Time to Explore Bangkok!
Okay, first off I just have to say that Bangkok is big... no... HUGE!
And there are so many places we want to see here. Lucky for us we have about 5 days to check off as many places as we can. And on our very first day we checked off a few we didn't even know about.
We started the day at the US Embassy where Kristen got her passport application submitted and we were told that we would have no problems getting it back before we head to Bali in a couple of weeks... so that's good. After we got that squared away we found a vegan restaurant to grab a quick lunch.
Bellies full! Now to go explore the city!
Our first stop would be the Grand Palace which was the official residence of the Kings of Siam since 1782. However, recently it has been turned into a museum where visitors are allowed to go in and learn about the history of the palace.
When we arrived, we learned that we had to have long pants. Of course, of all people we should know this by now LOL. When exploring the sites of South East Asia, always carry a pair of pants (or skirt for women) around with you. It was okay though, because a man outside of the palace told us we could take a tuk tuk around the city and see 4 different places for only 30 Baht (less than $1 USD). We were sold!
Wat Parinayok
Our first stop was Wat Parinayok which is a Royal temple that's somewhat unkown to tourists. In fact, the man inside (temple keeper I want to call him?) was amazed to see American faces show up there. He was super kind and explained a little about the temple and the buddha statues inside.
Wat Intharawihan
Next we stopped by Wat Intharawihan, a royal temple categorized as Class III. The primary reason for our visit to this wat was the HUGE, 32 metres (105 ft) high, 10 metres (33 ft) wide standing buddha statue which was built from 1867-1927.
Unfortunately for us, the statue was currently under renovation. But the sheer size of it was still impressive!
Wat Benchamabophit
Wat Benchamabophit, meaning temple of the 5th king, is a major tourist attraction of Bangkok, Thailand. Construction of this temple, which includes the ornate style of high gables, stepped-out roofs and elaborate finials, started in 1899 at the request of King Chulalongkorn. It's also known as the marble temple because it's built almost entirely of Italian marble.
We were blown away at its beauty. We must have walked around the grounds for about an hour just admiring the architecture of this temple.
Custom-Tailored Silk Shop
Our last stop on this tour would be to a fashion outlet that sells custom-tailored silk suits. We were told that this was the first time the shop had been opened to the general public in over 5 years! Now if any of you know me, I don't wear suits. I'm more of a t-shirt and sandals kinda guy LOL. But I can appreciate a good quality suit.
Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures from inside the shop, but Kristen did get a custom fitted suit and a scarf. I also purchased a scarf as a gift. We ended up spending a total 10,000 Baht (or about $300 USD), which really wasn't bad at all for what we got.
Back to the Hotel
By this time we were pretty tired. We had been up since about 6am local time. So we headed back to our hotel to catch up on emails and grab a bite to eat before bed. I ended up getting pad thai again (I'm going to be so sick of this stuff by the time I leave 😂).
That's all for today! Tomorrow we plan to go back to the Grand Palace, this time with the proper attire. There are several other places we want to see as well, including the Bangkok National Museum, the Lumpini or Ratchadamnoen stadium to watch a Kickboxing (Muay Thai) fight, visit the Jim Thompson House, and tour the Vimanmek Mansion. We also want to check out the shops and restaurants on Khao San Road which is just around the corner from our hotel. Hopefully we can fit all that in with the few days we have here!
Thanks for following along with our South East Asia Journey! I hope you have enjoyed it. Be sure to follow my channel for more travel blogs over the next couple of weeks!!
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