Our last day in Bangkok - the Dusit Gardens

We got back to Bangkok. With some adventures on the way, but we made it back. The journey took us practically the whole day. First the taxi boat + ferry, then a van ride to Hat Yai airport. Then a flight to Bangkok. And finally, the ride to our hostel. And it was that last part that was the most adventurous. We did not want to take a taxi, cause... well, we simply didn't want to. We took a bus instead. We found the right one, found out where we should take off, everything seemed great. Up to a point, though. As it turned out, the city was completely jammed. Totally stuck. We spent an hour on the bus, while the ride should have taken us a quarter. And we didn't even get to the place we were supposed to get to. We changed for BST the moment we could. As that is not affected by traffic jams. Then we finally gave in and got a taxi (there were no tuk-tuks available!), which took us to our hostel. It was already after dark. We were exhausted. And not really willing to move anywhere...We had the following day all planned. Since our flight back home wasn't until 2 am, so we had a whole day to spare, we wanted to take the train and go to Ayutthaye (I never know if I'm spelling the name right. I've seen a few ways of spelling it already :/ So forgive me any mistakes). See the ruins, the temples, see the former capital of Thailand... I was so looking for that trip. Yeah... I still am...

We spent our last night in Thailand in the same hostel, where we spent our first night. Instead of spending the evening in, we finally managed to get up and go out. It was hard, but we made it. We got to Khao San Road. But it wasn't the same street as two weeks earlier. It was much, much louder. And much, much more full of people! Gosh. I loved our first experience on Khao San Road and hated this last experience. Not what I was expecting, definitely not. We grabbed something to eat, quickly, and decided to wander around the smaller streets in the neighbourhood. Once we got back to our hostel, we started looking for alternatives to Ayutthaye. We didn't want to get through all the jammed streets again. Spent that much time on the bus, then train, just to get back to Bangkok to get transferred to the airport, get on one plane, then another, then on the train again until we got back home. That seemed too much for us. Plus the stress that we might not make it back on time due to traffic jam. No, definitely not.

But then, in our little travel guide (paper one. I love paper travel guides. I'm not a fan of apps), we found a place quite close by. A walking distance from our hostel. And we already had a plan for the following day.

We got up in the morning, ate a quick breakfast, packed our bags and left them in the hostel. We were off to exploit other parts of Bangkok. And on foot. Walking by beautiful places that, otherwise, we wouldn't have seen. Cause they're not touristy, not marked on maps. And they were right round the corner. Just a little bit in the back...

It was a nice, sunny morning, so it was even better for us (Bangkok in the sun, finally!). After a while of walking through the back sides of Bangkok, we finally got to Dusit Gardens. What did we want to see there? Vimanmek Mansion - that was our goal. Vimanmek Mansion, dating back to the beginnings of 1900s, is world's largest golden teakwood mansion. It took us a while to find the entrance through the big stone wall (we walked by the entrance to the royal palace before we finally got to the right one) , but once we found it... no, we were not there yet ;) I mean, we were, but it wasn't that eaasy to get inside the mansion. First, we had to buy the tickets. Then, there was a "proper dresscode" check. Phew, we made it. We could proceed. To the entrance? Well, not exactly. After a five minute walk through the garden (gorgeous, by the way), we got to another check point. Even though we were already right by the mansion, we couldn't get inside yet. First, we had to leave all our belongings in the lockers. And by all, I mean all. Cameras and phones seemed pretty obvious, not to mention any kinds of purses, bags and backpacks. But we also had to leave all kinds of hats, caps and even glasses. All we could take inside was a tiny travelguide that we bought at the entrance. Then, we could proceed to the mansion. No, not to the entrance. Don't run that fast! First, we had to get to the room in what seemed like a cellar to leave our shoes. And only then were we allowed to get inside. Ok, all that done. We can finally feast our eyes with the beauty of the building, the furniture, the china sets in various colours and the surrounding gardens. It took us about 45 minutes (more or less) to get through the mansion. We were in no hurry.

Having seen everything there was to see, we could go out, put our shoes on, collect our belongings and we were finally allowed to take some pictures of the mansion. Thank you.

We took a short walk through the gardens, wondering what else there was to see.

