I got a bit ahead of myself by posting about Kanchanaburi before I even said anything about our 3 days in Bangkok and one day in Ayutthaya. I am going to let the pictures give you a better feel of that time period. Unfortunately, Bangkok just felt like Bangkok. It was loud, aggressive, and dirty. Having already visited the Grand Palace and Wat Po my previous trip, the rest of the city didn’t feel nearly as impressive. We did get to visit the Jim Thompson House which was interesting. Jim Thompson was an architect before WWII and was called to serve during the war. After the war he joined the OSS (the predecessor to the CIA), and spent a good amount of time in SE Asia. He fell in love with Thailand and decided to leave the OSS and to start his own business. He noticed that the Thai were producing beautiful high quality silk and that no one in the west even noticed. He took some back to a fashion show in New York and it was instantly a hit. Orders began coming in and he in one fell swoop revitalized the Thai silk industry. With his wealth and keen eye for design he had six traditional Thai houses relocated and connected into one large house. He had a large collection of folk art and observed Thai traditions in every aspect of his life. What really makes visiting the house more interesting is his mysterious disappearance. In 1967 he went for a hike in the Cameron Highlands never to be seen again. Was he eaten by a tiger? Did someone murder him? Or did he simply fall down a slick hill and land in a mud hole? Who knows!
While in Bangkok we visited Wat Traimit (Temple of the Golden Buddha- the world’s largest solid-gold Buddha weighing 5.5 tons), Wat Benjamabophit, Wat Arun, and Khoa San Road. We wasted a day at the National Museum (DISAPPOINTING!). Our day trip to Ayutthaya gave us a taste for the architecture of the Ayutthaya period. Ayutthaya and Sukhothai are the first two capitals of Thailand dating back to the 1300’s and all the way up until the end of the 19th century.
I did meet a panda at our hostel, Everyday Bangkok Hostel. That pretty much sums up our time in the capital. It was definitely time to move out into the country side!
While in Bangkok we visited Wat Traimit (Temple of the Golden Buddha- the world’s largest solid-gold Buddha weighing 5.5 tons), Wat Benjamabophit, Wat Arun, and Khoa San Road. We wasted a day at the National Museum (DISAPPOINTING!). Our day trip to Ayutthaya gave us a taste for the architecture of the Ayutthaya period. Ayutthaya and Sukhothai are the first two capitals of Thailand dating back to the 1300’s and all the way up until the end of the 19th century.
I did meet a panda at our hostel, Everyday Bangkok Hostel. That pretty much sums up our time in the capital. It was definitely time to move out into the country side!
