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Bangkok - Top 10 Must-See Sights

Grand Palace

This is the archetypal Thailand tourist sight. Going to Thailand and not visiting the Grand Palace would be like visiting Windsor castle and not stopping by to have tea with the Queen (or something). The architecture is superb, the treasures (such as the famous Emerald buddha) breathtaking, the atmosphere uncannily "un-Western", you feel like you really have arrived in Asia as you walk around the Palace taking in the sights and smells.

Wat Pho

Wat Pho is another astonishing temple. This is a real working temple, with a traditional medicine centre and a massage school (you can learn how to do a Thai massage there). I'm a massive fan of Thai massage and can vouch for its effectiveness. Having suffered back pain for over 13 years it was completely eliminated after one Thai massage session and has never given trouble since. Quite incredible. Wat Pho is a fascinating place with lots of nooks and crannies to explore and some substantial treasures such as the Reclining Buddha statue.

Wat Arun

Less glamorous than the previous two Wats, Wat Arun is, however, often the sight that appears on those haunting postcards showing a Wat at sunrise or sunset - perhaps with a mist rolling up the Chao Phraya river. In fact, sunrise (or more typically sunset) is the best time to enjoy the ancient splendour of this ancient Wat. The architectural detail of the Wat is nothing short of amazing - take a boat trip there and enjoy the views from the river.

Oriental Hotel

Some would argue the Oriental Bangkok is the best hotel in the world. While that may have been true 10 years ago, that claim may be less valid today, but is not without considerable merit. While for most of us staying in the Oriental is a little beyond our budget, you can still enjoy the splendour of this fine hotel by spending an evening there. There is much to recommend it. You can sit by the river and enjoy some drinks (and a cooling river breeze), or book one of the fantastic evening dinners, complete with entertainment such as Thai dancing and music. Dinner is taken at traditional Thai "tables" - where you are effectively sitting in the ground and the food is more or less at floor level - fascinating stuff.

As you walk through the Oriental, don't forget to take a look around and especially up - the beautiful architecture of this hotel, built in 1876, is to be savoured.

Baiyoke Sky Hotel

Bangkok is a pretty stunning city with many strangely shaped and very tall buildings. The tallest is the Baiyoke Tower. It's an amazing building and you can't help to notice it on the taxi journey from the airport to downtown Bangkok. The Sky Hotel has a cafe and bar at the very top, which non-residents can use. There is live entertainment, good food and the views can't be beaten.

Mahboonkrong shopping centre (MBK)

MBK is a very famous shopping centre in Bangkok and deservedly so. It is an amazing "Aladdin's Cave" of products. Electrical, t-shirts, cameras, DVDs, CDs, souvenirs, coffee shops, watches, phones...they can all be found in MBK and lots more besides. There is also a whole floor devoted to restaurants...everything from Japanese to Thai to Western and everything in between.

As well as being a great venue for shopping, MBK is also a great place for people watching. Just find a cafe, get yourself an iced tea and relax!

Jim Thompson's House

Jim Thompson is a very well known character in Thailand, not least due to his mysterious disappearance while walking in the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia. Conspiracy theories abound and involvement of the CIA is rumoured. What is known is that Jim Thompson is credited with re-generating the Thai Silk market and becoming a very successful and rich businessman in the process. Jim Thompson was also an avid collector of Thai cultural artifacts, which are still to be seen in his house, which is open to the public. The house is the traditional Thai house style.

The house is also a museum and is one of the most interesting places in Bangkok in my opinion. the architecture and design of the house is amazing and the interiors and breathtaking.

This is an absolutely must-see venue.

Chinatown

There is a very significant Chinese influence in Thailand - many Thais are descended from Chinese immigrants. As such Bangkok has a huge Chinatown, much bigger and more spectacular that either the Chinatowns of San Francisco or London in my opinion.

It's a great place to eat - there are so many restaurants and food stalls to choose from that the best thing to do is just go there and find a place you like the look of. There are also many vendors along the streets and you can buy all manner of souvenirs. I really like buying the distinctly Chinese style products such as mirrors, lanterns and religious items.

Make sure you take your camera - there will be many photo opportunities.

Dusit Park

Sometimes it's nice to get away from the hectic pace of life in Bangkok and dusit Park provides a beautiful and relaxing destination. There's a lot to the park, as well as the beautiful gardens there are several museums on site, including the King Bhumibol Photographic museums, the Ancient Cloth and Silk Museum and the Rank and Portrait Museum. They are a lot more interesting than they sound! The lakeside pavilion is also not to be missed.

