Bangkok

I actually passed through Bangkok twice on travels through Thailand: once between Koh Chang and Koh Lanta and again at the very end of my time in Thailand (after diving the Similan Islands).

The first time I was in Bangkok I didn't stay very long or see many sights as I knew that I would be returning there and spending more time while waiting for my Myanmar visa. Therefore during the first stop nothing exciting happened, all I did was try to shop around for a new camera and I visited the small amulet market. The amulet market was a little interesting but nothing to exciting it was just loads of stalls selling mostly tiny Buddha statues that you can make a necklace out of. There were also several other figures but Buddhas were definitely the most common.

My second time in Bangkok I did some more touristy things although I still didn't cover everything I'm sure. My first day back in the capital was spent applying for my Myanmar visa (a surprisingly easy affair) and after that I went to buy a camera now that I had decided what to buy.

The second day in Bangkok was spent visiting the royal palace and Wat Phra Kaew (temple of the emerald Buddha) and Wat Pho. The royal palace was very amazing as the grounds contain several fancily decorated buildings (mainly gold painted and covered with tinted mirrors). Wat Phra Kaew is located on the grounds of the royal palace and is the area with the most spectacular buildings. The actual palace buildings were very impressive of sights and they now contain small museums in them; but the majority of the buildings are off limit to tourists unfortunately. After the royal palace I visited Wat Pho, the temple of the reclining Buddha which is 46 meters long and completely covered in gold leaf.

My final day in Bangkok and Thailand was spent running errands and getting ready for my trip to Myanmar so nothing very exciting occurred. Finally I took an early morning flight to Yangon, Myanmar which put an end to my time in Thailand.




Sight of Wat Phra Kaew in the royal palace compound with the stupa and the wat covered in gold and tinted mirrors.





Some of the figures surrounding one of the gold buildings near Wat Phra Kaew. Statues like this were everywhere over the compound and the amount of work to build them and maintain them must be huge.







One of the murals painted on a wall in the grounds of the royal palace, complete with gold leaf in the painting.













A monk praying inside the wat at Wat Pho.













The giant reclining Buddha in Wat Pho. Completely covered in gold and 46 meters long.