Thailand Tours…and More
Thailand; one interesting destination to say the least. From ornate buildings to never-ending street markets, Bangkok has so many things to explore.
English…Anyone?
Language barriers have always been a little bit of a struggle, but this was probably the worst so far. The Thai people had a very limited amount of English vocabulary, and by “a very limited amount,” I mean none. Only our driver could understand us, and even that was difficult. He did, however, tell us a few things about the history of English in Thailand. English has never been a prominent language in Thailand. Teaching English is one of the most popular jobs that residents can find in the country. English teachers make up to $1,000 USD per month here, which is a comfortable salary for those that live outside of Bangkok.
The Floating Market
The Floating Market is a marvelous place full of much culture and character. To see the market, we rode a motor boat down a long and winding river at about 740,563,924,382,638,218,257,383 miles per hour (probably more accurately around the 50 mile per hour range). The motor on the back of the boat was similar to that of a car engine and the driver moved this heavy thing by hand! No wonder this boat was so speedy! There was a maze of canals and it took us about 30 minutes to get there by boat. Going through that much of the river allowed us to see their homes and how the residents lived. Almost all of the houses were on stilts about 20 feet off the ground because of the river rising during the wet season. Once we got to the market, there were hundreds of people trying to sell merchandise such as hats, fruit, clothes, and souvenirs. To sell hats, the ladies would wear 15 or so hats stacked on top of their head! To shake the marketing process up a little bit, the sellers and their products were in BOATS! Personally, my family and I bought a mango and it was SO sweet and delicious. This fruit tasted nothing like the mangoes in America, so it was very surprising that they tasted as sweet as they did. The never-ending market was not only in the river, but it continued for about a half of a mile down the road. I was in girl heaven now. From clothes to jewelry, they had it all. I don’t even remember how much I spent scouring this place. Honestly, if I had to choose a favorite place in Thailand, it would definitely be the floating market.
Maeklong Market (“The Train Market”)
Maeklong Market is a “shopping center” located just outside of Bangkok. This is the place where most of the locals shop for food and different types of groceries. Even our driver bought some items for his dinner. There were tents lined as far as the eye could see filled with meat (dead and alive), fruit, and vegetables. All of the locals had to use portable tents instead of buildings because the market was built right over a working railroad track. Four times a day, the locals have to move EVERYTHING off of the tracks to allow the train to pass through. The only horribly negative thing about this particular market was the smell. Oh my goodness! I don’t think that words can even begin to describe how bad that place smelled. Nevertheless, it was still quite an enjoyable experience.
Monkey Riots
Roaring down the river once more, we were headed straight for a forest of monkeys. On our boat, we had bananas and green beans; the favorite food of the monkeys and as soon as our boat stopped, it was a monkey madhouse. Those furry little creatures came from every direction! Well, as I was grabbing a green bean from behind, one little sneaky monkey decided to snatch all of the bananas from the boat! I thought that maybe they weren’t all sneaky, but boy was I wrong. Another ninja monkey apparently didn’t want to wait his turn for a green bean, so he decided to jump on my shoulder and take it right out of my hand! Good thing I left my sunglasses under my seat, or they would’ve been a goner.
Khao San Road
Khao San road is quite a busy place in central Bangkok. This road is full of restaurants, markets, street vendors, tuk tuks, and all sorts of fascinating pieces of Thai culture. One of the reasons that this short road was so memorable for me is because this is where I discovered my true soulmate; . is a traditional Thai dessert made with eggs and filled with egg whites and egg yolk. I don’t usually do this, but I ate 50 of these deliciously evil treats…in 5 minutes.
Grand Palace
The Grand Palace is a gorgeous complex of buildings located in the heart of Bangkok, Thailand. Overlaid with gold, ivory, silver, and other precious metals, the Grand Palace is a sight to behold. To enter the courtyard or these magnificent structures, one had to have on a sarong. Well, this was unknown to us, so we had to go buy some from the local market, or we could rent some for a hefty fee. We chose to buy our own with no questions asked…for like a dollar.
Wat Pho
Wat Pho is a beautiful Buddhist temple located south of the Grand Palace. With dazzling ornate patterns and rich history, Wat Pho is completely breath-taking. Wat Pho is one of Thailand’s oldest temples and is considered one of the highest ranking temples in the country. It existed before Bangkok was established as the capital by King Rama I. It was originally named Wat Photaram or Podharam, from which is where the name Wat Pho comes from. The temple is regarded as Thailand’s first university and a center for traditional Thai massage. It served as a medical teaching center before modern medicine, and the temple remains a center for traditional medicine today where a private medicinal school still operates. Within the walls of Wat Pho, there are multiple statures and pictures of Buddha. The Reclining Buddha is one of the most iconic cultural figures in Thai history. On our way out of the temple, we saw a cop holding a type of food and my mom asked him what it was. Instead of just telling us, he motioned us over to his post and handed us each a piece of the food. He called it “Tamarind.” The tamarind looked like a giant brown green bean strip, but whatever it truly was, it tasted really good.
The importance of travel is not the appearance of a place or city, but the heart and mood of the destination is what really matters. I definitely enjoyed being in Thailand for a few days and experiencing the Thai way of life. Even though Bangkok is not one of the most “popular” of travel destinations, it is somewhere that I would love to go back to one day. Most people might question and raise an eyebrow at going here for risk of different dangers, but it was definitely worth going to see.