hotel.. strategically located in the middle of the city.. at least according to my map which i got from the airport.. short walk to nice shopping centers.. and a mass transit train station.. in the picture is a lady saying a short prayer to an image right outside the front door
few steps away from the hotel entrance is the erawan shrine.. one of the revered spots in bangkok.. and always merits a place in many maps of bangkok.. it features an image of a four faced hindu god
the place is always crowded with people offering prayers.. food.. incence.. and flowers to the hindu god
a lesson in thai.. lesson 1.. mangadunal.. in english mcdonalds
bangkok is notorious for its terrible traffic.. picture is taken on an afternoon on the way to a mall called central world on ratchadamri road near rama i road.. a short walk to anywhere would be draining.. no thanks to humidity and heat.. its better to bear the traffic inside an airconditioned taxi than to be outside in stupefying heat and air pollution.. even the locals acknowledge that
situated by the riverbank of chao phraya river is the grounds of wat pho.. wat pho has the largest collection of buddha in the country.. it also houses a centuries old massage school.. massage is serious business in thailand.. and should be experienced by travellers.. the pagodas in this picture are the first thing you will see from the east gate entrance of this bangkok attraction
wat pho hosts many temples in the complex.. in each temple there is a buddha for each day of the week.. this buddha is the sunday buddha
the reclining buddha.. or the tuesday buddha.. which is the most popular one to tourists.. it is not possible to take a picture of this image of buddha in one shot because of its sheer size and the size of the temple that houses it.. except if you stand by its feet and shoot from there.. notice the intricate paintings on the walls and posts all done by hand
masks.. statues.. and amulets being sold outside the wat pho.. anyone can get a pretty good bargain by haggling with the vendors.. if they give you the price of an item.. start by saying you are only willing to pay half of the price.. then work your way until you meet halfway
rivercruise after visiting the wat pho to observe communities along the river.. a vendor sells ice cold refreshments and souvenir items in her boat
thai lesson 2.. kok.. in english coke.. a trip to bangkok is not complete without sampling its gastronomic offerings.. which are excellent.. no food pictures here.. but it must be mentioned that i got a taste of a killer tom yum soup.. thai food is always good paired with a glass of ice cold kok or pipsi.. pipsi definition coming up
one of several means to get around bangkok.. the tuktuk.. these little monsters are quite fast.. so hold on to whatever you can as its driver weaves its way through the traffic
back on the riverbanks on the opposite side of wat pho.. there is a place called wat arun.. should not to be missed by first timers in bangkok.. in the middle of the ground is an imposing pagoda which dominates the river skyline
climbing the stairs atop the pagoda.. there is a nice view of grand palace accross the river
stone men guarding the structure
what goes up must come down.. the climb up and down may look overwhelming because of the steep stairs
stone men seem to be raising the roof of the pagoda
another angle
back on the boat from wat pho.. gas station.. would you pump your gas here
thai lesson 3.. pipsi.. in english pepsi.. that is an easy one
meet me at 5
another shot of how bad the traffic is in bangkok.. the motorcycles are also for hire to get you to your destination
thai lesson 4.. runal mangadunal weelkams yu tuh mangadonal.. in english ronald mcdonald welcomes you to mcdonalds.. i know thats a toughie.. but lessons 1 to 4 should be enough for your survival in bangkok for days.. ronald is supposed to be friendly.. but there is a look in his face that bothers me.. kids beware.. this particular branch of mcdonalds which is across from intercontinental hotel is where i get my breakfast items
