for people to take to the temples.
Kaosan road was empty, everything was closed. Nobody there. COVID? Too early in the morning? Probably Anyway, a bit underwhelming. We went on to the Democracy Square, with all its symbolism and read a bit about the slight irony of the name (Thai democracy was founded and is preserved by the occasional military coup...). At the square is the only McDonalds shop in the world whos sign isnt red - its brown, to honor those killed in Bangkok during one of the coups.
We went on to Wat Ratchanatdaram Worawihan (and thats just part of the name. Its also known as Loha Prasat). Apparently its one of only three temples in the world built in
that architectural style, the other two being in India and Sri Lanka, and both are nothing but ancient ruins. It also holds some relics of Buddha. Loha Prasat now acts as an exhibition on its history, and there to meditate. And take selfies. Mustnt forget the selfies!
We got a drink of green tea with milk at the little coffee shop next door (it was delicious!) before going on towards the Royal We walked along some of the canals in the city, meeting some of the people (and some cats) who live along it. Some monks in orange robes, an old lady watering her plants, some fishmongers cleaning squid in plastic pails of water.
We visited the Bangkok City Pillar Shrine, where lots of people came to pray and leave offerings of incense, flowers, money, and even oil in the candles. Some even stuck gold leaf on the statues!
Our next stop was at the of Wat Pho (I should mention that Wat means Temple in Thai). Wat Pho covers a large area adjacent to the Royal and was used in the past as a center of learning Thai
medicine. Its still the largest and most prestigious school of Thai massage. And its full of amazing colorful buildings, statues and gardens.
By now it was starting to get late and weve a plane to catch to Chiang Mai. Wat Pho is right next to the river, so we managed to hire a boat to take us back towards our hotel. Not cheap, but a fun ride!
We collected our luggage from the hotel and got a taxi to the airport. We made it with time to spare and zipped through Ive said it before and Ill say it again - Bangkoks main airport may be huge, but it is super efficient!
The flight to Chiang Mai is just over an hour long, and quite funny - they played a childrens song ad for the airline (VietJet) until takeoff!
We got to the hotel, in a small, quiet back street. A really nice hotel, and found that we got upgraded to a suite! Well, you wont hear from me!
A short walk brought us to town, which is all decorated in preparation for the festival of lights next week. The bridges
over the canals are decorated with lights, and the streets are lined with decorations. We found some street stalls to finally try real Thai food! We got a banana Loti - a sweet banana fried pastry and absolutely delicious! And some real food - noodle soup. Spicy, lots of noodles and meat, and also yummy.
