Bangkok: The Grand Palace

On May 30th we woke up bright and early to start our day out at The Grand Palace.

We loaded into a small boat to take us over the river:

The Grand Palace was established in 1782, and the complex consists of the royal residence and throne halls, the famous Temple of the Emerald Buddha, as well as a number of government offices.

In order to gain entrance into The Grand Palace your shoulders and ankles must be covered.  As we arrived, everyone took out their pants and t-shirts from their bags and pilled on layers of clothing. This led to a very very sweaty visit, as it was around 35 degrees Celsius! For those who didn’t have the proper attire, they could rent appropriate pants or shirts… but it wasn’t ideal! Kate rented a bright Hawaiian T-Shirt for the visit, and another guy on our tour rented some MC-Hammer looking pyjama pants!

Once we were inside the complex it was breathtakingly beautiful! There are gorgeous buildings designed with incredible detail, and most of them covered in gold.

Below is a photo of The Royal Monastery of the Emerald Buddha. Inside lies the famous Emerald Buddha. When I walked in I couldn’t even find the Buddha… I had assumed it would be large, but I finally spotted it almost at the ceiling on a very tall throne. The Emerald Buddha is about 45 cm tall. We all had to sit, and make sure we pointed our feet away from the Buddha.

The Buddha is dressed in seasonal costumes (one for the summer, another for rainy season and another for winter), and the costumes are changed 3 times a year in a ceremony presided over by His Majesty the King. Unfortunately we were not allowed cameras inside, so I couldn’t take a photo of the famous Buddha.

There are galleries surrounding the Royal Monastery, with walls painted with scenes from the Ramakien – painted during the reign of King Rama I. All of the scenes tell a story, and they used these scenes to pass on history through generations.

By the time we finished admiring the complex, the entire group was soaked in sweat. The heat was excruciating!! We were dying to take off our layers of clothing and get back into shorts and tank tops! As we left the complex you could see everyone stripping off layers and sighing in relief!

We took a little boat tour through the canals, and it was very interesting to see people’s houses, built on stilts in the water:

After a relaxing afternoon of a Thai Massage and swimming by the hotel pool, we boarded a 15 hour overnight train ride to Chiang Mai (in the north of Thailand). The sleeping quarters were very interesting, different than sleeping trains I’ve used in Europe.

The sleeping train was one long cart, without any separate rooms. Originally when we boarded the train there were seats for us, but as night fall came, the seats folded down into bunk beds.

It was a pretty good train ride, and in the morning we were all ready for our day in Chiang Mai!

Bangkok: Floating Markets and Cobra Snake Show

On Sunday May 29th Kate, Sydne and I set off to see the Damnoen Saduak Floating Markets, about 1.5 hours outside of Bangkok. These markets were an incredible sight! We took a small motor boat to the main market area, and then hired a paddle boat to take us through the markets. There are tons of vendors in boats, and stands along the side of the river selling souvenirs, fresh exotic fruit, and even food cooked from floating kitchens in the small boats!

I hopped out of the boat quickly to meet a very terrifying (but friendly) snake!

Back in the boat we got into a little traffic jam!

We purchased fresh coconuts and the coconut juice was delicious! Actually all of the fresh fruit was amazing! I wish we had this variety of fruit in Canada!

Next to the floating markets, while walking in the streets we ran into an adorable elephant! We became instant friends:

I’ve never seen such an adorable little elephant in my whole life!! And he was just hanging out in the street! Incredible! I love Thailand!

After the Floating Markets, we went to see a Cobra Snake Show… which was absolutely terrifying!! These snake men are crazy! The show consisted of a number of different acts. One act had a man fighting with a cobra snake (which is one of the deadliest snakes in the world!), and another act where a man caught three different snakes – one in each hand, and the 3rd one in his mouth!

We were seated in the front row, and where we were seated there was no protection between the stage area and the seating area. It didn’t seam like a big issue… until the jumping snake came out!! It literally jumped about a meter from our seats and we all jumped up screaming and running for cover! Absolutely terrifying! We kept a safe distance from the stage area for the rest of the show!

Here is the man fighting with the Cobra snake. He was stuck in a deep concentration the entire time.. one wrong move and he could have been bitten… and die within the hour.

This guy was crazy enough to give the cobra a kiss!!

After his impressive fight with the Cobra, he held on to it very tightly and brought it into the audience… me and the cobra became friends:

I may have been smiling… but I was TERRIFIED!! I was comforted by his very strong grip of the cobra’s head. I had faith he wouldn’t let go!

I also learned a very interesting fact…. did you know that Cobra snakes have 2 penises? Fascinating!

All in all a very informative and fun day filled with new (and somewhat terrifying) experiences! I am absolutely loving Thailand so far! I can’t wait for my Contiki tour to actually begin!

Bangkok: Khao San Road

On Saturday (May 28), I met up with two of the girls from my Contiki tour and we set off for the day in Bangkok. We started off with Thai massages…. and they were amazing!! They were so relaxing, and it was exactly what I needed! What made them even better was that 1 hour only cost 180 Baht (about $6 CAN)! It’s totally unbelievable how cheap everything is here!

See below for the price list. Prices are listed in Thai Baht, and 30 Baht = $1 CAN

We spent most of the day exploring the side streets, and Khao Sarn Road, which is basically the “backpackers ghetto”. There are tons of cheap hostels/hotels, restaurants, and lots and lots of street vendors selling a wide variety of products – including clothing, fake id’s, tattoos, pirated CD’s and DVDs, books and jewellery!

