Bangkok, Thailand - August 2018

Chatuchak - The mother of all Tiangge! (flea market)

A bangkok trip is not complete without visiting their very famous flea market - Chatuchak!

Yes, it is the mother of all tiangge! From Zara, Prada, Tod's, Mulberry, Burberry, Rolex, Cartier, Tiffany & Co., Tag Heuer, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and the list goes on and on ... you'll definitely find it here. The best part is, they are cheap! Well of course, they're fake! That's why! haha...

But, aside from those fake items, you can also find a lot of other interesting things here that you can buy for yourself, your house, etc!

Thailand street foods are everywhere in Chatuchak as well! I thought I am not going to try one, but hey, it looked delicious!

If you are really into shopping and you love the cheap buys, you better book that next flight to Bangkok now and spend all your money there (no credit card in Chatuchak pls)! LOL!

I took a lot of photos in Chatuchak, so this is just the first part.

P.S. You can go to Chatuchak by train, so book your hotel near any of the stations. I suggest book a hotel in Siam area. Siam is where all the high end malls are located. So at least if your friends are not in for flea market shopping, it's a win-win :)

Of course, traveling by train is much more cheaper.

Travel Post : Wat Pho Complex - Bangkok, Thailand

This is the same location where the reclining buddha (from my previous post) can be found. Good thing we visited Bangkok on a good weather. I remember, the last time we went here, the sun was burning hot!!! So hot that my camera started shaking so I was not able to get a good picture.

Tourists flock here not only to see the reclining Buddha but the other temples and buddha figures as well.

There's a lot of beautiful stupas here. Most of them are from the royal family. I can't say anything much but for sure you'll see them if you visit the reclining buddha because it was just right outside its temple.

One thing I've learned about these stupas is that they always have the 4 most important colors in Thailand.  hmmm let me try to remember them haha. I know blue is royalty. white is purity. yellow and green. Please help me remember what the last 2 colors represent.

The ashes are placed at the lower part of each stupa.

Travel Post : The Reclining Buddha - Thailand

Going back to our Bangkok, Thailand trip :) , we also visited the reclining buddha temple. I didnt see it the first time I went to Bangkok although we visited the same exact place. We thought it was a place where people pray and we didn't know that the reclining buddha was inside.

Anyways, I was so impressed with the intricate details on the wall and of course the golden reclining buddha! It was soooo huge!

According to our tour guide, it is made out of cement and gold plated. It's a must-see in Bangkok, definitely.

The entrance of the complex

Travel : Bangkok Temple visit - December 2011

This is my second time in Bangkok. Even before we go there, we decided that we are not going to take the airport transfer from the hotel and we will take the metered taxi. Before going out from the airport, we managed to book a tour and lucky us, the representative was so helpful and gave us tips and directions on where to take the cab. He was always saying: to insist to use the meter. Fast forward, we ride the taxi and the driver said, it's 600 Baht right away! And of course, I said, OK! hahaha (even though the tour rep said the maximum fare up to our hotel might be just around 400 Baht inclusive of everything - i think there's an additional airport pay (?) since we took the taxi there and the toll gate) But you cannot blame me, i was so tired.

I am always nervous whenever we arrive at the hotel that I booked prior to the trip (I always book the hotel, it's my job haha). And it's always a hit or a miss. I'll post another one for it. Hint : I didnt like it! LOL!

On our first day, we had the half day tour of the temples. I was so pleased with our tour. Our tour guide was so knowledgeable and she carries my bag whenever I placed it on the floor ( which I purposely did, kidding! ) Very good service! And since it was a private tour, we were riding this, a Nissan Cefiro all throughout our trip. Nice! :

I've learned so much from this tour. Did you know that Thailand means land of gold and Bangkok means City of Angels? Ok. That's what our tour guide said.

Thais are very religious people. Most of them are buddhists and that explains why buddhist temples are everywhere.

The first temple we visited was the Wat Suthat - This is a Royal temple. Most of the people who are buried were from the Royal family. It is also a place where people can pray.

In front of Wat Suthat is the Giant Swing

The Wat Suthat

They placed the ashes of the departed ones at the bottom of the stupa. Noticed the thread?  The thread connects the stupa to the temple. Let's just say it works like the telephone line, so when they pray in the temple it connects them to the stupas. All stupas are facing the temple.

One stupa may contain the whole family or other relatives ash.

The place is so beautiful and you can feel the sacredness of it.

... to be continued. :)