What an amazing city! I simply can’t cover everything we visited, ate, saw and discovered during our 5 day trip to Thailand, let alone go on about the background of this bastion of ancient civilisation. Bangkok was a pleasant surprise, and I’d go back in a heart beat (should my wallet allow it hum hum…). Unlike the stories we often hear about the oriental city, we actually encountered only few problems, and would only encourage people to come and see for themselves how magnificent temples share a city with crowded boulevards and a ton of optic fibre.
As a way of how these articles are (mysteriously) written in a specific pattern, I will firstly highlight how the food here is – outstandingly and unsurprisingly – a core cultural trademark, followed by the people committed to keeping alive their legendary myths and stories through theatre and painting, and finally touch on the architecture, with its iconic temples and towers.
You don’t have to walk far to find food-stalls on the pavement, streets, down small narrow lanes off the main boulevards. Whether these are good or will make you feel unwell is a whole other question. As a rule of thumb, avoid anything that is either too cheap, or doesn’t look sanitary enough, and you should be fine. As much as there are a myriad of these food-stalls around the city, there is an equal number of delicious mains served at decent restaurants. One such restaurant is Baan Khanita, located in the Riverfront shopping mall, south of the city along the river. The mall is an open air magical place with a mixture of shops selling artisan products, local foods, ice cream, beautifully handcrafted handbags and, of course, restaurants and food stalls. Baan Khanita stands out with its white wooden facade, and so does its food. It serves the classic Thai meals such as Pad Thai and Pad See-Yew, but it also offers some of the best green and red curries of Thailand. All of its dishes are cooked by professional chefs using the best and freshest produce of the country. They collaborate with farmers around the country, and strive to keep the production sustainable and ethical. The waiters are always ready to serve you and provide you with the necessary dietary issues any meal might procure. All in all, you’re in good hands here!
Not far from Baan Khanita is the Joe Louis Thai Puppet Theatre. A trully unique performance narrating the Ramakien, the legend of King Rama I rescuing a local Ayutthaya princess from the grips of a demon king. The myth is inspired from the Sanskrit Hindu texts of the Ramayana, but have trickled down to Thailand to form the basis of not just the cosmological backdrop of their culture and lifestyle, but the very foundation of the kingdom’s birth. It’s a wonderful story told in the Thai language, and yet so vivid are the emotions, and gentle the performers with the puppets, that one can follow the story regardless of the language. Thai Puppet Theatre is a cultural treasure and few people know of its existence. By contrast with western puppet performances, here the puppets are each gently manipulated by three people. Every actor knows the specific dance of the legend by heart, and has to be able to perform it on her own. It incorporates swift jolting movements of the hand around the wrists, accompanied by slow jumps of the feet, sometimes balancing on a foot. It trully is a unique art-form and must be appreciated when travelling to Bangkok. Some Thai people might not suggest going to see a performance. Our hotel managers were surprised we not just knew of Joe Louis Theatre, but also intended to travel to the Riverfront and sit through one. They suggested rather going clubbing downtown. If that’s your thing, you’ll be loving Bangkok. However, Thailand has so much to offer culturally, that it’s a gold mine for wonderful and colourful architecture for instance. The Grand Palace in the centre is again another landmark that needs your attention.
The palace grounds are surrounded by impenetrably tall white walls, inside of which is a park of golden topped buildings, wooden structures and golden pyramids all over. Nothing like anywhere I’ve seen. The inside of the inner wall depicts the Ramakien legend of Rama I, the very same Joe Louis Theatre performs. The myth depicted here is a beautiful artwork, parts of which are painted by hand in the 18th century. The rest is a perfect mosaic of gold backgrounds. It goes all around the palace in a comic book-like fashion, narrating the great deeds of the first Thai king, and his struggle to retrieve the kidnapped princess. The buildings around shine outwardly with vivid golden colours, topped with bright blues, greens and reds. Small red or green dragons protect the small golden pyramids and are said to have been the very same who took part on the retrieval of the princess alongside the king.
On the other side of the Chao Phraya river stands Wat Arun, the white Buddhist temple. There are thousands of temples around the capital, but to me, this one stands out for its beauty, and also for its tiled architecture. Most temples will have their roofs topped with gold and its walls either white, red, green or blue. They all stand out with their bright colours, as the background tends to be a series of white or grey buildings. However, Wat Arun is a an architectural treasure, as it shines with pearly iridescence at the first light in the morning. Its facade isn’t topped with gold, but rather with white blue-ish tiles, forming a fragile light pale blue prang (pyramid). Its size is another testament to the power of religious institutions. The other temples seem strong, bold and pretentious with their golden hat. Such a temple is Wat Traimit, inside which stands a 5.5-ton solid gold Buddha, supposedly dating back from the 14th century. It survived unscratched for over 200 years as it was hidden in a concrete block from any invading force, under only a thin tin roof. It’s a calming atmosphere, seeing so much wealth in one statue, so peaceful and relaxed.
Only two hours away by train stands the old Thai capital, Ayutthaya, itself filled as well with even more Buddha statues and temples. The one that is in the best condition and is a wonder of brickwork is Wat Chai Watthanaram, just outside the city. Its architecture is again, something from another world, with its brown prang seemingly reaching for the sky. A calm atmosphere encompasses the whole area, and invites for a stroll on its old paths through the temple grounds. The other great thing about Ayutthaya is that you can rent a scooter for a whole day and have a blast visiting all the temples! Just don’t try and get there in the morning; arriving at the train station in rush hour is impossible. Take your time, catch an afternoon train, rent a scooter, visit most of the temples in and around the old capital, and catch a train back, but not too late otherwise you’ll never see your hotel that evening.
Traffic is indeed bad in Bangkok. However, it is not as bad as people would like to think. Most of the traffic is caused by really long stoplights, or simply the morning or evening rush hour. Even tuktuks can’t really make much of a difference on your commute time. It’s worth renting one, definitely, but you’ll inhale all the exhaust pipes from the cars around. Better to stay cooled off in a car; it’ll take just as long. The secret is to take your time, plan the day ahead, and ideally walk as much as possible in the shade. Though, with a notable lack of public transport and a scorching sun, it’s easier said than done.
Overall, Bangkok is not just the grotty slimy city that we keep seeing on TV. Those areas exist and are, paradoxically, where most of the hotels lie, but the trully outstanding parts of the city are literally everywhere else, and offer a much more unique and interesting perspective. The Grand Palace is a jewel, its golden Buddhas are everywhere, and its gorgeous wat on the river is magnificent. None the less, what stood out for me, yet again, is the Joe Louis Theatre and the food in Baan Khanita. Many people would say otherwise, but I think that you haven’t really been to Bangkok, if you haven’t seen a Joe Louis performance, and eaten fantastic food at the Riverfront.
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