There are also tons of bars and restaurants… some of them targeting the younger, underaged crowd:

Tuk Tuks are very popular here… they’re basically a 3-wheeled open-air taxi cab. I haven’t taken a ride in one yet, but I’m sure I’ll have the chance before I leave!

Later that day I was hungry for a snack, so I bought (from 7-Eleven) a “Grilled Pork with Sticky Rice Burger” sandwich. It’s basically a burger patty in between two rice patties. Very interesting…. but surprisingly tasty!

The remainder of the day was spent eating delicious Thai food and wandering the busy streets!

Kate, Sydne and I out for dinner:

They have PINK taxis here!!! Amazing!!

All in all I’m loving Bangkok so far!! Tomorrow I’m off to explore the floating markets outside of Bangkok with Kate and Sydne before my Contiki tour starts in the evening! I’m super excited!!

First Impressions of Bangkok

YAY!!!! I have arrived in Bangkok!!

I arrived on Friday morning Bangkok time, which would have been Thursday night Toronto time (there’s an 11 hour time difference). My first impression of Bangkok, driving from the airport to my hotel in a taxi, was that on the surface it reminds me a bit of Mexico. There is a lot of beautiful lush, green vegetation including palm trees. But there is also a lot of poverty, at least while driving along the highway. I saw a lot of shacks and buildings falling apart, in addition to huts on the road selling things. Very similar to sights that I’m used to seeing in small towns in Mexico.

Once I arrived at my hotel (around 1pm Bangkok time) I was exhausted! I had just spent 24 hours traveling and all I wanted to do was sleep! I forced myself not to sleep just yet because it would have screwed up my sleeping pattern and worsened my jet lag!

It was raining pretty hard when I arrived, but once it stopped went for a walk through the streets surrounding my hotel.

They have 7-11 stores everywhere here!!

I stumbled upon the temple of Wat Chana Sogkram, built in the 18th century.

Also in the temple complex was an enormous 200 year old tree!

While exploring I found my way to a very nice Thai massage place. I had an incredibly relaxing foot massage for only $3 Canadian!! It was amazing! Full body Thai massages are around $10 CAN!

After my little exploring adventure I was completely exhausted (even more so than I was earlier). So I made my way back to my hotel, ordered room service and crashed in my room for the rest of the night.

The following morning (Saturday May 28) I met up with Kate (a girl from my contiki tour that is starting tomorrow who I’ve been emailing the past week). We spent the morning relaxing by the hotel pool and working on our tans! So amazing!! I am so excited to be spending the next 2+ months relaxing and exploring Asia!!

It’s about noon on Saturday here, and I’m about to meet up with Kate and Sydne (another girl from the contiki tour) and we’re going to go exploring Bangkok for the rest of the day!! I also think manicures/pedicures and massages are also on the agenda… (over breakfast Kate and I were discussing how much we are in need of some pampering… and since it would cost us next to nothing… why not?)

I’ll update more later!!

Flight from Toronto to Hong Kong

I’m sitting in the Hong Kong airport waiting for my next flight to Bangkok. I just finished my 15 hour Toronto-Hong Kong flight… and whoa was it a long flight!! But believe it or not it was one of my best flights ever!

I’ll start from the beginning….

I spent part of the day on Wednesday (May 25) packing my backpack and getting ready for my trip. I was finally all packed up and my backpacked only weighed 16.5kg!! (which is amazing compared to the outstanding weight of my Europe trip backpack)

Later that night my parents took me to the airport so I could start my journey through Asia…

I had a bit of trouble with my passport waistbelt (the kind that goes under your shirt). It kept unclipping, so I decided to buy a new one at the airport… apparently it’s easier said than done! Since it was 11pm and most of the stores at the airport were closed, I purchased one from the only open store. Unfortunately it was designed for people a bit larger than me, and even on the smallest setting it was about 3 inches too big! Aren’t these things supposed to be fully adjustable to all sizes??

I flew Cathay Pacific direct from Toronto to Hong Kong….. a full 15 hours and 9 minutes of flying!! Luckily I had the sense to upgrade my ticket (for $100) to an “extra leg room” seat….which was AMAZING! There was about 2 meters of empty space in front of my seat! I could have sat down on the floor and practiced yoga if I wanted! And the seat next to me was empty, so I had space on all sides… leading to a very comfortable journey!

The first 7 hours of the flight passed by pretty quickly… I alternated between sleeping, eating, all while stretching my legs out very comfortably in front of me!

Did you know that on Cathay Pacific flights you get an unlimited supply of cup noodles?? The kind where you just add boiling water into a cup, and it makes a noodle soup. It reminded me of my undergrad years where I lived off of Mr. Noodle! It was amazing! I was confortable, well fed and very happy.

I spent the last 8 hours of the flight watching 2 movies (“No Strings Attached” and “Burlesque”), and a few episodes of America’s Next Top Model on my personal TV. It was the fastest 15 hours on a plane I’ve ever spent! (not that I have much to compare it to… my Toronto-Tokyo flight was 13 hours, but I remember it being much much worse!)

I’ve got about 4 hours here in Hong Kong before my next flight to Bangkok!

I will update again once I arrive!

Miss you all already!