The central pier for the Chao Praya river is under the Tak Sin bridge. You can take an express boat that stops at fixed/numbered points along the river. But you can also charter a private longboat. We took the last option this time.
The Chao Phraya river seems to be full of fish. And the Thai at the taxi-boat stops exploit this by selling old bread to get them into a feeding frenzy. Jules and Jonas had a go at it!
H.M. King Rama V (1868-1910) purchased the compound upon his return from Europe in 1897. The construction of his residence was finished in 1901: Vimanmek mansion. A three storey building made only of teakwood without the single use of a nail; two right-angled wings, each 60 metres long and 20 metres high. A bedroom, throne room and bathroom maintain the atmosphere of Thai past, whilst the other exhibition rooms display gifts received from visiting royals and diplomats or Thai art including silverware, ceramics, crystal ware and ivory. Certainly worth to spend some time here! There are 16 buildings you can visit on the site.
Wat Po is not only the biggest, but also the oldest temple in Bangkok. A lying Boeddha of 46 m covered with gold leaf sheets is the main attraction. It depicts the dying Boeddha at the point of entering Nirvana. The site is also known for the most renowned massageschool of the city. Malaika en Jules enjoyed a 50 min. foot massage.
Today we went to the outskirts of Bangkok to visit the Thailand version of "Bokrijk". Some of the buildings are originals; others are reconstructed. You can visit the site with a golfcart, by bicycle or with a tram. Since we only used the tram and the bicycle, we will certainly return to drive around in the golfcart.
Visited Lumphini Park in the center of Bangkok. And these guys run around free over there; and I don't mean the kids. Notice one swimming at the right of the boat. Beats feeding the ducks!
The recent month has been a rollercoaster of events and emotions. We had the goodbye-party on the 18th June. Thank you for making it a memorable evening! And we quite enjoyed all after-parties and other invitations that followed the event.
The moving company at work on the 22th and 23d of June. An empty house is not that funny, but Jules and Jonas seemed to enjoy the camping experience during the last week of June.
The departure of Malaika on the second of July.
and our own traveling experience (with the 10hr delay in Istanbul).
From now on we'll keep you posted on our experiences. Greetzz!
