Last Updated on June 24, 2019 by PowersToTravel
This morning we stepped out to the breakfast patio to find the heat and humidity much less than yesterday. Once again we enjoyed our gourmet breakfast overlooking the river traffic. It’s really a good thing that we are exercising so much, because Belgian waffles with syrup each morning would not be kind to my weight or be approved by my doctor otherwise!
We strolled out the front door, and past the ever-present skinny man setting up his barbecue/kitchen in the alley. Every morning he would have his little storeroom open and be stacking the pots and pans along the alley, stoking his fire, preparing his soup and kebabs. I wonder how much foot traffic really passes through this alley?
Our alley near Sala Rattanakosin
The smell of the roasting meat on his barbecue, and other barbecues, is wafting through the alleys, making me once again pat myself on my back at my choice of hotel. Perhaps not so different from the aroma of frying fish in a New England tourist village, the smell of jasmine rice and barbecue in this Asian city make me very aware that I was not in New England anymore.
We passed the tiny shrine, with its ever-present curls of incense meandering in the air, mixing with the barbecue aroma.
Shrine in our little alley near Maharat Road
Our final trip through Tha Tien
We were on our way to Tha Tien, our gateway to the Chao Phraya River, and the rest of Bangkok.
This morning, the pier’s shop floors were filled with water, as the river had risen overnight, probably due to upstream thunderstorms we had heard in the distance. We realized why the pier’s mini-mall walkway was raised up, and were grateful!
We quickly bought our tickets for the cross-river ferry to Wat Arun, and quickly it departed, bouncing in the wakes of the other boats.
Our final view at Tha Tien
High water at Tha Thien
From the Wat Arun pier we picked up the Orange Flag boat heading south.
Our main destination for the day was Chinatown. We could have easily gotten there by tuk-tuk or bus, but I had fallen in love with the river, and wanted to use it whenever possible.
Originally we were to have visited Wat Arun this morning, however as you may remember, the weather forecast caused me to switch that event to our first day, and now we found we had a somewhat shorter day of sightseeing ahead of us. After our inability to keep up in the humidity yesterday, I was not afraid of our shortened schedule today!
We disembarked from the ferry at the “Marine Department Pier.” While I had maps to guide us, it was easy to get lost since not all roads were marked. We forged ahead. Somehow we ended up on a road dedicated to car parts and repair. Little storefronts, barely ten feet wide, were filled with greasy car parts, and other shops filled with what appeared to be blacksmiths, repairing metal parts. Interesting. Even now, as I study Google Maps, looking for our path, when I zoom in on Soi Charoen Phanit (soi = alley), I see “Auto Parts Store”, “Auto Parts Store”, “Auto Parts Store”, then a “Thoeng Machinery,” just as I remembered it! If I had zoomed in that close when planning the trip, I might have chosen a different alley!
We stumbled across a Chinese shrine.
Siang Kong Chinese shrine
Our first destination was the easternmost gate of Chinatown, and the Wat Traimit temple, just outside the gate. Following our gut through the alleys (soi), we finally made it out to the traffic circle where we instantly saw both. It was a difficult job crossing this busy intersection on a Monday morning, but eventually we made it over.
Chinatown Gate in Bangkok
The rain which had been threatening now began to fall. Not to fear. While we had not brought rain coats due to the heat and humidity, I had brought plastic bags to protect my camera and purse.
Wat Traimit Temple
Wat Traimit houses the world’s largest golden seated Buddha. We had to climb several flights of exterior stairs up the pyramid, to reach the small temple room at the top. I struggled my way up. The heat and humidity was impacting me severely so far. While I could straggle along on level ground, if I had to climb steps I could barely take three steps at a time. I felt as if I were, what? 80 years old? Well, since my parents are now in their mid-80s, I best not infer that that is old. Maybe I’ll say I felt as if I were 90! I was beginning to become concerned because the heat and humidity was less today, and still I struggled, and had about 60 days to go!
Wat Traimit
We strolled around the interior of the temple, the gold not shining as beautifully as it might have, due to the overcast skies.
Golden Buddha at Wat Traimit
Bell at Wat Traimit
On to Chinatown
The rain having stopped, we descended and headed into Chinatown. Bangkok Chinatown is one of the world’s oldest Chinatowns, having begun in 1782. (I, the trusty travel guide, had learned that from Wikipedia.) First stop was the Thien Fah Foundation, which is actually a hospital. The Foundation’s beautiful shrine is located just off the street. We were careful to remove our wet shoes and not get our feet too wet and dirty!
Thien Fah Foundation shrine
Thien Fah Foundation shrine
Next we headed up Yaowarat Road, the main drag of Chinatown.
Yaorawat Road sign in Chinatown Bangkok
Yaowarat Road in Bangkok
The colorful neon signs made awesome pictures.
