Day 2 in Bangkok!
Posted by Sarah O'Neill , Wednesday, 8 September 2010 08:19
So, after saying I was off to bed early last night we layed awake watching a film, so didn't sleep until gone 11pm. I woke up thinking I'd had a decent sleep and was waiting for Ben to stir - when he did we checked the time, thinking it'd be at least 6am, but unfortunately it was only 2am, ahhh! Thought of you, Rachel Stevenson! Had to try and go back to sleep, and gladly did after not too long! Slept right to the alarm at 9am - we were both dead to the world!
Then on to the Grand Palace. We hadn't worn long trousers, and street stalls outside told us we
needed them, and could hire them from stall for £1 each, so were thinking of coming back tomorrow, but thought we'd ask at the ticket office just in case, and so glad we did! We could hire trousers from them for free!!! What a swizz! As you can see from the pics Ben ended up sporting a beautiful blue pair of trousers and I got a green wrap around skirt! The whole Palace was amazing, and sadly the pictures just don't do it justice! The whole place sparkles! It was absolutely roasting out in the sun - so much for the rainy season, we even had our pac-a-macs in our bag! 
We decided to visit Khao San Rd, which is where all the backpackers go and there's loads of shops and bars lining the street - it was so busy and loud! It was a great place to see, but must admit we were glad we weren't staying in the heart of it all! After a beer (a Sprite for me!) we headed back to our hotel via the ferry and SkyTrain, what a long day!
After breakfast we made our way to the SkyTrain station down the road,
and headed towards the centre of Bangkok, our journey was not done here, as we needed to catch a boat down the river to get to where we needed! This was an adventure in itself and you can see from the pics the colour of the river, yuk! After successfully making our way using public transport we arrived in the popular area where the Grand Palace is situated. We were casually making our way down the stall lined streets when a police man came to speak to us. He was super friendly and helpful and showed us on the map some good places to visit, and told us that using a TukTuk was our best and cheapest 
option, and even told us how much to barter the price to with the driver! So we found ourselves a lovely TukTuk man, showed him the list the police man had written (3 places in all), he agreed for 50Bhat (roughly £1) and off we went. You have to just relax and go with it in a TukTuk, the driving is CRAZY and you fear for your life at the beginning, but have to just get into it!!!
and headed towards the centre of Bangkok, our journey was not done here, as we needed to catch a boat down the river to get to where we needed! This was an adventure in itself and you can see from the pics the colour of the river, yuk! After successfully making our way using public transport we arrived in the popular area where the Grand Palace is situated. We were casually making our way down the stall lined streets when a police man came to speak to us. He was super friendly and helpful and showed us on the map some good places to visit, and told us that using a TukTuk was our best and cheapest 
option, and even told us how much to barter the price to with the driver! So we found ourselves a lovely TukTuk man, showed him the list the police man had written (3 places in all), he agreed for 50Bhat (roughly £1) and off we went. You have to just relax and go with it in a TukTuk, the driving is CRAZY and you fear for your life at the beginning, but have to just get into it!!! We went to see the Golden Buddha in a big temple. We went through the gate and had 
just figured out where the Temple Entrance was when a man approached us. He began to tell us how lucky we were, as this place was not usually open to tourists, but it's a big tourist week in Bangkok this week to get tourism back on it's feet after the riots etc. He said lots of Thai people were here to pray for health, happiness and family, and we could hear the monks praying in the temple. He told us he was waiting for his wife and daughter who were inside. He was so pleased to hear we were from England, as so many tourists cancelled due to the riots, and he talked about friends who'd been there etc. At first I think Ben thought he was going to try and sell us something, but he was genuinely just chatting with us! The Golden Buddha was huge and very beautiful, the whole temple was very ornate and peaceful.
just figured out where the Temple Entrance was when a man approached us. He began to tell us how lucky we were, as this place was not usually open to tourists, but it's a big tourist week in Bangkok this week to get tourism back on it's feet after the riots etc. He said lots of Thai people were here to pray for health, happiness and family, and we could hear the monks praying in the temple. He told us he was waiting for his wife and daughter who were inside. He was so pleased to hear we were from England, as so many tourists cancelled due to the riots, and he talked about friends who'd been there etc. At first I think Ben thought he was going to try and sell us something, but he was genuinely just chatting with us! The Golden Buddha was huge and very beautiful, the whole temple was very ornate and peaceful.Our TukTuk driver was waiting for us to take us on to the Royal Centre, which we thought would have info about the royal family, as that's a big thing here, however, it turned out to be a place that sold Gems, another big thing here! After the tour, and then the 'hard sell' we left empty handed and met our driver again. He asked us if he could take us to shop, and even if we didn't buy anything he'd get a petrol voucher, so we agreed. Ended up in another gem shop with the hard sell!
Then on to the Grand Palace. We hadn't worn long trousers, and street stalls outside told us we
needed them, and could hire them from stall for £1 each, so were thinking of coming back tomorrow, but thought we'd ask at the ticket office just in case, and so glad we did! We could hire trousers from them for free!!! What a swizz! As you can see from the pics Ben ended up sporting a beautiful blue pair of trousers and I got a green wrap around skirt! The whole Palace was amazing, and sadly the pictures just don't do it justice! The whole place sparkles! It was absolutely roasting out in the sun - so much for the rainy season, we even had our pac-a-macs in our bag! 
We decided to visit Khao San Rd, which is where all the backpackers go and there's loads of shops and bars lining the street - it was so busy and loud! It was a great place to see, but must admit we were glad we weren't staying in the heart of it all! After a beer (a Sprite for me!) we headed back to our hotel via the ferry and SkyTrain, what a long day! Back at the hotel, had a swim and a shower, and then went out for a bite to eat. Going to spend tomorrow researching our next steps while we have free internet access and a nice place to stay! Looks like we'll be heading towards Chang Mai on the night train on friday night, perhaps we'll visit a chemist and get something to help us sleep!
Sarah x
Aww! I so loved reading this blog post! I almost feel like I'm there the way you write, it's awesome. Love all the photos too! Thought it was great how you clarified you were drinking Sprite, haha! Sorry you're not sleeping, that really sucks :( Hope you sleep better over the next few days. I must admit, I did feel special to have a shout out in this post :) You're so funny! Can't wait to hear about the next adventures soon to come your way!! Sleep well...whenever it's time to sleep over there!! haha. Love you! Thanks for the post! This is so fun! :) xx