Although we traveled for 24 hours (not to mention the +11 time difference), we could hardly sleep last night. We woke up around 6am and went downstairs for some coffee. We had a slow start to the morning, just unloading some things from our main packs, divvying up some packed liquids (bug spray and sunscreen are a must!), and making sure our daypacks are ready for the next month!
We left our hotel around 9am for the famous Chatuchak Weekend Market. Like we said yesterday, we’re staying near the Airport Rail Link’s Phaya Thai station, which also has a connection to the Bangkok Skytrain (BTS). Both transit systems are extremely convenient and a ticket, at most, is only 45 baht! The Chatuchak Market is at the Mo Chit station along the BTS, so from Phaya Thai station to Mo Chit station was only 34 baht, which is about a dollar USD. After a few hours of wandering this expansive (…no not expensive) market and getting some little mementos and delicious food, we decided it was time to head back towards our hotel.
By the time we got back, it was just after noon and we decided to see some temples that are not exactly in the city center. If you read our itinerary, you may remember that we’re ending our trip in Bangkok, so there will be plenty of time for the main attractions, but we wanted to make sure we made some time for temples a little off the beaten track. We took a tuk-tuk to Wat Saket and were completely blown away. I’m not sure exactly what we expected, but it was huge! 344 total steps to the top and each level was adorned with beautiful bells and gongs that were just begging to be rung.
After about an hour of exploration and being part of a monk’s prayer, we walked a short distance to Raan Jay Fai for some amazing drunken noodles. It’s a small street spot next to the famous Thip Samai, but don’t let that turn you away. We chose to just share one dish so we’d have room for some pad thai after, but we still had to walk it off before we stopped at Thip Samai. Bangkok has some amazing structures and monuments within its busy roundabouts, so we made a little loop around to the Giant Swing and the Democracy Monument before spending time in and around Loha Prasat, which is also known as the Metal Castle. After listening to some evening prayers at Wat Thepthidaram, which houses the beautiful White Buddha, we ended the little loop at Thip Samai.
The line was pretty long, but it moves quickly and is well worth the wait. It has won awards for its pad thai and even was named best fast food in the world a few years back! We’ve been sharing one dish everywhere we go so that we can try a little bit of everything, so we ordered only one pad thai…but that wasn’t enough. It was so amazing that we looked at each other and had the same thought…”we need another!” The noodle dish definitely lives up to its name, but what left us speechless was the fresh orange juice (it has to be consumed the day of purchase, which speaks to its freshness…not like anyone could make it last longer than a minute anyway). Some of you know we’re from Florida, which is known for some serious OJ, but it has absolutely NOTHING on this.
We took a tuk tuk back to our hotel just as it started to rain. We’re still feeling the effects of jetlag, so we were pretty exhausted once we got back to our room. Tomorrow we’re catching a flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia and spending the next two days there…so stay posted!