I was looking forward to November last year for two reasons. The first was the recent start of the ski season. The second – my first overseas voyage. A year ago we did not have the opportunity for a big honeymoon and now it was time for a distant adventure. Of course, it wasn’t the typical honeymoon – a paradise island and we in a sleek hotel, swings under palm trees and cocktails in coconuts. Not that there wasn’t any of that, but we were in a too interesting place not to wander around in the wild. We organized everything ourselves, in order to best immerse ourselves in the atmosphere and learn these little details about the places I’ll talk about here.

The plan was quite ambitious – 14 days, 8 flights, 4 cities and many beautiful places to visit.

We flew with Turkish Airlines via Istanbul. We transferred to the new airport, which is the largest in Europe and is really spectacular. Four terminals and airplanes are flying all over the world at any given time. I remember the thrill of seeing the transatlantic Boeings lined up as far as I could see. It took us about 40 minutes to go from one end to the other and enjoy the architecture and interior.

The flight itself between Istanbul and Bangkok takes about 9-10 hours, but I barely felt it. When you get on board, in addition to delicious food, they also offer you a lot of movies, music and games. I was happy to find the film about Tolkien among the titles. Night Istanbul from the air is one of the wonders of the world for me, I found it years ago when I was flying to Armenia and wished to see it one again one day. It happened even twice (we flew over the city in the dark and on our way back).

Arrival

Thailand welcomed us with its constant warmth. All the time the temperatures varied between 23-36 degrees. We caught Sky Line – a panoramic train that runs from the airport to the city center. From it we saw the contrasts of this place. The huge and shiny skyscrapers, the neat neighborhoods, but also the poverty around them. The best option for a quick and cheap trip to Bangkok, along with both subway lines.

We took the pre-purchased SIM cards from the airport and already loaded with internet, we felt completely comfortable exploring the city. Bangkok enters several world rankings – as the city with the biggest traffic jams and the largest sex center. We were convinced of both. That’s why I recommend the subway. We were staying near the flower market. The apartment turned out to be an incredibly strategic place – 3 minutes from Samamchai metro station, in the noise of sleepless workers, but also 20 minutes walk from most of the city’s biggest attractions. The hotel was worse than in the photos, but it had air conditioning, which is a big plus for the temperature and humidity.

The contrasts of Bangkok

In this neighborhood, reality hit us fast, seeing people working hard from 5-6 am in the morning until about 12 pm in the evening, when they get into the back of the trucks and sleep inside, and tomorrow again. People live there at a very fast pace – cars, motorcycles, tuk-tuks, trucks, buses, people pulling loads, like a beehive. And despite the hustle and poverty, people were smiling, polite and did not look stressed. Unlike me, who was trying to survive the whole crowd. I am attaching a video of the situation in the slum, despite the poor quality, you can find out what it is about.

The food from the street traditionally costs 50 baht, about BGN 2.50. The portions are more than satisfactory, but regardless of the soup, basic or main, of the invariable several ingredients: rice, rice spaghetti, noodles, eggs, pineapple, cashews, sprouts, coriander (there I realized how much I do not like it because of the taste of soap), tofu and pieces of chicken, pork or shrimp. Pieces of all kinds of crumbs and seafood of unknown nature are also available at prices of 20-30 baht.

We were adventurous and tried what was on offer and we had no gastronomic problems anywhere. The only downside of going to such places for the locals is that even if you order the most unspicy red thing, your meal inevitably ends with 20 minutes of tears. Before I went there, I thought I was eating hot. With the exception of the red pots, the rest was fine and there were spices on the sides to taste it to your liking. Possibilities: soy sauce, crushed hot peppers as for belly, hot peppers with garlic and sugar. No salt or pepper.

We soon became convinced that the market is far from being a touristic place. There is tireless, hard and persistent work. A round-the-clock crowd of people, nothing shiny, countless stalls with all kinds of food, fruits, fabrics, flowers and whatever imaginable. It was the day before the festival of light, where each family prepares colorful baskets of flowers and candles and puts them in the river for health. For this reason, everything around shone in all sorts of flowers, which gave beauty to the otherwise poor and simple atmosphere. We decided to look for places where the locals go to eat. We were looking for small sheltered restaurants where there was no menu in English and we got along with people with gestures, some words in English and Google Translate.

