Sunday, February 22 – Bangkok

My plan for today is to visit the Old City part of Bangkok, around The Grand Palace.

But first…

…breakfast! I went with the “Full Breakfast” today. The menu indicated that there was a choice of how the eggs could be prepared, so I went with fried. Well, I guess the server took that to mean I wanted additional fried eggs, hence the extra plate of eggs! Oh well, couldn’t let them go to waste!

I’m getting a kind of late start this morning. That’s a little concerning, because I know the area I’m visiting is very touristy. We’ll see how it goes…

My journey will begin on the Skytrain, followed by a transfer to the subway.

Stairway from the Skytrain ticketing area up to the departure platform.

I mentioned previously that the Skytrain (BTS) is cash only; but the subway (MRT) accepts contactless credit card payments at the entrance gates. This was a big advantage for me this morning (and on the return later in the afternoon).

This is the massive queue waiting to buy tickets at the MRT station.

And here’s the line at the gate for those using a credit card!

What was the tagline on that old MasterCard commercial? Priceless!

Priority Seat notice on the MRT – to include Monks!

Upon arrival at the MRT station, I noticed basically all of the departing passengers were heading to the exit for The Grand Palace. Not a surprise, I guess. However, on the directory of exits I noticed the destination for one was a Flower Market. I think I’ll check that out first. The road less traveled…

This is one of the entrances to the market.

The Pak Khlong Talat is Bangkok’s largest flower market.

Originally, Pak Khlong Talat was a fish market, located on the banks of a canal (pak khlong means canal mouth in Thai). It gradually transformed into a wholesale fruit and vegetable market in the early 20th century, before becoming a major flower market in the 1950s, supplied daily by growers from all over the country.

Came upon this shrine inside the flower market.

There are also some food stalls within the market.

This is the entrance to a smaller flower market, just across the street.

I’m now outside of the market. Not sure what this place is, just liked the entrance!

Near the market is the Chao Phraya River.

As you can see, there are numerous water taxis operating on the river. I’m at one of the pickup points: White Pier.

Across the river is Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn).

Here are some views as I made my way towards The Grand Palace…

A row of tuk-tuks waiting for a fare.

Museum Siam

Drum Tower (ca. 1782)

Across the street is the entrance to the temple of Wat Pho, best known for its huge reclining Buddha.

I went inside, but it was packed with people. Pass.

(I’ve visited here previously, during my trip 20+ years ago)

A peak inside the Wat Pho complex.

Travel Note: While walking around the outside of Wat Pho, I got a “Go Badgers” shout out from a man exiting the temple. Finally! And it turns out he’s from Madison, on a two week tour of Thailand. Small world!

It’s hard to tell from these pictures, but this area was jammed with people. Needless to say, I gave up and never made it to The Grand Palace (visited that 20 years ago too…).

It was a good day, regardless, with a lesson learned: Seek out off-the-beaten path areas of Bangkok!