Yaowarat, the Chinatown of Bangkok

Yaowarat, the Chinatown of Bangkok, is another place not to be missed by tourists. Tourists always come here for the seafood, as well as some other eateries. The easiest way to reach here is either by MRT or by boat. I never try the boat before, as I was staying nearby MRT station, so MRT is the most convenient way for me. Just drop at the final station at Hua Lamphong MRT, and we can either walk to Yaowarat or take a bus/tuk-tuk there. As tuk-tuk always charges at throat-cutting price, I usually take public bus there, because it is cheap and I can drop at any point of Yaowarat as I wish. Just go to Exit No.4 and wait for the bus number 6 or 25 or 40. Bus #6 is not air-conditioned, costs us 7THB per trip, while bus #25 & #40 are air-conditioned and cost us 15THB per trip.

Tips: There is no single English wording on the bus information, only Thai. So please tell the bus conductor that you are going to Yaowarat, and stand near to him/her. The bus conductors are usually helpful to let you know you have reached your destination.

If we are in the mood of walking to Yaowarat, it will take about 20 minutes of walking, plus you get to visit Wat Traimit, which consists of the world's largest solid golden Buddha.

On the street of Yaowarat, we can see a lot of gold shops along the street. 

A lot of people come here for the food, and I have my own eat list too! There were a few eateries that I usually go for, as below:

Seafood

There are 2 restaurants welcoming you right at the entrance of Yaowarat, the red shirt and the green shirt. Both are equally good. Expect huge crowd at both the restaurants.

Toast Bread

Located in front of Government Saving Bank, ordering is easy as you fill up the ordering form and wait for your number. Personally I like the chili paste topping.

Kuey Chap

I usually go to the one outdoor stall near the Old Market, or sometimes I will go another shop nearer to Yaowarat entrance. Easily noticeable with a lot of tables of the corridor. The kuey chap here are much more peppery, you will sweat non-stop eating this kuey chap.

Dessert: Dumpling

Sometimes I come for the dessert as well, and my favorite dessert goes to Bua Loy Nam Khing, which is the sesame dumpling in ginger soup. On the Winter Solstice festival, my colleagues and I would come here for the dumpling. 

Pomegranate Juice

This healthy juice is available along the street. You can either buy the cold-pressed juice, or buy the whole fruit from the vendors and eat it straight away.

Sorry that I could not recall the exact locations of all the stalls listed above. It was quite some time ago since I last went there in 2012.

There are many things to be done in Yaowarat, from shopping, sight seeing to eating and also worshiping, this will never disappoint us to stop by. Beware of the pickpocket while walking in the crowds, and remember to re-hydrate more especially when you are wandering along the alleys under the soaring heat.

Vimanmek Mansion & Ananta Samakhon Throne Hall

From my last post, I mentioned that the entrance ticket to access Wat Phra Kaew is able to use for Vimanmek Mansion entry as well. The ticket is only valid for 7-day duration. So I went to this former royal palace in Bangkok on the day after I visited the Wat Phra Kaew.

As the place preserved the historical items from the Thai royal family, in order to avoid damage to the artifacts, we are not allowed to go in with our bag, phone, and camera. We must keep all our belongings in the locker, and we gotta pay 20THB for the locker. I was not aware that even mobile phone is prohibited, and when I walk passed the security scanner, the alarm rang as my phone was still with me. Ended up, I have to reopen my locker, and paid additional 20THB just to put in my mobile phone. 

Photography of the Vimanmek Mansion is allowed only after the mansion tour

Vimanmek Mansion is the world's largest golden taekwood mansion and visiting here would let us witness the western influence on the Thai royal palace. Inside the mansion there are multiple exhibition halls which we are able to see the artifacts that were used by the Thai royal family before. There are also multiple residential hall of the princesses within the area. I skipped some of the residential halls as it was very troublesome for me having to take off the shoes to enter the halls.

Next, the Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall, now a museum for arts and craft.