Floating Market

The Damnoen Saduak Floating Market is the best of the floating markets. It is located around 60 miles out of Bangkok, so is a bit of a trek, but it is worth it as most of the nearer floating markets in Bangkok are just tourist traps and unpleasant places to visit. This market has retained something of its original character. It's possible to get organised tours out of Bangkok to go there if you don't want to make your own way there.

Johnny Farang has been visiting, living in, and writing about Thailand since 2003. He hopes to retire there one day and is working towards that end. Johnny is founder of the site http://www.dreamofsiam.com which he has been running since 2004.

posted by 2sdthk9trv50953 @ 11:57 PM 0 comments

A Wedding in Kedah and Pangkor Malaysia

Pangkor is a little island, well known by locals but little known by international tourists. It's located about 180kmn north of Kuala Lumpur and I live nearby in the town of Sitiawan, 9km land inwards from the jetti to Pangkor.

Now living here for almost 3 years and having been invited in quite a few Chinese and Indian weddings, I was still waiting for my first invitation for a typical Malay wedding. Mrs. Sabtu from the Nipah Bay Villa, a nice little hotel at Pangkor invited me for two days of the wedding of her son. The first day would be spend in a small town in Kedah, just north of Penang but the second day would be held in Pangkor, in the hotel.

Of course I was intrigued. The little town of Guar Chempedak, just north of Penang in Kedah was the scene for the first day. Guar Chempedak is a little town where, by accident I had been a few weeks earlier. I had not even remembered the little town when I passed it on the bicycle. This time I came by bus which was quite a journey. Although only 60km from Penang, busses took a long time and stopped everywhere before arriving in Guar Chempedak.

When I arrived I was welcomed by the father of the bride. He showed me around. In the back of the house people were busy preparing food. For steaming rice they were using, what they called a rice rocket cooker. It's basically a huge rocket shape cover that covers 15 plates of rice. At the bottom there's a fire heating the rocket and steams the rice. The process takes about 3 hours.

We had a meal and then the bride and groom arrived. Bride and groom were dressed in yellow and gold, quite a beautiful sight. In the house prayers and stories were told. With the arrival of bride and groom a more serious prayer session started.

Later the happy couple joined for lunch. At the same time a pentjak silat demonstration started.

The second day at Pangkor

The second day of the celebrations, a few day days later was very different. Don't get me wrong, not better or worse, just different and like the first day, quite an experience. At arrival at the hotel, I walked around, spoke to some friends, and went to see the bride who was preparing herself in the bedroom. Here many friends were helping the bride to get ready.

We were waiting for the arrival of the groom and what do you do in Malaysia when you wait? You eat. And some of the very best food I had in Malaysia over the 3 years I am here now, I had at weddings. Here at the Nipah Bay Villa it was no different. Fish, chicken, vegetable dishes, nothing was done on the cheap. The prawns were huge and fresh. But the decoration was fresh too. While I was eating I looked around and saw that the hotel was all in blue and silver (in Kedah everything was decorated in gold - color). Even all the flowers were freshly brought the day earlier from Cameron Highlands.

Finally I stopped eating. It was almost time for the groom to enter. The bride went out for the official meeting outside the gates of the Nipah Bay Villa. The ceremony outside was followed by prayers and blessings inside.

After this family and friends were invited to bless the happy couple. This procedure, contrary to some believes is rooted way back in the traditional Malay (but not Muslim) tradition.

It works this way, you take some rice and put it in the hands of both, then you take some bunga rampai and give this to bride and groom. Bunga rampai is a potpourri of scented pandan, rose petals and turmeric rice grain which is usually prepared the day before using. After the bunga rampai, you sprinkle some oiled perfume on both hand and then you shake the hands of the groom (for the women, they shake hands with the bride only). It was now time for bride, groom and the family to enjoy their meals. Later in the afternoon the guests, who kept coming and going finally left after a great day.

You may want to read more about my experiences with this Malay Wedding. Here is the link for the page I wrote about the first day in Kedah and this page is about the wedding day in Pangkor It was a pleasure to be invited for these two days and a great and colorful experience.

Peter van der Lans is a Dutchman who lives these days in Sitiawan Malaysia. After years of traveling, he cycled from Holland to Malaysia, stayed a months in the Middle East, a year on the Indian Subcontinent and 2 years in China plus a year in the UK, he settled himself in Malaysia.

Sitiawan was the perfect place to write a website about Pulau Pangkor. Later he wrote http://www.bicycle-adventures.com, an ongoing project about his journeys on bicycles.

A third website: http://www.yangshuo-travel-guide.com he recently build. In the years in China, he lived in Yangshuo and he thinks he can tell the story about this pretty little town in China.

posted by 2sdthk9trv50953 @ 12:06 AM 0 comments