We saw some signs leading to a throne hall. We thought that that might be worth seeing. And we were not mistaken. From the outside, it reminded me a bit of a mixture of a few of European cathedrals, but it was worth getting inside. This time I had to put on extra clothes (women have to wear skirts, no pants allowed! even long ones are not enough. And what seemed like a proper sleeve length in the mansion, was no longer proper for the throne hall).

Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall looks impressive from the outside, but what it houses inside made an even bigger impression on me. Currently, it exhibits masterpieces of "Arts of the Kingdom V" by Support Foundation of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit of Thailand. Of course, we cameras were not allowed inside.

I can't even begin to describe the beauty of each and every single item displayed inside. The detailed works of art can feast the eyes even of those most reluctant to the beauty of art (me insluded. I'm not a fan of art galleries. I would rather get lost in the streets of a town or city, go on a hike or something than spend a few hours in an art gallery). I loved this one. At the entrance, each one of us got an audio guide that gave a lot of information on every piece of art. Including the time it took to make a give thing. And how many people were working on it. The numbers were massive, really impressive. But it's not just the art displayed that caught my attention in the building. It was the richly ornamented walls, floors and ceilings as well. Plus the massive halls. We spent about three hours inside (if I remember correctly. Well, we difinitely spent way more time inside than we anticipated) and we ran through the last halls (we were already exhausted... And starving!). If you plan to visit the place, grab a bite before you get inside. Learn on my mistakes ;)

Finally, we went to the zoo which was right across the street. The animals we saw there were mostly endangered species. Totally unfamiliar to me. I haven't seen them in any of the European zoos I have visited. Lizards, though (huge ones! The ones that Bangkok is famous for) were moving around freely. There were times when I felt safe just beacuse I was in the cage (on the Bird Island). And the lizard was simply watching me in the cage.

Then we got back on Khao San Road. Had our last Pad Thais. Collected our luggage and got to the airport. It was time to say goodbye to Bangkok and get back home. Goodbye Thailand. I miss you. I will come back.

Side note: I already wrote a post on visiting Dusit Gardens as a guest post on The Thrifty Gypsy's Travels. If you like, you can read it here.

Diana, Katrina, and Rachel

World's largest Golden Buddha

The last place we really wanted to see in Bangkok (I mean, the last place of our minimum of the minimum list, since we already saw the Grand Palace, Wat Pho and cruised the canals) was the China Town. And, in particular, Wat Traimit, aka the Temple of Golden Buddha.

A quick look at the map suggested that we should take off at either stop no. 4 or 5 of the water tram. There was hardly any difference in distance (as the map suggested). We decided to hop off at one of these stops and, later, hop on at the other. That way, we wouldn't have to walk the same way twice. Always a plus and more to see.

When our cruise down the canals ended (at stop no. 8, right next to Wat Pho, in case you were wondering), it started raining. And quite heavily. But by the time we were done with our lunch and back on the boat, it was already sunny.

The most important and most famous thing in the complex is the image of Golden Buddha. But not just any image. It's the world's largest image of Golden Buddha. It's 4 metres high and is made of 5 tonnes of 18 carat gold! That's a lot of jewellery you could make of it ;) It was made in 13th century in Sukhothai. In Traimit for twenty years it was covered with plaster shield and only in 1955, by a sheer accident (it fell off a crane during transportation and of the plaster cover got damaged), it was discovered that it was made of gold.

The figure is impressive. Huge. In order to enter the temple, you have to be properly dressed, of course. If you're not, you can rent (or be made to rent) some overalls.

Apart from seeing the insides with the Golden Buddha image (but not just that. And it's almost all covered with gold and crystals), it's also worth to have a look around the neighbourhood. In order to get into the temple, you have to climb a looot of stairs, so that makes it a good viewpoint.

Once we were done seeing everything around, we walked by the many food stands (all looked so delicious!) on our way to the pier. We hopped on the water tram, got to our hostel just in time to pick our backpacks and head to Khao San Road. We grabbed something to eat, something more to take with us on the way and boarded a night bus that took us to our next destination, away from the big city rush. 

Is there anything else you could recommend seeing or doing in Bangkok? Do you visit temples during your travels?