Bangkok Temples on the way to the Grand Palace

It's a good walk from my hotel in the business district through old Bangkok to the large and important Buddhist temples and the Grand Palace, home to the kings of Siam/Thailand since 1782 (although not the current king, who prefers his residence in Germany).

As I head down Rama 1 Road, I pass through sections of old and new Bangkok next to each other.

 Support for BTS Skytrain on Rama 1 Road(nicely decorated)

 Sidestreet markets

 Small temples on the sidestreets

Old Bangkok is laced with canals, sometimes called the "Venice of the East".  Although many of the canals have been paved over to make roads, there are still many to admire and to serve as transportation for commuters in the city.

Bangkok canals

As I get deeper into old Bangkok, I start to encounter Buddhist temples and wander in.  The buildings are spectacular and the giant statues of Buddha, particularly the gold statues, are truly impressive (a "wat" is a Buddhist temple).  There are over 40,000 Buddhist temples in Thailand, I only visit a few.

 Wat Thepthidaram Worowihan

 Wat Ratchanaddaram

As I leave  Wat Ratchanaddaram, I see a group of young Buddhist monks crossing the street and also coming to visit the temple.  I watch and see them pull out the iPhones and take pictures, just like the rest of the tourists!

 Monks sightseeing at the temples

And, a tired school group resting after a busy morning of temple visits.

Taking a break

I'll end this posting with the next stop a few blocks later, the famous Patpong Night street, a tourist street of bars, flea markets, and low-cost hotels.  There's not much going on here during the day, but a few people are out eating and shopping.

 Patpong Night street

From here, it's only a short walk to the Grand Palace and we'll head there next.

Bangkok's Lumphini Park

Lumphini Park shows on my small map of Bangkok as a large green area just below my hotel.   I'm intrigued (maybe you've noticed that I can't pass a park without wandering in to see what is there). Lumphini Park is the first public park in Bangkok, created in the 1920s on royal property as a museum to showcase the country's products and natural resources.  The park sits in the heart of Bangkok's main business district and people are truly enjoying its paths, restaurants, and other activities.

Entrance to Lumphini Park, statue of King Rama VI

Lumphini Park has several interconnected lakes, with places to rent boats on each lake.

 Lakes and boat rental

Grand paths weave through the park and cross bridges over the lakes, with small restaurants on the edge of the lake.

 Paths and restaurants

Intriguing sculptures are scattered throughout the park.

 Sculpture scattered through the park

And, the bandstand for the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra occupies a space alongside one of the lakes.

 Orchestra concerts in the park

I walk through an area where hundreds of stalls are being constructed.  As I take pictures of them, someone walking by stops and tells me that I should come by in 3 days for the Thailand Tourism Festival, in its 37th year in the park.  The festival transforms a large portion of Lumphini Park into a min-representation of the Kingdom of Thailand, with replicas of landmarks and examples of cultural events for the five major regions of the kingdom.  I'll be gone by then, but wish I had scheduled differently!

 Setting up for the Thailand Tourism Festival

As I leave the park, I pass a memorial to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch, who passed away last October at 88 after 70 years as King of Thailand.  Thailand is in a one-year mourning period for the king.

Memorial to King Bhumibol Adulyadej

Exploring Bangkok's Chatuchak Weekend Market and Park

Bangkok has lots of markets, small and large, old and modern.  One of the largest is the Chatuchak Weekend Market, with around 15,000 separate stalls and 200,000 visitors each weekend day.  My first full day in Bangkok is a Saturday and I hop on the BTS Skytrain and head over to the Chatuchak Weekend Market early.  As I'm riding the train, I feel a tap-tap-tap on my shoulder and turn to see what's up.  A young woman is showing me that there is an empty seat on the train and I take it (I'm used to this in Asia - in  China, young people will get up and offer me their seat.  Ah, the benefits of some gray hair!).

 Approaching the market

I don't know how many pictures of market stalls I can show before I completely bore us all, but I'll fit a few in here.  It is fun to weave through the narrow aisles of the market and see everything that is for sale.

 Market stalls

And, of course, places to eat.

 Food stalls

 And, a whole section devoted to small galleries and art sales.

Art stalls

As I wander through the alleyways and streets, I repeat to myself, "keep to the left, look to the right." Thailand and Singapore both drive on the left side of the road (UK style) and one needs to be very careful crossing the street.  Also, outside the tourist area, people walk on the left side of the sidewalk and subway entrances/exits and, if I stick to the right side, there is potential for confusion and collision.

After an hour or so of weaving through the market, I emerge and cross the street to Chatuchak Park, one of the oldest public parks in Bangkok, roughly 1/3 square km (.1 square mile).  I wander through the park and admire the great plantings, lakes, and wide paths for walking.

 Lakes and walking paths

 Sculpture scattered through the park

 And, beautiful gardens

The park is a great contrast to the busy craziness of the weekend market across the street and provides lots of new finds and beautiful sites as I explore.  But, eventually, it's time to head back to the hotel (while keeping to the left) and think about plans for the afternoon.