1 Night in Bangkok

My room at Shanti Lodge
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I left Paris early in the morning on the 21st and headed to the airport where I flew to Bahrain and had about an hour layover and then it was off to Bangkok. I had an overnight flight and I arrived very tired. My first impression of Bangkok was not so good. I walked out of the airport and was instantly bombarded with guys trying to get me to take their cars to the hostel and a thick pollution haze that gave me a headache in about 5 minutes. I was not impressed. Then riding in the taxi to the hostel I realized just how busy, big and dirty Bangkok really was. I was so happy when I got the Shanti Lodge and it was a beautiful little place and I had my own private A/C room! I didn’t have any plans for my first day except to relax and get a massage and eat some good food. All of which I did. The Thai massages are great! And the food at the hostel was amazing!

Wat Phra Kaew
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The next day I was up early and made my way to Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace. The Grand Palace section as closed due to the death of the Kings sister. This is a country that LOVES their royal family! There are pictures of them everywhere! I also went to Wat Pho, which is another large temple in Bangkok. I also saw the Marble Temple and Wat Traimit, which holds a 5 ton solid gold Buddha. I only saw this Buddha through a side window since the temple was closed. I took a few tuk-tuks that day and thought many times that I was probably going to die! The traffic in Bangkok is crazy at all times of the day. For a bit of calm I then went and toured Jim Thompson’s House. He was an American who helped revitalize the silk industry in Thailand and then he mysteriously disappeared one day. My last adventure of the day was taking the boat down the river at night back to my hostel.

My first impression of Bangkok was not so good