The main road was lined with gold shops. I’d never seen anything like it.
Baht store in Chinatown Bangkok
Each store had plate glass windows so you could easily see inside it, to the walls and walls of gold chain. I learned from Greg that they are called “baht chains.” You don’t buy the chain for its looks, particularly, you buy the chains for the gold, by weight, and the price fluctuates daily. Chinese symbols were embossed on the glass. Counters lined the stores, some with little red plush stools or chairs lined up in front, like a magical Woolworth’s lunch counter. Guards stood at the doors. We peered in, but did not go in.
Market where we did not buy
We headed into an alley to the right, one which was supposed to have a market, and a shrine, and got it right on the first try for once. Fascinating market stalls lined the alley – it was not a tourist market, but a locals market. We chose not to purchase the entire barbecued pig’s head, or even the snout.
A Chinese Shrine
We found the shrine, set in a peaceful courtyard. The Chinese shrines are very different from the Thai temples. The Chinese shrines are less vertically graceful, and heavily decorated with brightly colored carved animals and mythical creatures, with a great emphasis on dragons. They make a zealous use of red and gold.
Leng Buiai Ia Shrine
Leng Buiai Ia Shrine
We continued our wanderings through Chinatown, strolling down an alley parallel to Yaowarat Road. Suddenly we found ourselves to be in a market of ribbons, fabric and decorations. It was much preferred to the auto-parts market. It was certainly a lot more colorful.
Ribbons and Beads in Bangkok market
We came to a decision point. Greg is one to orient himself magically and generally knows how to get out of any situation. “To the right! We must turn to the right!”
“No, I’m sure it’s to the left,” I insisted.
I had studied the maps, and while I couldn’t find ourselves on any map, since street names are few and far between, I just knew to take the left.
Greg though bothered by the lack of sunlight to orient himself, was confident of where we were. “No, to the right.”
Finally he gracefully bowed to my apparent knowledge, probably because I looked more exhausted. Every block, every step was such an effort.
We had walked by KFCs and other undesirable sources of nutrition, and were hoping for a nice Thai or Chinese restaurant. We’d found electronics stores, and purse stores, and more ribbon stores, but no restaurants. What kind of Chinatown has no Chinese restaurants? Plenty of street vendors, but we needed chairs and tables, and relief from the heat. Even if I say that the heat and humidity was less than yesterday, that doesn’t mean it was cool and temperate!
A shopping mall
After a long walk, we found ourselves at a mall, the Old Siam Shopping Plaza. We wandered then through the whole mall, looking for food, and found no restaurants. Common sense says that there were restaurants there, but we didn’t find them.
Old Siam Shopping Plaza
Lunch at a Noodle Shop
At last, as we left the mall, we stumbled across a Noodle Shop in an arcade. Plastic tables, and booths could not take away from the fact that we weren’t eating KFC, we were eating noodles in Asia – “bbq pork, and noodles and clear soup.”
Noodle shop in Bangkok
We oriented ourselves to our maps, and wonder of wonders, I was right, and we had turned the correct direction. After a rest, we took to the streets again, heading to our hotel. I had marked several tourist sights on the map for us to visit on our way back. Most were a couple blocks from the straight path home, and we were so tired that I would stand at the corner, knowing there was something to see a block away, and say, “Oh, let’s just go on.” It seemed as if every corner, every alley, was a sight, an adventure. Why would I want to exhaust myself to walk several more blocks out of my way?
We finally made it back to our hotel, and struggled up the stairs again, arriving just before it started bucketing rain. Watching the rain fall and obscuring our view of Wat Pho, we were so happy with all of the excellent planning by our excellent tour guide (me!)
Some Summary Thoughts
We visited Bangkok during mid-November. It was supposed to be the dry season, but it was a little wetter than we would have wished. However, I can’t imagine visiting Bangkok during a high-tourist season like Christmas, considering the crowds we encountered at the Grand Palace and on the river, and the heat. So I’m happy we went when we did.
I was so happy I had done the research and acted as our own tour guide in Bangkok. Almost all the signs were in English as well as Thai; almost all the ticket takers and shop-keepers spoke English well enough for us to get by. If we had engaged tour guides, we would have been disappointed because we would have had to cancel sections due to the heat and my exhaustion. As it was, we missed out on some sights, but paid nothing extra due to that, and went home each day when we wanted to.
Tour guides give great culture information, and historical facts, and I knew we would get that on our drive north – next stop! So I was content to wait to fully understand what we were seeing.
Check out this article of mine too:
Thailand Travel Blog – Itinerary, Impressions and Diabetic Travel Tips
I really enjoyed reading about Chinatown in Bangkok! The photos and descriptions were really great. So interesting to read about the shrines, gold shops, and markets. It was also funny how it was so hard for you to find a meal to eat that day, even in the mall! Glad you finally found some Chinese noodles and pork:)