After a mere 2 hour bus ride from Kanchanaburi we were greeted by the sprawling mass of humanity known as Bangkok. With a population somewhere around 10 million people, the city is an interesting mix of many different types of settings, hurdles and cultures. The city has a pretty broad range of environments, from the grungy and tourist-laden Khao San Road (arguably the backpacker Mecca of the world) to an array of gigantic, pristine and expensive shopping malls in highly developed sections of the city filled with skyscrapers. It’s a city that simultaneously specializes in selling $3 pairs of elephant pants and tank tops, as well as priceless gemstones imported from around the world (or so we’ve heard – remember, we’re on backpacker budgets here!). You can navigate Bangkok via underground subways, air trains, water taxis, metered taxis, tuk tuks or motorbike taxis (hop on the back and hold on for dear life). You can also spend all day visiting opulent temples that are religiously and historically significant, then walk 5 minutes down the road to the aforementioned Khao San Road where you’ll find tourists getting drunk on cheap vodka and singing Katy Perry on karaoke. Again, it’s an interesting place.
We’re not in Kanchanaburi anymore….
We settled into our hostel near Khao San Road and performed an obligatory exploration of that scene, but were somewhat unimpressed overall. It was basically a mess, with lots of drunk tourists, unfriendly merchants and western tourism splashed all over. Perhaps it is a scene for others, but we’re too old and boring for all of that. [Editor’s note: Maybe too old and boring, but also just accustomed to more interesting, fun tourist areas in other places. This seemed like over-priced and under-quality souvenirs paired with lots of people who were there solely to drink and probably weren’t going to see any other parts of the country. This might be a little harsh, but after a couple friendly attempts to haggle were met with utter derision and a complete lack of interest in selling to us by the vendors, we gave up on the much-hyped Khao San scene.]
The hustle and bustle of Kao San road
We did, however, use it as an opportunity to book a day trip that interested us far more – to some markets! Exciting, eh? We’ve been to a ton of markets in Southeast Asia, so it takes something unique to get our attention, and this tour sounded great. That criteria was met when we were picked up (late, after multiple calls to the agency to remind them we exist) early in the morning to visit the Damnoen Floating Market. Located roughly 1.5 hours outside of Bangkok, shopkeepers line both sides of the banks of a canal system, which also includes vendors floating boats full of products down the canal. We hired a paddle boat to take us through the canals to see the market, which was a cool scene as boats crammed next to each other to maneuver through the water. The market was certainly interesting, but admittedly felt a bit contrived in that it has become touristy enough that it’s hard to glean any of the authentic origins of its founding. With that said, it was worthwhile to see a twist on the normal markets we’ve confronted in Asia. [Editor’s note: I agree with Rorie’s assessment of the level of western tourism being fairly disappointing but still a worthwhile visit. This became a bit of a theme in Thailand – something would seem so over-touristy as to feel like Disneyland and thus lack charm or character, but you could tell that underneath there was a layer of interesting authenticity, if only I had visited 20 years ago instead of today. Oh well.]
In the insane boat traffic of the floating market
Vendors selling snacks from their floating shop
A woman sells hats from her boat
The floating market from above
After visiting the Damnoen Floating Market our day trip took us along to another market that was even more interesting – the train market (we never heard the name of the market, so that’s what we’ll refer to it as). Our bus driver dropped us off in a random little town outside of Bangkok and gestured, with minimal English, for us to follow him through a couple of somewhat narrow and sketchy alleyways until we reached a railroad track. He told us we had 20 minutes to explore the market, but that when we heard the whistle we were to stand as far as possible to the side of the wall and to not, under any circumstances, be on the other side of the track (for fear of getting squished against the wall by a train). We then wandered up and down the train tracks to see the various vendors lining each side, which were selling local products such as fruit and fish. Unlike the floating market, this one was absolutely authentic as a ton of locals were there to buy groceries and supplies. [Editor’s note: And nary an elephant pant in sight! Only dead fish. Who knew that would come to be my standard?] We soon heard the train whistle in the distance and saw the train approaching, at which point we scurried to a side of the market and watched as the vendors rolled their stations on wheels back from the tracks and lowered the canopies of their stands so that the train could fit through. The train then slowly passed us on the track, at which point the vendors sprang into action lifting their canopies up and rolling their products back out to the track. It was taken down within seconds and seemingly reconstructed in the same amount of time, as though nothing had ever happened. It was extremely cool and a very worthwhile place for us to visit for the day! [Editor’s note: I absolutely loved seeing this market and the whole train experience. It’s the kind of thing that could easily be constructed just for tourism, but was so obviously a place where locals really do shop for produce and meat. I asked our driver later and apparently the train passes through 8-10 times per day. The whole process of rolling the carts back and taking down the canopies, then putting it all back, took less than a minute on either side of the train. It was incredible to watch and such a fascinating example of people taking every square foot and opportunity possible to conduct daily business. If you’d like to see a timelapse video of the train going by, check out this one I posted here: https://www.instagram.com/p/BeX5ulrHKN-/]
