What else is worth seeing in Bangkok?
Getting around Bangkok should not cause any problems to anyone. Thanks to the taxis and tuk-tuks (tricycles) on every corner, we can can easily get almost anywhere. As I’ve found out, there are two types of tuk tuks – government and private. Private tuk-tuks usually try to scam the toursits by asking for the price out of space, while the prices in a government tuk-tuks are at least few times cheaper! I’ve only used tuk-tuk services once, as I usually go with the pink taxi, which is relatively cheap for a traveler from western world. Besides taxis and tuk-tuks, there are also buses that can get you anywhere for as low as 9 Baht. In the center area of the city there is also metro and skytrain available, this option of getting around Bangkok is pretty expensive, but it’s the fastest way to travel around center of the city and avoiding traffic jams. I’ve spend an hour in the center of Bangkok and decided to get away from here as soon as possible – I don’t like the centers of large cities, loud noise and smog everywhere. After escaping the center, I’ve decided to head in the direction of Chinatown, known here as Yaowarat. My next stop was Temple of the Golden Buddha near the entrance to Chinatown.
The Temple of the Golden Buddha
When I got to the temple, I’ve heard that in five minutes they close it. I’ve also noticed that at the front entrance there is an arrow pointing to the cashier, however I decided to ignore it and began to climb the stair leading to the temple, just like local people – for free. When I reached the door located at the top of the stairs, I’ve noticed an information that doorman will check tickets before entrance to the temple, but I decided to ignore that too and take a chance and it was worth it – doorman didn’t check the tickets so I got in for free. The temple is 700 years old and inside of it, there is a statue of Buddha made of over five and a half tons of pure gold! Its definitely one of the places worth seeing in Bangkok.
Chinatown (Yaowarat)
After leaving the Temple of the Golden Buddha, I went to Chinatown, which is just right next to Wat Traimitr. If you plan to visit Chinatown it’s best to tell the taxi driver to take you to Yaowarat, which is the name of Chinatown they use in Bangkok, as the name of the main street of Chintown is Yaowarat Road. In the evening Yaowarat changes into the market where you can buy almost anything. Since I was starving, what interested me the most was food. After few minutes of walk I found what I was looking for – street food and decided to order delicious shrimps in sweet and sour sauce. If I have the opportunity I will definitely visit Chinatown again. Who knows, maybe I’ll have a chance to go there during Chinese New Year Eve?
There is still many places worth seeing in Bangkok, but I’ll do this next time I have the chance. On my list there is still the Royal Palace, Asiatique, Talismans Market or Siam Ocean World, which is one of the largest aquariums in Southeast Asia to see.
