Asia Holiday 2013, August 20 (Die Baht Die)

I got the canal again down to Panfa Leelard again, I think it costs 10 baht for the one-way trip that takes about 15 minutes, that's like 30 cents! Even walking the rest of the way across from the canal to the riverside, I think it still came out quicker than taking the skytrain all the way to the river and then getting on a ferry.

This is how much they value pedestrians.

The first place I visited was Wat Pho. I sort of knew my way around in general by now, but was still amazed by the lack of signs near the most popular of tourist attractions. These places are set on large grounds, and are surrounded by walls, so you'd think there would be at least one sign telling you which way the entrance was, so you didn't have to walk the whole way around. The local scammers try to take full advantage of this too (maybe they even take down the signs), numerous times when I'm minding my own business trying to get from one place to another you'll normally get one of two things shouted at you:

• Go this way (I might not know exactly where I'm going, but it's definitely not the place you are trying to send me to)
• TUK TUK! (no I don't want a fucking tuk tuk)

I finally found the entrance to Wat Pho, I think it cost like three or four dollars, no big deal. There was a lot of buildings on the grounds but the main attraction was the reclining buddha, which as the name suggests is this long reclining gold buddha statue, really just a good change from the standard buddha statue you see duplicated EVERYWHERE else.

Obstructed view at Wat Pho.

This is about the best you can get.

Lucky coin buckets.

Elsewhere inside Wat Pho.

The next street over was the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew, with the exact same problem of not knowing which of the four sides contained the entrance. I knew when I had found the entrance, as there was chaos with people changing clothes to meet the requirements of entry, generally no shorts or singlets it seemed. I'm not really sure if this was a real requirement, a total scam, or a bit of both. There seemed to be some booth right out the front handing out free pants (maybe) on loan, but other places across the street charging a fee and a deposit. I had shorts on and just tried to walk on through, but after ignoring the first guy there was a line of people trying to stop anyone getting past. No problem, as I had some pants in my backpack just in case. Once inside I couldn't really figure out where to go, maybe some parts were closed as everyone just seemed to be milling around and doing very little. At the back of the grounds was a line for some museum that cost 500 baht (about $15), which is about 500 baht more than I wanted to pay for a museum. So I just grabbed a few photos and kept going, I didn't really want to be stuck in pants any longer than necessary either...

Grand Palace and/or Wat Phra Kaew.

Wat Arun was the last place to visit, but it was across the other side of the river. No problem, there's a ferry shuttle to get you across and back again, but I hope you brought your wallet because it costs 3 baht (a whopping 10 cents). While waiting at the pier I found a small shop selling magnets, they weren't great but they were the only ones I had found so far. I'd say this "wat" was the best because there might not be much to see, but you get to climb all the way up to the top. And as a bonus, from there you can see across the river to all of the other places. The steps to get from the second level to the top were dangerously thin and steep, I was very worried going down, not that I'd trip and fall but that one of the people behind me would, and bring everyone else down with him. But it was ok, and nobody was killed while I was there...

The pier over at Wat Arun.

The entrance at Wat Arun.

The steps to get up Wat Arun.

And the steps to get down again...

A view from the top of Wat Arun.

Another view from the top of Wat Arun.

I reversed my morning route to get back to the hotel and drop off some stuff, then was back to walking around Siam. I stopped in at Pantip Plaza which is a mega IT shopping mall similar to the Singapore one. Anything you could ever want for a computer, phone or other technology, you could find it here. Much like the clothing stores, the prices seemed pretty average. I was only really on the lookout for any cool accessories, bags, collectibles, clothes, toys, that kind of thing, but didn't see a lot.

Pantip Plaza.

I wasn't sure what a Big C Supercenter it, but it turned out to be a giant supermarket, the highlight (if you could call it that) was donuts for 5 baht or a pack of 6 for 25 baht (that's less than a dollar!). I'd heard that Bangkok love donuts, now I can see why.

Traffic fun revisited.

Donut shopping revisited.

I took the skytrain again to make a few quick stops.

• Victory Monument - Another monument in the middle of an intersection
• Chong Nonsi - The robot (UOB Bank) building, although there was a rail overpass blocking the view
• Asok - Terminal 21 shopping centre, it was themed like an airport which was cool

Victory Monument.

Robot building.

My feet were in terrible pain by this stage of the day, but I just wanted to knock off the last place on my list, Benjakitti Park. It was a simple little park, but was really cool in that simplicity. There was no way I could walk around so I may have missed something, but it was generally a big lake in the middle, surrounded by a grass track and then a paved running track. Pretty cool and relaxing place, definitely my favourite.

Benjakitti Park.

Summary

• 6/10

Good

• Cheap food (and donuts)
• Excellent weather
• Parks with nice running tracks
• Train system seems ok for the areas it covers

Bad

• Annoying tuk tuk drivers and other locals near the tourist spots
• Lots of tourists
• No train to the DMK airport (until 2016)
• Really expensive clothes and shoes
• Rubbish bins almost impossible to find, and recycling doesn't seem to exist
• Temples a bit boring
• Terrible for pedestrians
• Way too much traffic on the roads

Missed Out (Planned)

• Asiatique Riverfront
• PTT Speed Way at RCA Plaza

Missed Out (Unplanned)

• Checking out the food street at Sukhumvit Soi 38
• Khao San Road at night
• More exploring around Silom and Sukhumvit areas (only really saw Siam)
• Running at all of the parks

STEP-O-METER: 45169 steps (15 minutes at the fitness centre)