3 Days in Bangkok, Thailand

A fair warning-this post may be a little more on the informational side. Could be used a sleep aid. 

19 hours of fly time from Chicago led us to Bangkok, Thailand. This city was as hot as the chili peppers they seem to sneak into everything I eat. The average temperature of the week we were there was 95 degrees Fahrenheit with 85 percent humidity. Coming from a brisk 60 degrees, we were in for a shock. Bangkok is the most populous city in Thailand with just under 8.3 million people. The distribution of wealth is far and wide, just as in any large city with rundown sections, sometimes just 15 minutes away from brand new skyscrapers.

Flowers at JT house

The city was incredibly easy to navigate for native English speakers with all signs appearing in both Thai and English at every bus stop, sky train, and street corner. The majority of restaurants have picture menus and thoughtful attempts at translation, sometimes phonetically. After asking a restaurant server what “pick” was in the English translated section she looked at me like I didn’t know basic English words for animals. The interaction went something like:

Thai Waitress:  Pick…you know…a pick…?!

Me: I’ve never heard of a pick, I’m sorry.

Thai Waitress: continues to look at me like I’m crazy

Me: stares blankly

Thai Waitress: Maybe you call it pork?

Me: Finally figures out “pick” is “pig”

The entire city is very tourist friendly, and despite the hustle and bustle its easy to get across using the air conditioned sky train. I didn’t feel unsafe at any point in my time and Bangkok, including walking back to our hostel later in the night. The locals were kind and always helpful when they were able to be. Due to the extreme heat we didn’t do any jam packed days, but we were able to explore a lot of the main sites. Here are the top 2:

JT house

Jim Thompson House

Despite me talking about easy navigation, this place was nearly impossible for us to find and ended being at the end of unassuming alley. Jim Thompson was born in Delaware in 1906. His first experience in Thailand was through the US Army. When the war ended, Thompson decided he wanted to move back to Thailand full time. Jim Thompsons “house” was actually a combination of 6 different Thai houses that he had imported and reassembled on his land, being an architect he added his own touches to the traditional Thai style. 

In 1967 Thompson disappeared during a trip into the jungle in Malaysia. To this day, no one has any clue on the cause of his disappearance. It is said that he was one of the most famous Americans living in Thailand at this time and when he went missing it was a national mystery.

There were a few bits of Thai culture especially put into the house that I found interesting:

The first being about an 8 inch “mini wall” in the door frame of each entry way that you had to step over to get into the room. Our guide told us that this was because it is believed that evil can only travel in straight lines. Therefore, to get into the room the straight line will be disrupted, protecting the space from evil. The tour guide mentioned this is also helpful for keeping babies inside the room J

The second involved a small doll sized house on stilts in the garden behind the main house. This miniature house was filled with small gifts and statues, and surrounded by flowers. The building of houses is said to disrupt the ground spirits. These miniature replicas of the houses are given to the ground spirits as an apology for the disruption that building caused them. Since learning about this I have noticed the tiny dedications at almost every house/restaurant we have come across, including at the airport! Some of the statues are of horses for the spirits to use as transportation, as this tradition began long before the use of cars.

Miniature house for the ground spirits

The Grand Palace

We woke up early and hopped on the sky train for a 40-minute air conditioned ride into Bangkok’s old city. After exiting the sky train stop we walked down to the river and were immediately directed onto a long tail boat. These boats are about 60 feet long and glide through the high waves with ease. (YES MOM, I was wearing a life jacket.) The ride took about 15 minutes, it was a struggle to get off the boat onto a rocking dock but somehow, we managed. The Grand Palace was crowded, and warm so we were forced to take a lot of water breaks. We navigated our way through the palace grounds and were able to take some photos…to be honest I wasn’t able to truly appreciate the beauty until we were sitting on the floor in our air-conditioned hostel reviewing the photos.

The Grand Palace does not currently house the king, but represents the spiritual heart of the old city. The visits to the palace grounds are restricted due to the mourning of the king. There is a long line of Thai people sitting on the ground wearing all black waiting to pay their respects to the royal urn. The kings death is a monumental event here and mourning will last for a full year. His Royal Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej has been reigning monarch since 1946…yes you read that correctly 1946. This makes him the worlds longest reigning monarch when he passed away in October at 88 years old. Talking disrespectfully about the king here is punishable by law and could even result in prison time. It is advised to be cautious and offer empathy, but not to avoid starting a conversation about the topic.

Traveling to Thailand?

Based on my experience in Bangkok, I really would only recommend using this city to get over jetlag and to start adjusting to the heat. You definitely don’t need more than 2 ½ days there. Try and get a hostel closer to the old city as this is where the majority of the attractions (Grand Palace, major temples, china town etc.) are.

 

Our hostel (Siamaze)... incredibly cheap but a little further out of town than we would have liked.