Snippets of our love affair: Eat. Snap. Shop @ Bangkok (Part 2)

A reader recently asked me what happened to the continuation of my blog post on the previous Bangkok trip. Haha. It was then that I realised I did not post up any more write ups on Bangkok after the first one. Hahaha...pardon me for that. I was pretty busy moving houses after the first write up on Bangkok trip. Thank goodness I still have the detailed itinerary and hundreds of photos in my computer. Else, I don't think I can recall much to write for this post.

Day 2 (29 Aug, Wed): Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Pho & Lek Seafood

JW & I woke up early to get some breakfast in Pratunam morning market before heading down to the Grand Palace. At 6.30 am, a number of saffron robed monks were already in the soi (streets) begging for alms. Locals will offer food and place them in the monks' silver lidded bowl in exchange for a chant of blessing. From my observation, women will have to lower themselves when the offering and chanting are made. Men, on the other hand, can just walk to the monks to offer the alms.

Monk singing chants to locals who offered alms

An exhausted monk

Majority of the food and clothing stalls in Pratunam market are already open for business by 7am everyday. We have had chicken rice (THB 35), grilled pork sausages (THB 10), banana pancake (THB 20 for 3 pieces), 100% fresh pomegranate juice (THB 50 for about 200 mL) and a pack of fresh pineapple cutlets (THB 20). Man, the pineapple was so sweet and considerably very cheap as compared to those in Tawau....expensive, dry and not even sweet.

Grilled pork sausages..yummy..

Grilled Thai style banana pancakes

Pratunam market (in front of Baiyoke Sky Hotel) at 7am

Girls and shopping...it's never enough, even if it's in the flee markets :)

By the time we were done with breakfast while lepaking in Pratunam market, it was almost 8.30 am. We walked back to the hotel and took the hotel's complimentary Tuk Tuk to Ratchathewi BTS station. The tuk tuk driver did not sent us straight to the train station but dropped us at a soi near the station and directed us there (The hotel's tuk tuk can only travel around Pratunam area and not out of it, as accordance to the hotel's policy).

We took the BTS skytrain, transited to Silom Line in Siam Station, and headed to Saphan Taksin station. The fare was THB 35 per pax and travel time was approximately 13 minutes. To get to Sathron Pier, which is the gateway to Chao Phraya river, take Exit 2 from Saphan Taksin station. Walk a short distance and you will see the sign for Sathorn Pier (also known as Central Pier). From the pier, there is an exclusive Chao Phraya Tourist boat (blue flag boat) to the palace and temples along the Chao Phraya River, costing at THB 150 per pax. Alternatively, there are also cheaper express boats (no flag boat, white flag boat, orange flag boat, green flag boat which the locals take. We boarded the orange flag boat. The fare to Tha Chang pier (nearest pier to Grand Palace) was only THB 15 per pax. Here is the link where you can get all the info about the boat services in Chao Phraya river: http://www.chaophrayaexpressboat.com/en/home/

All sweaty after a few minutes walk to Ratchathewi station

Express boats

From Tha Chang pier, walk straight through the market and out to the plaza, which is flanked by old shophouses. The long white wall of Grand Palace is across the street on the right. If you are not sure of the directions, just follow the crowd and you will definitely end up at the Grand Palace :)

Outside of the Grand Palace

The main entrance to the Grand Palace is near the Royal Navy Club Restaurant. Entrance fees was THB 400 for foreigners. The fees also included admission to Wat Phra Kaew or Temple of Emerald Buddha, which is located in the palace grounds, as well as Vimanmek Mansion Museum. The Grand Palace is open everyday from 8.30 am till 3.30 pm. It will only be closed for royal functions and ceremonies like the King's birthday, which falls on December 5th every year, if I am not mistaken. You might come across touts who insist that the Grand Palace is closed for a special holiday, and will try to sell you a special tour which usually include a stop at the gem shop. If you do bump into one of these con men, gently decline their offer. You can easily tell if the Grand Palace is closed by checking the entrance gate. If you don't see a constant stream of tourists and tour groups at the entrance, then it is probably closed.