Standing on the train tracks in the middle of the market with the stalls all the way to the tracks
One of the vendors with her stall at the train market
The train passing through the market with the stalls rolled back
The next day, we did our part as responsible travelers by swinging by a travel clinic at a local hospital to get some additional vaccinations that we had held off on getting in the U.S. It was all preventative and a super smooth process, but there was something slightly surreal about getting vaccinations for weird, foreign diseases (Japanese Encephalitis, anyone?)…in a weird, foreign country. [Editor’s note: Whereas this vaccine would have cost us hundreds of dollars in the States, it came to about $15 each in Thailand, because it’s a required vaccine for all citizens here, and is actually a superior version compared to what’s available in the U.S. Hooray for travel hacks!] With the rest of our day, we set off to see some of the prominent temples that are scattered throughout Bangkok. We had consciously avoided visiting temples throughout Thailand for fear of getting so fatigued on seeing temples that they all blend into each other and cease to be enjoyable. To get a sampling of Thai temples, we first visited the Golden Palace, which is the series of temples surrounding the royal residence of the king of Thailand (whose likeness, in a staged royal picture, is everywhere in Bangkok, which is kinda weird/creepy), as well as Wat Pho, which is home to the famous Reclining Buddha. Both temples were coated in gold and were incredibly ornate and beautiful, with immaculate grounds surrounding them. The Grand Palace was a bit of a nightmare in that it was a brutally hot afternoon, coupled with ridiculously large hordes of crowds all jostling to see the sights. It was miserable. Conversely, Wat Pho was a lot more leisurely, with fewer people around so it was possible to explore it in a slower, more thoughtful manner (plus, the actual Reclining Buddha was gigantic and pretty cool). Afterward, we took a water taxi up the river towards the area of our hostel to get back for the evening. [Editor’s note: We had heard from some other travelers that the water taxi system in Bangkok was cheap and extensive, so I wanted to make sure we got to try it at least once. It was fun and just as cheap as advertised, and felt like a commuter boat rather than something just for tourists, which I also appreciated. I hadn’t realized just how many waterways crisscross the city, so this was a nice chance to experience that side of it without having to deal with rude taxi drivers and horrible traffic.]
Part of the Grand Palace
Some of the incredible ornate decoration at the Grand Palace
There was a huge range of styles of gorgeous architecture
Rorie doing his best impression of whatever this guy is doing
Gold on gold on gold
The huge and impressive Reclining Buddha (people in lower right for scale)
The soles of the feet of the Reclining Buddha – that’s all inlaid mother-of-pearl!
The other fun thing we did in Bangkok, which was a special Jessica Nepom request, was to have cocktails on a rooftop bar. [Editor’s note: Fancy cocktail bars were a favorite pastime for us back in NYC, so whenever we get a chance to experience the foreign version I like to try it out. I knew we’d be a little out of place given our travel style, but thought it would be a good chance to break out of our usual local/cheap/casual mode for a little while!] These places tend to be pretty fancy, with expensive cocktails and strict dress codes, so it was perfect when we rolled up there with our (read: my) schlubby backpacker attire and correspondingly meager budget. But by timing our arrival to coincide with their happy hour and walking in like we own the place, we were able to achieve the goal and snag some impressive 360 degree views from the 55th floor of the building. Well worth it!
The view from our bar – not bad, right?
This is about as good as it gets, folks.
Otherwise, the rest of our time in Bangkok was largely consumed with running errands and getting our ducks in a row before we parted ways to separate islands for a few days – Jess was heading to a yoga retreat on Koh Phangan, while I’d head to Koh Tao to get scuba certified (post on this to follow!). By the end of our time in Bangkok I was pretty eager to head to the islands, since despite my best efforts I never really fell in love with the city. While it had a lot of variety, I just never felt like I got any glimpse into its nature or character due to there being too many layers of BS to sift through to find it. As far as big cities go, it weirdly fell closer to Beijing on the spectrum for me than it did Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh (both large cities that I liked quite a bit). [Editor’s note: I have to agree. I really wanted to like Bangkok and thought I would, based on what I’d heard from others. But it was hard to get a handle on, and never felt comfortable or interesting enough for me either, the way Hanoi or even Xi’an, China had. Regardless, I feel like we saw a good cross section of the city in our limited time, so it felt successful.] Anyway, on to the islands for some independent activities, beautiful weather and relaxation!
The Grand Palace