We spent 2 nights in Bangkok and then headed inland, of which I will talk about in my next articles. On the way back we stayed on Khao San Road, the most famous street for bars, restaurants, tourists and nightlife. It turned out to be the complete opposite of the city. It was full of bars, nightclubs, fine restaurants and whatever one could ask for. The stalls with fruits, flowers and household items were missing, but in their place there were all sorts of souvenirs, T-shirts and various gadgets with which the locals tried to attract tourist attention. The prices were incomparable to the poor flower neighborhood, and everything was geared towards the throng of walking coffers with a German or Russian accent.

I am very glad to have had the opportunity to see these two faces in Bangkok. The first city of contrasts I saw was Istanbul, but Bangkok is proud to be next to it.

Landmarks

The first evening we visited the nearby Temple of the Reclining Buddha Wat Pho, one of the famous landmarks of the city. Really very beautiful – it is a bunch of temples and pagodas (these are the pointed religious buildings, often some shrines are placed in them). The small details and the precision with which they are made are impressive. Many patterns and colors that form a beautiful harmony. We were lucky enough to visit it in the evening – first it was cooler and there were no constant crowds of people and tourists, secondly, the evening was free, and thirdly – in the yard there was a performance with local songs and dances on the occasion of the festival.

Something important to share is that in order for a woman to enter, she must have her shoulders and knees covered, and my favorite dress definitely did not meet these criteria. I learned it the hard way after I was instructed to go and get dressed in the comprehensive “no sexy” by the guard. Since then, I learned my lesson and wherever I went, I walked around with a scarf and a T-shirt in my bag for “temple” situations. In the temples you must enter bare footed. I enjoyed the monks who quietly and modestly take care of these places. The biggest attraction in this temple was the 46-meter golden figure of Buddha, lying quietly like a Roman aristocrat.

I was impressed by the respect for religion and the monarchy – each temple was incredibly clean and maintained, and portraits of the king and queen were placed next to each public building. Since this was my first such temple, I was incredibly impressed by every figure, carving and ornament, these temples are incredibly magnificent! But they are quite similar, in the following days I entered another 7-8 temples and then it was enough for me to admire them from afar.

The second day we slept late, still adjusting to the five-hour time gap. We dedicated the day to The Grand Palace, which is perhaps the most famous temple – the Temple of the Emerald Buddha Wat Phra Kaew. It is a huge complex of temples and administrative buildings, and every detail and ornament is made to perfection.

I also liked the only building in the complex, built in European style, with columns in front, but with a preserved traditional Thai roof in order to be in harmony with the other buildings.

Admission costs were the impressive 500 baht per person, but definitely worth it. What I didn’t like very much was the huge mass of people who  hardly gave you the opportunity to see the place.

I stubbornly avoid such places and grumbled throughout the walk. We visited the temples and the palace. We saw very interesting Thai architecture, temples, Buddha statues and splendor. I liked the black stone elephant statues the most, they looked alive.

It was getting dark and cold later, which happens around 6 pm, and we boarded a boat that costеа 20 baht per person and is like public transport to get to the large and famous Wat Arun temple, the Temple of dawn. The temple itself was closed, but there were celebrations, songs and dances associated with the festival. The temple is extremely beautiful and majestic on the outside, all shining in gold. There is a beautiful garden around it.

Right next to it there is a whole street with stalls and all kinds of food. We tried some of their sweet pancakes and a lot of other things of unknown origin and content, but everything was very tasty. We also made a video of the masters of these strange pancakes – VIDEO.

In the evening we took the subway and headed to Lumpini Park. There the natives were just dropping their colorful flower baskets with glittering candles into the water. Very nice community feeling – all kinds of people with their families quietly and meekly go and drop their basket in hope of luck and a brighter future. During the night the trees shone in countless lights, I don’t know if it’s because of the festival or it’s generally decorated like that. It felt a bit like Central Park in New York from the movies, with dozens of skyscrapers hovering around it. Later during our walk we visited many more parks and even at some point they became a more desirable attraction for us than the many overcrowded temples.

 We were impressed that the parks in Thailand are very nice – green, clean, quiet and maintained. In stark contrast to the dirty hectic city. The parks have public outdoor gyms and playgrounds, parrots and some peace and harmony, unfamiliar to noisy cities. Besides, they obviously don’t attract as many tourists. In one park we learned a new sport – we watched them play some strange but interesting game like volleyball, but it is played with the feet with a ball made of sticks.

After telling you briefly about temples, parks and other cultural landmarks, in the second part of the story, I will share with you our experiences at the other pole – our walk through the neighborhood of skyscrapers and brothels, our attempts to buy gifts for family and friends and a few practical tips for transport and places worth visiting and which we left for next time.