After I arrived at the Back Home Backpackers Hostel in Bangkok I was faced with the heat and humidity. That first night, the air conditioner was broken in the dorm room. Despite all the fans running it was still very hot. Luckily, I was able to change to a different room for the night. I didn’t do any exploring except to get lunch and dinner on the same street as the hostel. The heat was unbearable and I didn’t want to go anywhere.
On the third day, I changed to the NBH.@Prannok guesthouse since Daisy will come after midnight. This place is nicer than the hostel with my own bathroom and more privacy.
Daisy arrived at the guest house before 2 AM. The next day, we took the MRT to visit Wat Pho temple and the large Reclining Buddha. We must have spent about two hours walking around the temple grounds. There were also many tourists despite the heat.
After lunch, we opted not to visit the nearby Grand Palace and The Temple of the Emerald Buddha since it was so hot in the afternoon. We will go there another day.
Yesterday was the beginning of a three day holiday called Songkran, or Thai New Year, which is also the water festival. Daisy and I took a Grab taxi to Khaosan Road that’s a major tourist road in Bangkok. I think we were there a little too early since only a few people were spraying others with water guns.
After having a vegetarian lunch, we saw more people with water guns on the street. We ended up taking another Grab taxi to Silom Road that’s another popular spot for Songkran.
As we walked on Silom Road we saw a lot more people with water guns spraying each other. We did not have water guns, but we still got drenched as collateral damage. The greatest action was by the Silom MRT station where a large crowd of people were jumping up and down to the music, having a good time soaking each other with water guns.
After we came back to the guest house we were exhausted. Today, we moved to another guest house that’s closer to more restaurants in the center of Bangkok. We will stay here until the 18th when Daisy goes back to the Philippines.
I’ve been thinking when I should go back to Philadelphia. The cheapest plane ticket back home is $834 from Singapore via San Francisco on September 4th. Since summer is the high season for traveling, it’s hard for me to get cheaper tickets. But September is longer than I would like to stay in Southeast Asia. Also, I’m still not sure if I want to go to Laos after Cambodia. I don’t know what to do at the moment.
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| Chilling at the Back Home Backpackers Hostel |
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| Tom Yum soup with shrimp |
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| One of many food vendors at Wat Pho temple |
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| Several building in Wat Pho temple complex |
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| Tourists can get massages at the temple. |
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| I'm still not sure why there are gold leaves on these monk statues. |
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| One of the guardians by the door |
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| Head of the Reclining Buddha |
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| Can't get a good picture of the entire Buddha since it's so big. |
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| Here is a wide angle shot from the feet end. |
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| Me and Daisy |
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| More statues like this are around the complex. |
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| More Buddha |
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| A court yard |
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| Even more Buddhas |
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| Don't know what these things are called. I guess they are Thai pagodas? |
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| Cool sand sculptures |
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| Yet another Buddha |
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| Thai Buddha temples have distinct looking roof ends. |
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| Water fight on Khaosan Road |
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| More people on Silom Road |
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| I think the firefighters have an advantage. LOL! |
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| Crowd of people by the Silom MRT station celebrating Songkran. |
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| A parade went by the Fai Chai MRT station. |
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