The exhibition hall for the royal carriage

Further walking out from the Vimanmek Mansion area, we will come to the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall. This is the place where multiple anti-government protests happened, where the most recent incident was in 2014 which the protesters were attempting to make ex-PM Yingluck to resign. 

What a gorgeous looking architecture!

Stay tuned for more adventures!

Golden Triangle of Temples

Next on my visit list, the Golden Triangle of Temples!

There are many temples located in the Rattanakosin Island, and the 3 most visited temples are the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Pho, and Wat Arun. Many tourists mark these 3 temples as the "must-go" for their trip to Bangkok, but bear in mind that there are a lot of scams happening here, which the most common scams are the smiling Buddha scam as well as the Grand Palace closure scam. Beware of those!

Coming into Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew, both of these are co-located with each other and we would need to purchase ticket to enter. Back in 2011 it was not so expensive, which was about 350THB, inclusive of the entrance of Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaew as well as Vimanmek Mansion. There could be another way of entering the temple, via the side gate at the East side of the temple. Side gate is mainly open for the locals to get in to pray, and it would be free of charge to them. You may try to go in from this gate at your own risk, only if you look like a local. Personally I tried once, when I went with my local friends during the Visakha Bucha day, where the guards were not so stringent on that special Buddhism festival.

The Yaksha, or the guardian demon guarding all the entrances of the temple

Wat Phra Kaew, the Emerald Buddha temple, which we can worship the Emerald Buddha in the Ubosoth, the main building. Remember to keep silent and not to point our feet towards the Buddha, to be respectful to the Buddha.

Coming out from the Ubosoth, we should wander around for the long wall painting which tells the Thai murals.

Architectures here are not something you should miss!

Moving on to Grand Palace, which is just adjacent to the Wat Phra Kaew. This place is the former residence of the King, and now the King makes use of this palace for the ceremonial functions.

Second stop, Wat Pho. This temple is located just a walking distance away from the Wat Phra Kaew. Entrance fee was about 50THB. Wat Pho is famous for the Reclining Buddha, which is located in the Ubosoth.

Wat Pho is said to be first public university of Thailand as well, teaching traditional Thai medicine and Thai massage.

There are a lot of chedis within the large compound of Wat Pho. The bigger sized chedis contain the ashes of Buddha while the smaller sized chedis contain the ashes of the royal families.

While we were walking from Wat Phra Kaew towards Wat Pho, we would have noticed the big temple across the river of Chao Phraya. That would be the third destination for the trip to Golden Triangle of Temples, the Wat Arun. After visiting Wat Pho, head to the Tha Thien Pier and take a boat cruise to Wat Arun. It was about 7THB per trip for a short boat trip across the river to Wat Arun.

Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn, is one of the best known landmarks of Thailand.

The steps to go up the Ubosoth are extremely steep, so we need to be really careful when climbing.

On the top of the Ubosoth, we are able to have great view over the Rattanakosin Island, which we can see the Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Pho we had visited earlier.

I could not make it to catch the first light of the day at Temple of Dawn, but I managed to capture the sunset.

So this marked the end for the trip for Golden Triangle of Temples in Bangkok. There are thousands of temples in Bangkok area but these temples are not to be missed!

Birthday 2011

As I celebrated my birthday overseas for the first time, and also to celebrate for getting new job, I decided to reward myself with self-sponsored birthday present!

I had been looking for a digital backpack for quite some time, considering the backpack should be capable to carry laptop and camera at the same time. After searching high and low, finally I went for this low profile but durable backpack from Kata.

Introducing the Kata DR-467i!

This bag consists of a laptop compartment, able to fit up to 15.4" laptop. The bag also comes with a bright colored rain cover, which protects your precious gear when it rains. I had an experience riding bike during the heavy downpour when I was on the trip to the Philippines, and the rain cover served me extremely well! The interior of the bag was totally dry! The bright yellow rain cover is also very useful during trekking, which the bright color makes you easy to be spotted in the woods. To spice up the convenience of carrying this bag, it has a tripod strap which you can carry your camera tripod easily wherever you go. 

I love this bag so much, and I am still using this bag for all my trips. It has been 4 years since I owned this backpack, and still counting.