Floating market day!
Waking up at 5:30AM, we were very excited for our floating market tour. I can't believe this is already day 3- my how time flies!
Although I absolutely hate tour buses, we decided to join a tour group to go to the floating market so we wouldn't have to worry about the logistics of getting there (it takes an hour and a half from our hotel). Although we didn't get to spend much time at the actual market, we had a blast riding the different boats and checking out the merchandise!
The floating market is a market atop a man-made canal. We learned that many years ago, the king wanted to connect two rivers and ordered to have this canal made. The canal originally had merchants trading goods but eventually became a big tourist attraction and now has everything from food to clothing and souvenirs (for tourists)!
Eric and I decided to pay a little extra and get on a paddle boat instead of just walking around the market, so we took a half an hour ride along the canal. I tried to take my aunts advice and try to get everything for 100 baht, but the merchants just laughed at me or got mad at me and kicked our boat..... thanks guys.
After our share of 'shopping', we grabbed some noodles and snacks before we got back on the bus. Since we were lame and signed up for a tour, our tour guide of course brought us to a few tourist traps before we finally got back home. We went to a coconut plant to learn about coconut sugar and oil and went to a wood carving store to watched men and women skillfully carve teakwood. Although we knew it was a tourist trap, we couldn't help but to buy a souvenir- with our names carved in it!
After our half day at the floating market, it was already past 2PM and so we decided that we had time to go to one temple before they closed at 5:30PM. We had a choice between Wat Arun and the Golden Mount. Although we heard Wat Arun was better, we wanted to see a different part of Bangkok so we decided on the Golden Mount!
We climbed ~150 steps to get to the top and walked around and did our prayers. It was high a top a mountain cliff so we got some great views of the city of Bangkok.
After our visit to the Golden Mount, and a few more smaller shrines, we headed off to the more developed area of Bangkok where you can get all your brand named shopping done- Siam Paragon!
This shopping mall is huge! With all the brands you can think of, we felt like we were transported to a different world. What a different part of Thailand- so many high end, upscale stores and restaurants, we couldn't believe that just 24 hours ago we were buying 30 baht pad thai!
We got some dinner (although it was only $15 we felt like it was so expensive compared to what we got yesterday) and walked around to some other shopping centers- Central World Plaza and Gaysorn Plaza. Again, these plazas are huge and lit so beautifully.
After our share of the 'fake' Thailand (or at least what I felt was fake), we decided to visit the shrine of the 4 faces Buddha (thanks Jen Jen for the suggestion!) So magical and serene in the middle of a bustling crowd, it was beautiful.
We spent the rest of the night walking around this center of the city and ended up getting some last minute massages to rest our sore feet (oh, how cheap massages are here!)
And that's it for Bangkok! We can't believe it's over! We're headed to Phuket in the morning and we can't wait for our relaxing days in our Westin resort. We're excited to ring in the new year together and hope that everybody back home has some good new years resolutions!
Happy almost new year, off to Phuket!
Waking up at 5:30AM, we were very excited for our floating market tour. I can't believe this is already day 3- my how time flies!
Although I absolutely hate tour buses, we decided to join a tour group to go to the floating market so we wouldn't have to worry about the logistics of getting there (it takes an hour and a half from our hotel). Although we didn't get to spend much time at the actual market, we had a blast riding the different boats and checking out the merchandise!
The floating market is a market atop a man-made canal. We learned that many years ago, the king wanted to connect two rivers and ordered to have this canal made. The canal originally had merchants trading goods but eventually became a big tourist attraction and now has everything from food to clothing and souvenirs (for tourists)!
Eric and I decided to pay a little extra and get on a paddle boat instead of just walking around the market, so we took a half an hour ride along the canal. I tried to take my aunts advice and try to get everything for 100 baht, but the merchants just laughed at me or got mad at me and kicked our boat..... thanks guys.
After our share of 'shopping', we grabbed some noodles and snacks before we got back on the bus. Since we were lame and signed up for a tour, our tour guide of course brought us to a few tourist traps before we finally got back home. We went to a coconut plant to learn about coconut sugar and oil and went to a wood carving store to watched men and women skillfully carve teakwood. Although we knew it was a tourist trap, we couldn't help but to buy a souvenir- with our names carved in it!
After our half day at the floating market, it was already past 2PM and so we decided that we had time to go to one temple before they closed at 5:30PM. We had a choice between Wat Arun and the Golden Mount. Although we heard Wat Arun was better, we wanted to see a different part of Bangkok so we decided on the Golden Mount!
We climbed ~150 steps to get to the top and walked around and did our prayers. It was high a top a mountain cliff so we got some great views of the city of Bangkok.
After our visit to the Golden Mount, and a few more smaller shrines, we headed off to the more developed area of Bangkok where you can get all your brand named shopping done- Siam Paragon!
This shopping mall is huge! With all the brands you can think of, we felt like we were transported to a different world. What a different part of Thailand- so many high end, upscale stores and restaurants, we couldn't believe that just 24 hours ago we were buying 30 baht pad thai!
We got some dinner (although it was only $15 we felt like it was so expensive compared to what we got yesterday) and walked around to some other shopping centers- Central World Plaza and Gaysorn Plaza. Again, these plazas are huge and lit so beautifully.
After our share of the 'fake' Thailand (or at least what I felt was fake), we decided to visit the shrine of the 4 faces Buddha (thanks Jen Jen for the suggestion!) So magical and serene in the middle of a bustling crowd, it was beautiful.
We spent the rest of the night walking around this center of the city and ended up getting some last minute massages to rest our sore feet (oh, how cheap massages are here!)
And that's it for Bangkok! We can't believe it's over! We're headed to Phuket in the morning and we can't wait for our relaxing days in our Westin resort. We're excited to ring in the new year together and hope that everybody back home has some good new years resolutions!
Happy almost new year, off to Phuket!
I felt like I were with you reading your blogspot! Great idea creating this web page! In fact, we were at these places 7 weeks ago! Enjoy Phuket. People called it James Bond island :-)
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