The Grand Palace may get quite crowded during the weekends as the locals will usually make a visit to Wat Phra Kaew for prayers on the weekends. Hence, the best time to visit would be on a weekday. Take note of the dress code. Guys: sleeved shirt with long pants. Girls: sleeved top and knee length skirt/trousers. No see throughs, body hugging and bare feet. Anyway, sarong, pants and shirts are available for rental if you are not appropriately dressed. I would advise to wear shoes that are easily removed like flats as you will have to be barefoot inside the temple, as a sign of respect.

There's free guided tours in English at 10.00am, 10.30am, 1.30pm and 2.00pm. Just inform any personnel inside the palace that you are keen and they will be more than happy to tour you along. They are very friendly, speak decent English and I highly recommend it! My tour guide did a fantastic job by telling us the entire story behind the Grand Palace and Wat Pra Kaew..so much info until I have forgotten most of it by now..haha..I could only remember the few mythological creatures...Yaksa or giant demon guarding the temple of emerald buddha, Kinnon (half bird, half man), Kinnari (half bird, half woman), Naga (half man, half serpent), others I cannot remember.

You can also go on your own tour with the directory given at the entrance. There are also personal audio guides in English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Japanese and Mandarin, available for rent at THB 100.

Wat Pra Kaew as seen from the Outer Court of the Grand Palace

The Outer Court

Yaksa all around Wat Pra Kaew..to protect the Emerald Buddha...

The mythological Yaksa (giant demon).

The palace's library

Naga (semidivine being of half human half serpent in Hindu-Buddhist mythology)

Devil (lighter coloured with sandals) and Monkey (without sandals)

Our tour guide explaining about Emerald Buddha

Wat Phra Kaew

The newer part of the Grand Palace

Greetings from the Palace

After lunch at one of the restaurants outside of the Grand Palace, we walked to Wat Pho or Temple of the Reclining Buddha, which is just behind the Grand Palace. Wat Pho is the largest temple in Bangkok and famed for its huge reclining Buddha statue (46 metres in length and is entirely covered with gold leaf). It is open everyday, from 8am until 9pm with break time at 12 noon to 1pm. Entrance was THB 50 per pax. Again, be careful of touts and gem scams!

This temple is also home to one of the earliest Thai massage schools. Their traditional Thai massage (THB 220 for 30 min) is highly recommended. In fact, it was one of best massages I have ever had!

Buddha's doctor having a sip

There are 91 chedis (mounds) outside the temple. The smaller chedis contain ashes of the royal family while the larger ones are said to contain ashes of Buddha...

The 46 metres long reclining Buddha

The feet alone is 3 metres long

This place houses more than a thousand Buddha images

My itinerary actually include Wat Arun, which is not far from Wat Pho. However, we skipped it as the both of us have had enough of temple visitation, and our legs were rather sore from the endless walking since morning. Anyway for those of you who are keen, you can actually walk a short distance from Wat Pho to Tha Tien pier, and from there, take a ferry to cross the river to visit Wat Arun.

After Wat Pho, we went for an early dinner in Lek Seafood prior to cabaret show. We headed straight back to Sathorn Pier and took the BTS from Saphan Taksin to Chong Nongsi station. Lek Seafood (opens everyday from 5pm to 1am) is just below the Chong Nongsi BTS station. With the many good reviews I have seen online, I really wanted to give it a try. These are what we ordered:

(i) Tom Yam Kung (Tom Yum): thumbs up

(ii) Yam Hoy Krang (spicy cockle salad with fiery garnish made up of garlic, lemongrass, chillis, lime, fish sauce and mint leaves): this is really nothing great to me

(iii) Hoy Tod (oysters served in egg omelet and beansprouts): too starchy to my liking

(iv) Pu pad pong kaa rii (crab meat in flavourful sauce made up of eggs, curry powder, celery, onions, etc): didn't look too appetizing but the taste was ok

The bill totalled up to about THB 750. I personally do not recommend this place as the food is rather pricy and not that good.