Thailand Or Bust (Day 5)

May 26th (Tuesday)
Temperature High: 98 degrees

Today is our last day in Bangkok and we still had a lot of ground to cover. Our first was one of the most meaningful stops of the trip. Eric & Audrey support a ministry called NightLight. One of the many things they do is run a coffee shop in the red light district of Bangkok. The coffee shop, City Light Cafe, was a few blocks from our hotel so this morning, we headed there for breakfast.

This place is doing amazing things getting ladies of the street and helping to get them on their feet. It was pretty emotional for me to be there knowing the impact they were making and having the opportunity to support it.

Jewelry ladies had made to sell

It was definitely one of the times during the trip that had a big impact on me and realizing the area, what happens on that block and watching as it was still going on as we were walking around that morning.

Street the cafe is on

After some time, we started to head out to explore more of this fascinating city. We decided to go check out the Jim Thompson house. Jim Thompson was an American that came to Thailand and made and sold silk. We were able to tour his home and see how silk was made in Thailand.

We also learned about different cultural things that were both important back then and now. We saw very unique chamber pots and the maze they put mice in and used as there entertainment/tv back then.

After our time at the Jim Thompson house, we made our way to lunch at Somtam Convent. This place we definitely out of our comfort zone and we came really close to walking out but we stuck with it and we did not regret it. It was really good.

This was Jed & I's first experience with papaya salad and chicken larb. Both were very spicy and really great! I am really glad we stayed and tried this place.

During the afternoon we went to go check out a shopping area called the Siam Center. These shopping areas are crazy! It was fun to just hang out, get out of the heat and people watch for a while. And since it had been a few minutes since our last meal, we got mango and sticky rice!

After some time in the Siam Center, we needed to rush back to get ready and get to the massage place we had made appointments at. There are a lot of different massage places in Bangkok and all of Thailand, we knew we wanted to do it and thanks to some research, we were able to find and feel comfortable with Baan Dalah Mind Body Spa.

The massage was so relaxing and a great experience. We all really had to rally to not go back to the hotel and just sleep the rest of the night but we refused to call it a night, got cleaned up and headed back out.

We went out exploring, tried the Golden buddha temple one last time (strike three) and found one of our best meals at Thipsamai. This place is known as the best pad thai in Bangkok and they were not kidding. All pad thai will fall short of this place. So great! The food, the experience, the adventure of finding this place, all so good and so much fun.

After dinner, we used our decision making game to decide if we were going to head out the a night club or do something a little more low key.

How we made decisions

Low key won so we headed back to the area we were staying in and found a coffee shop in the mall to hang out and talk about the day before getting kicked out when they closed and called it a night.

The malls have video game stations for kids (and adults) to come play for hours.

We have an early morning and plenty to pack before we head out in the morning to Chiang Mai.

Thailand or Bust (Day 4)

May 25th (Monday)
Temperature High: 98 degrees

Today is temple day! Since we have to have knees and shoulders/elbows covered in all the temples, we decided to try to go to all the temples on the same day so we weren't wearing long pants and shirts for days on end in this heat. We got prepared and grabbed a quick bite to eat in the hotel lobby buffet to make the most of our time.

We set off to find the Metro to over to the Golden Buddha temple that we happened upon yesterday to start our temple tour. Unfortunately, it was a bust again and was closed until the afternoon. Strike Two Golden Buddha.

I believe it was this trip on the metro where Jed dropped his newly purchased sunglasses on the ground and we had to have a ceremonial cleansing so that he could wear them again and not be "corban".

So our next stop was to take the water taxi (Chao Phraya Express Boat) up the Chao Phraya waterway to the Grand Palace.

While we were on the boat, we learned that one of the temples we wanted to go see, Wat Arun, was under construction and we were not going to be able to see it.

Everyone was very helpful getting us tickets and onto the taxi. We listened and got off where they told us even though we weren't too sure of there recommendation. So when we got off we were not where we hoped to be but it was so cool scenery so we went with it and even stopped for a cool refreshment at Stickhouse.

As we wondered the area, we thought we had found the back entrance into the Grand Palace. Everyone was so helpful and nice but when we got to where we were "supposed to be", we realized it wasn't the Grand Palace. We had stumbled upon Wat Mahathat Yuwaratrangsarit. Frustrated at the fact we were at the wrong place and unsure of where we even were at the time, we decided to go in.

We came in from the back side door and it was definitely a little intimidating. We were completely surrounded by only locals and the last thing we wanted to do was offend anyone with something we do or don't do. So we took off our shoes, and just walked in.

