Bangkok:
During my 2003 O-bon vacation, I stayed with Chun for only one day in Bangkok. We stayed mainly to do a little shopping since prices are really low in South-East Asia markets - you MUST always haggle the price or you will end up paying 3 or 4 times more than you have to!
My stay in Bangkok was short, but I still had the time to visit one temple: Wat Arun, the temple of dawn. The main spire and the four smaller spires surrounding it are covered by millions of little porcelain fragments. Apparently they were used as ballast on Chinese boats a long time ago. They came with the porcelain in their cargo hold and went back with Thai products.
The site of Wat Arun is on the bank of the Chao Phraya river. The recommended way to go there is by boat. The view is nice from a distance. They say that the temple is best viewed during the sun set . Unfortunatly, I was pressed for time so I could not wait that long.
We went to the Central Market in the after noon. Since it is a covered market to protect people from the rain during the monsoon, it was hot - REALLY hot and humid. We saw, among other things, Durian and fish. With that kind of heat, the smell was AWFUL!
That is about all I saw of Bangkok during my vacation that year. After that, I went scuba-diving at Phi-Phi islands. This is a picture of Bangkok that my friend Carl took near our hotel.
