A Short Visit to Bangkok

I've been living in Thailand for a year now (and unbelievably), I haven't been to Bangkok. The capital city is 12 hours away from us by bus but only an hour by plane. My friends told me that the city is just like Manila: crowded and busy with a lot of high-rise buildings. A far cry from Phuket City which is still a province.

I was given the chance to go to Bangkok because of my friends getting an important document. This was last Chinese New Year's week, so all of the flights were booked. We had to take the overnight bus to Bangkok. It was a 12 hour journey, starting from 7pm. 

It was my first time to ride a double decker overnight bus. The bus fare, 650 THB or 20 USD, included some snacks and a blanket for us to keep warm. I was barely able to sleep because the bus was driven very fast! We arrived in Bangkok at around 7am.

Upon arrival, we immediately went to the closest train station to purchase a one day BTS pass. I think it cost us 120THB. This is cost effective for us as we have to go back and forth for the day. We rode the BTS to Saphan Taksin station and walked our way to the Sathorn Pier. We then rode an orange boat to Tha Tien Pier. The fare for the boat was 15 THB. Afterwards, we had to board a smaller ferry that would take us to the other side where Wat Arun is. The fare this time was 3THB.

We had to find the entrance to the Temple. We found one after passing through this walkway with Chinese lanterns. 

To get up close and even climb the temple, we had to pay for the entrance fee: 50 THB

We had to wait for the people to come up so we can have the stairs photographed on our own. :)

The Thai word for temple is Wat. Wat Arun means Temple of Dawn, named after Aruna, the Indian God of Dawn. This was built on the Thonburi side of the Chao Phraya River. It is an ancient temple built in Krungsri, Ayuthaya period.

The fine details and architecture of the Temple is amazing. It is said that the tower is decorated with sea shells and bits of porcelains. Some articles reported that the entrance was free. Maybe the reason why they are asking for a fee now is that they are repairing it (?). Found this man busy with restoration of the ancient site.

Very steep and narrow steps lead to a balcony high on the central tower. Look how steep it is.

Look at the details!

The views from the top.

The nicest view of the monument can be seen over sunset when the spires and lights of the Temple makes an impressive silhouette. Hopefully, when I come back to Bangkok, I can see this for myself.

After visiting the Temple, as it was a Sunday, we went to a nearby Catholic Church. We chose to go to Sta Cruz Church. According to sources, it is one of the many old Catholic churches in Bangkok and was built in 1770, during the reign of King Taksin. This church is a legacy of Thai-Portuguese relations that date back to the 16th century.

Next on our itinerary was to visit a Pinoy Store. It's very rare for Pinoy products to be sold back in our place. We were happy kids when we finally located the store. The feeling of seeing Pinoy products after quite a long time overwhelmed me :)

For the rest of the afternoon, we went to Chatuchak Weekend Market. It was a huge place filled with diverse collections of merchandise. Just about anything and everything is sold here. Some may not be the best bargain rates but with patience and perseverance to go through the alleys and streets, you may have a chance to find a good one.  

It was a very short stint that we had in Bangkok. I look forward to going back, seeing more sights and spending time with friends living there. Hopefully soon :)