When that huge buddha came into view, I was taken back. It was incredible to be standing in front of this statue. There were plenty of moments the past few days there it hit you that you were in Thailand but none compared to seeing your first 2-3 story, golden buddha.

After some time in this Wat, we decided to try to find the Grand Palace. On our way, we did find Sanam Luang. We didn't spend anytime in this park but we did take a few pictures.

We knew we were close when we started to see all the tour buses and millions of people. I was a little worried it would take us a really long time to get through the line for tickets but it was no problem at all and in no time, we were walking around The Grand Palace.

The temple grounds were very large and there was a lot to look at and take in. It was very different from anything else we had seen before.

We took our time exploring the different areas, building & temples, trying to learn & understand and take as many pictures as we could.

There were large "warriors" all over the grounds to protect the palace. They were very detailed and a lot of fun to check out.

Once we were done at The Grand Palace, it was way past lunch time. We were all hungry and hot so we decided to head to the temple right next door, Wat Pho. This temple is the home of the Reclining Buddha.

This is one of those times in life where you really just have to say, "You have to see it to believe it." The Reclining Buddha is just massive, huge. There is absolutely no way to capture it in a photo or really describe it. But we still tried.

On the back side of the Reclining Buddha, there were 108 bowls where you could purchase coins to drop in all the bowls for luck. So Audrey & I tried it.

After walking the much smaller grounds and seeing as many of the 394 buddha status that were scattered around, it was time to find a late lunch.

We hopped on the first tuk tuk we could find to have him take us to the lunch place we picked out. When we couldn't communicate with him exactly where we wanted to go, we picked a close tourist area and asked him to drop us off there and off we went.

The tuk tuk ride was a lot of fun! Full of driving on the wrong side of the road, cutting and weaving through crazy traffic and just an entirely different experience and very entertaining and memorable. What else was memorable about this ride was that we stopped at least twice for him to look at a map or stop and ask for directions.

He got us close to where we wanted to go and we walked the rest of the way. We were definitely not in the tourist area anymore. We finally found the restaurant we were looking for, Chote Chitr!

The problem is, it was closed. So now what? We are hot, tired, pretty much lost and starving. Thankfully, as we walked back to a main area to try and find any kind of public transportation to take us to find food, we were able to find another restaurant, Pochana Sapakhan, in our book that was opened!

After a good meal, cool drinks and some time to hang out, we were ready to hit the road again. This time, our goal was The Golden Mount/Wat Salet. Again, we hopped on a tuk tuk to get us there and again, he had to stop to ask for direction. We were beginning to see a pattern and it because quite hilarious.

Thankfully, The Golden Mount was still opened when we got there and it didn't take us long to start the long climb to the top.

It was definitely worth the hike once we saw the view at the top. Bangkok is such a pretty city and it looked like it went forever.

After some time at the top of Wat Salet, we decided it was time for a little snack and we knew just the place, Old Siam Plaza. The book let us know that THIS is the place for candy and even though it wasn't what we thought it was going to be, it was still great.

This stop provided many memories and hilarious stories that I think you might have needed to be there for. For instance, we found a bakery that we got some treats and a table to hang out for a while. Eric and Audrey had also wandered into the bakery and we both got separate tables not knowing the other already had a table.
Here is the conversation between Eric & Audrey:
Eric: Do you need money?
Audrey: Yes and there is a cockroach by your head. And Jed and Stacie already have a table.

As we made our way out of Old Siam Plaza to head home we realized it was pouring down rain. But it was ok, we all knew that rain was possible and came prepared except that we all left our umbrellas in the hotel room. Poor Audrey drew the short straw and had to go out and get us our first cab to take us to the metro station.

Other then a getting a little wet, it was a successful trip back to the hotel and by the time we made it to the other side of town, the rain was done. So after a quick turn around, we headed back out to find dinner.

As weird as it might sound, we headed to Terminal 21 mall to check out Pier 21 food court. First off, the mall was crazy. Crazy large, crazy different, crazy fun. I am really glad that we went in to check this out. I definitely learned that all malls are the same.

Even though, we were getting to the food court 30 minutes before they closed, it was still a great experience. The food that they did have left was fantastic and they even had mango's with sticky rice.

After dinner, we spent a little time taking in the mall and all the sights it had to offer before heading back to the hotel to do some last minute planning for the next day.

It was quite a full day with lots of amazing memories, sights and experiences.