Bangkok

Bangkok.
It is quite an interesting city. It's got a little bit of everything. The old city is rich with culture, architecture and history. The city is crawling with markets- some only on weekends like the famous floating market a ways from the city, others running well into the middle of the night, like the Patpong night market. There's tall buildings, a great transport system, a river with a busy ferry system, plenty if shopping on all levels, and oh yeah, tons of Thai hookers!

The Old city is a must see. Here you'll get a feel of old Bangkok within the streets, buildings, shops and sites - all swarmed with locals and tourists alike. The Grand Palace grounds and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha are must sees. Magnificent buildings that have a certain Victorian feel to them, with beautifully decorated roofs and statues and windows in old Thai style with meticulous engravement, design, and color. Stone and gold plated statues of various creatures are seen everywhere, all together giving it a truly mythical feel. Within the large temple you'll see murals depicting scenes with the Buddha and various stories through out. At the front lies a huge alter profoundly decorated in shimmering gold with the green tinted "emerald" Buddha sitting atop. This is one of the most spiritual sites for Thai Buddhists, and many are stopping there paying respects.

The other great site nearby is the "giant Buddha," or the Reclinig Buddha. Literally massive gold reclining Buddha housed within a shrine. Quite an amazing piece! A ferry across the river will take you to the famous Wat Arun. Which they regard as the symbol of Bangkok. Wat means temple, and it's probably the most important one in Thailand. It rises
280 feet high and you can climb some real steep stairs to get a good distance up for some great views. It's meticulous carvings and decorations and sheer height makes you wonder of the manpower and time that went into it! Go around sunset.

Bangkok also has tons of food. Good food. And not just plenty of restaurants, but a lot of street food. Unlike Singapore, which took all the street carts off the streets and allocate them to the "Hawker" markets, the Bangkok street food scene is thriving. You think New York has a lot of street food? - which these days is becoming dominated by the halal carts - well Bangkok has tons. They can be as quaint as a one person cart half the size of a hotdog cart with a 12 inch grill cooking up satay and fish balls, to a full fledged operation with a giant spread of produce, meat, and seafood on display with multiple gas burners and pots of broth cooking. Many also offer simple chairs and tables on the sidewalk, and usually a cart with a full bar! My favorite was this guy near my hotel on Sukhumvit by soi 11, which was a large one with some seriously kickass Thai food. Probably among the best NYC restaurants I've had!! Some of the wilder things you'll see are stalls with deep fried crickets, worms, and other strange creepy crawlys! I'm not THAT adventurous!

Wanna shop? Theres malls sure. But everywhere you go in Bangkok, the major streets are lined with stalls selling everything from food items, to trinkets and souvenirs, tshirts and clothes, fake designer items, iPhone accessories, and even Viagra and Cialis. Oh yes indeed! So a great place to fulfill any shopping need and to buy your gifts and souvenirs.

Oh yeah, then there's the working girls (and sometimes boys... Well, ladyboys to be accurate) It is quite an interesting scene. I guess since prostitution is legal anything goes. They are always hangin out, especially near areas with lots of tourists or bars. They hang out in the bars lookin for targets or for you to "buy them a drink". You have some at the "shady" massage parlors too, and I think a lot of people get girls for days tona week at a time, sometimes for just 100$. You'll see guys walkin around with them any time of day, all over the place. Usually it's white guys in their 30s to 50s! If your a single guy , just don't look anyone in the eye. And if you do, check out their hands and feet first.

Finally if you are in Bangkok, you sorting of have to swing by Patpong. Patpong is the site of the night market, which is packed with stalls selling just about everything. Interestingly this market runs right through the heart of the red light district. You'll be accosted by guys trying to get you into the go-go bars where you'll find stages of Thai girls scantily clad dancing for you and coming up to you. They are pretty much there for you to pick out to buy - and there ain't no lap dances. Go big or go home! Most tourists will sneak peeks at the scenes in the downstairs bars. The upstairs areas host some of the more raunchier outfits like the sex shows and the ping pong, or "nana shows". I think I'll leave that part of the story out... You can google it if you really are curious!

Comments

[איטום גגות]

Quite an awesome! A boat across the stream will take to the well-known place which I respect as the icon of Bangkok. Wat indicates forehead, and it's probably the most essential one in Thailand.