Thursday, July 6, 2023 – Kelsey & Lindsey, gave us an anniversary gift of a Tinggly gift card that could be used for an excursion on our trip. We decided to use it for a day long bicycle tour of Bangkok with Amazing Bangkok Cyclist. Our small group of 5 was led on a tour of various parts of Bangkok we would have not seen otherwise. It was a great way to see the city.

The first rest stop included a stand where a gentleman sold deep fried bananas and sweet potato balls. Both were delicious, especially the sweet potato balls that tasted like light fluffy doughnut holes.

We then biked through some back streets and neighborhoods, which was great because we avoided some of the very busy Bangkok traffic and saw things we never would have found on our our own. We suddenly came into a really large street market where vendors sold everything from produce to live animals and fish that were slaughtered on the spot. The market was crowded as people bustled by to get their various items.

After walking our bikes through the market we made a quick rest stop by a neighborhood temple before we boarded a boat to cross the river to Bangkachao, a peninsula created by the river winding around a stomach-shaped piece of land. When you arrive it feels like a tropical island. Bangkachao is filled with banana and coconut groves. It is a little rural oasis in the middle of the busy, bustling Bangkok. Once in Bangkachao we followed a zig zagging series of 3ft wide concrete raised sidewalks that led us around the area…a bit of a biking challenge but no one landed in the murky water below.

The tour included lunch at a small local restaurant then we started our trip back along the narrow sidewalks to the boat, and biking back through Bangkok. Going back we took a more direct route on busy streets which gave us a taste of what it is like to drive one of the many scooters in the city. This is not for the faint of heart! The scooters constantly weave through traffic and as you will see in my photo, they all line up at the front of an intersection when waiting for the traffic light to change.

During our tour we enjoyed talking with Mr. Ed, our fearless leader, Gabriel and Vivian, a nice young couple from Switzerland, and Priscilla from the Netherlands. It was the perfect size group to explore together while having conversations. Gabriel enjoyed whistling and Vivian started several sing alongs along the way. Despite the heat and humidity, a bicycle tour was a great way to see several areas of Bangkok.

After a long, hot day the cool ride on the subway to the hotel was welcome. It was also time to try a more western massage. It was a relaxing evening with drinks and dinner. Another wonderful day in Bangkok.

The only casualty of the tour was Greg’s sunglasses which were dropped or lost in the busy street market. A quick trip to a local shopping mall on our way back to the hotel easily found a new pair.

Wednesday, July 5, 2023 – After a night’s rest and a sampling from the hotel’s extensive breakfast buffet, we set out to explore Bangkok. We did not have much of a plan except for an audio tour we downloaded to guide us through four of the main Buddhist temples in the city. We used the Grab app (similar to Uber and Lyft) to catch a ride to the Grand Palace, which we thought would be our first stop for the day. Little did we know that our day would go in a different, yet enjoyable, direction.

After exiting our Grab we gave in to a new tourist ploy to take a Tuk Tuk ride to explore some local sites before heading into the Grand Palace. Our Tuk Tuk driver would be our guide for 50 Thai baht each (about $1.50 US). It sounded like an interesting way to start our Bangkok experience. And with that decision, our morning itinerary changed to include a nearby neighborhood temple, a tailor shop, a jewelry and souvenir shop, and Wat Benchamapophit (the “Marble Temple”). We ultimately discovered that the planned route was choreographed to generate additional compensation to the Tuk Tuk driver for providing visitors to local businesses. We did enjoy the introductory temple visits and the Tuk Tuk ride experience. Although we said no to most of the items being pitched our way, we agreed to purchase some new custom made cashmere clothing: a suit and two suit coats for Greg and a black dress for Karen

The hot and humid afternoon was spent exploring the expansive Grand Palace which includes Wat Phra Kaew, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The Grand Palace is a complex of various buildings in the heart of Bangkok. The palace has been used as the residence of the Kings of Siam (later Thailand) since 1782. The tall pointed structures you will see in our pictures are chedis. They are built to honor kings and leaders. In some of the temples, the person’s ashes are actually entombed in the chedi.

The Emerald Buddha is quite something to see. No photography is allowed so you will need to make an internet search for an image. The Emerald Buddha, as you can probably guess from its name, is covered in emeralds. It is only 26 inches (66 cm) tall. An interesting fact is that the Emerald Buddha has four different elaborately jeweled outfits, one for each season. The only person who can change the outfits is the King of Thailand.

Our lunch was a traditional Thai soup from a small street side shop. We boarded a water ferry to cross the Chao Phraya river to the Wat Arun (the Temple of Dawn). This is one of Thailand’s oldest and most famous temples. Built in 1767 by King Taksin after the capitol was destroyed by the Burmese, it dates back to before Bangkok was founded. We discovered that this famous temple is frequently used as a photo backdrop for many Thai people. You will see a couple of pictures we captured while people were getting their professional photos taken. This temple has steep stairs you can climb to a small terrace around the perimeter of the prang (a tall tower with a broad base that narrows as it goes up).

While we were in this temple a monk was providing small Buddas and a red string bracelet with 5 beads for those that made a donation. As he tied the bracket on our wrists he provided a prayer for “good luck and be happy.”

At this point the two of us were dripping in sweat (Bangkok is VERY hot and humid!). We made our way back across the river and figured out the Metro system to take a nice air-conditioned subway back to our hotel. After showers, a change of clothes and drinks at the bar we experienced our first (and probably last) Thai massage. Unlike the traditional western style massage, a Thai massage is given while dressed in a loose fitting outfit provided to you. The massage therapist goes through a series of stretches and compression on your body with their hands, forearms, elbows, and knees. One place we saw Thai massages referenced “a bit of pain.” We would agree. We are glad we experienced it, but once is enough for us.

Our evening ended with a visit from the tailor for the initial fitting for our custom made clothes. Amazingly the clothes were about 80% fnshed and will be ready for a final fitting when we return to Bangkok before heading home.