Bangkok, Thailand: Land of Smiles - Day 1
Arriving almost 8 in the morning in Suvarnabhumi Airport in the Bangkok, Thailand, I already expected
my first day in the capital will be short and tiring after 10 hours of travel
from Oslo, Norway. From the airport, we traveled about half an hour to our
hotel towards the taxi.
Learning from the experience ask first the
taxi driver how much he will charge. I and my sister experienced paying four
times the average fare. Well, I do not want to stress myself, so I just brush
it off. Another thing, I noticed it was difficult to communicate in English
with the taxi driver and even the hotel receptionists. The communication
barrier became a problem for us in the entire trip.
Our goal is to cover as many places in Bangkok
as possible using the least amount of resources and time. To do this, I
prepared a draft schedule of our itinerary throughout our short stay.
After we left our hotel, we went directly
to the nearest City Airport Link. We stopped at Phaya Thai Station and paid 40
baht (10 NOK). From Phaya Thai, we took the taxi to our first stop.
Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall
Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall provides a good contrast of the
Thai culture and architectiure within the surrounding areas. Its architectural
design follows Italian Renaissance and Neo Classic style with its central dome
and six other smaller surrounding domes. In the domes’ interiors, one could see
the paintings of Galileo Chini and Carlo Riguili on the past dynasties, who
ruled Siam, the land of the Free. The place was used by the People’s party in
1932 to initiate a revolution that changed the Thailand’s political system from
absolute to constitutional monarchy.
From our first stop, we took the Chao Phraya Boat Express
Orange Line from Thewet to Tha Tien Station. We paid 15 baht each (3 NOK). We
were able to see the beauty of the historical Chao Phraya River. From Tha Tien
Station, we needed to take another short boat trip to the opposite side of the
river to our second stop. This trip we paid 5 baht each (1 NOK).
Wat Arun
Named after the Hindu god, Aruna, Wat Arun or Temple of the
Dawn found in the west bank of the Chao Phraya River shines like sun with it
distinctive spires. This 200-year-old temple houses the Emerald Buddha before.
Furthermore, its high central tower with surrounding four small spires are
adorned with seashells and porcelain. Moreover, the main spire has
seven-pronged trident, which symbolizes reality, desires and happiness.
From our second stop, we took the boat ride from Tha Tien
area to Marine Department through Orange Line. From the Marine Department, we
passed by some communities near the market until we reached the China Town to
our third stop.
Wat Traimit
The Golden Buddha, located in Wat Traimit is said to be the
world’s largest solid gold statue, weighing about 5.5 kilograms. The
3-meter golden Buddha, which reflects an Indian influence, is securely covered
with thick layer materials and is composed of nine 18-karat golden parts
carefully assembled to create the statue. The statue is said worth 250 million
dollars.
From our third stop, we took the toktok, a popular vehicle
in Thailand. We tried asking the driver to take us in a shopping center where
we can eat and shop at the same time. Again, we encountered problems with
speaking to the driver due to language barriers, but the driver was very accommodating.
Honestly, I no longer know where we are at that point as we
were so hungry and I just wanted to eat. We were able to eat Thai seafood in a
place near the street. It was clean and the attendants were so kind, even
though she had problems with communicating with us. Nonetheless, the food was
delicious.
We tried walking from where we ate our dinner and reached
the BTS station. We took a ride until we reached the central Bangkok area,
where most shopping malls were located.
Eating and Shopping
Eating authentic Thai food is a must when traveling in
Bangkok. The average expenditure in a usual meal is about 100 baht (25 NOK) per
person. We tried to catch Siam Niramit show but we simply do not have the
energy to do it. I hoped we could do so in the second day, but we were not able
to do so.
To gain an excellent view of Thailand history and culture,
one must see Siam Niramit, which is considered to be one of the largest stage
production in the world with over a hundred of performers using hundreds with
costumes.
We ended the first day of trip in Bangkok happy, gaining
valuable appreciation of the Thai culture and its people.
Comments
Post a Comment