The D&O Diary’s Asia assignment continued this past weekend with a first-time-ever visit to Bangkok, Thailand’s capital and largest city. Although the weather did not always cooperate during my visit, I did have a chance to see and experience this colorful, dynamic, and interesting city in all of its glorious and fascinating splendor.

There are several things that a first-time visitor needs to understand about Bangkok. The first is that Bangkok is huge — with urban agglomeration population of about 11.4 million, it is one of the world’s great cities. The second thing a visitor needs to know is that Bangkok is an amazing combination of venerable cultural sites and traditions and modern skyscrapers and shopping malls. The third thing about Bangkok is that it absolutely pulses with energy — the city is a fantastic combination of colorful sights, sounds, and tastes.

Here’s a nighttime view of Bangkok, taken from the rooftop terrace at the Park Hyatt hotel. This picture gives a really good sense of how sprawling the city is.

I had a great introduction to Bangkok on my first day there. I hired a tuk-tuk driver to take me — at his suggestion, actually — to a number of the important Buddhist temples and sites in the city. I was fortunate to enjoy pleasant weather for this afternoon tour, and traveling by tuk-tuk proved to be an interesting way to see the historic part of the city.

Here’s my view from the backseat of the tuk-tuk. It is actually a great way to travel around the city, among other things because it is open-air and breezy, which is welcome in the city’s afternoon heat.
The first stop on my tour was the famous Wat Thewarat Kunchorn Worawiharn, which features this beautiful statue of the seated Buddah. This particular Buddah is reputed to bring good fortune — after we had visited the temple, my tuk-tuk driver stopped along the way to buy a lottery ticket. The picture at the top of the post depicts the ordination hall at the temple.
Here’s my tuk-tuk driver, that’s his tuk-tuk just over his left shoulder. We had a lot of fun joking around. A lot of laughter.

We next went to the Wat Intharawihan, which is known for its famous 105-ft tall “standing Buddah,” known as Luang Pho To or “Phra Si Ariyamettrai.”
Temple guardians at the temple of the standing Buddah
One of the coolest things I did while in Bangkok was to take a tour of the city’s canal (klorng) district. The tour boats can be accessed at a landing on the Chao Phraya River. The particular tour boat I took explored the Klorng Bangkok Yai, along which are a number of important cultural and historic sites. The overall experience of the canal boat tour is the feeling that you are traveling deep into the heart of old Bangkok, affording a glimpse of the city from an earlier time.

Among the many interesting and culturally important sites along the canal is the Wat Paknam Phasi Charoen, which features a 260-ft tall Buddah in a seated meditating posture.
The final stop on the canal boat tour was Wat Arun, the temple of Dawn, which is located on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River.
The Wat Arun is constructed in the ancient Khmer style. The structure is encrusted with glazed porcelain figures and decorations. The intricacy of the design and decoration is truly fabulous.

The next morning I was up early to see Wat Saket, known as the Temple of the Golden Mount. The uphill walkway to the hilltop temple is lined with interesting statutary.
More interesting statuary on the walkway to the Temple of the Golden Mount.
The next destination on my Bangkok tour was the Great Palace, the official palace of the Thai royal family. Unfortunately, the good weather luck I had enjoyed up to that point completely ran out. The moment I arrived inside the palace grounds, the skies opened up. This picture reflects my view from the arcade where I positioned myself to try to wait out the rain. Alas, the rain outlasted me. I was stuck in the arcade while it absolutely poured rain for three straight hours. The deluge overwhelmed the storm water runoff drains. By the time the rain slowed enough that I could imagine leaving cover, there was a good six inches of standing water everywhere. As soon as I left my shelter, I was soaking wet. The only thing I wanted to do at that point was to go back to my hotel. The next day, I tried again to see the Grand Palace. It was raining again, and then when I finally arrived at the tourist entrance, there was a sign announcing that the Grand Palace was closed for the day due to a memorial service for a deceased member of the royal family. I never did see the Grand Palace. Clearly, I have to go back.

I know that in my short weekend visit, I barely scratched the surface of the city. I came away with an appreciation for how colorful, dynamic, and interesting the city is. It is clearly a place worth visiting and that I will have to return to. There is so much to see and do in the city.

I have a restaurant recommendation. I was very fortunate while in Bangkok to enjoy a dinner at a lovely restaurant with one of my law school classmates, who is a seasoned traveler to Thailand and who just happened to be in Bangkok while I was there. At my friend’s suggestion, we dined at the Blue Elephant, which serves excellent traditional Thai cuisine in an absolutley wonderful interior setting. I thoroughly enjoyed my dinner at the Blue Elephant and I feel very comfortable giving the restaurant my highest recommendation.

The exterior of the Blue Elephant, Bangkok.
The interior of the Blue Elephant

I have a hotel recommendation, as well, particularly for first-time visitors. I was fortunate to stay at the Hotel Rembrandt, which is in a great location in the Sukhumvit district on a quiet side street but just two blocks from both a subway station and a Sky Train station. The rooms are clean, quiet, and comfortable, the hotel has a decent fitness center, and a great breakfast buffet. Best of all, the hotel rooms were under USD100 per night. (Bangkok in general is pretty much of a bargain.) The proximity to public transit and the range of nearby restaurant options, as well as the attractive price, make this hotel a particularly good choice for first time visitors.

This picture doesn’t actually show all that much; the hotel is a good value in a good location, a good bet for first-time visitors.