Bangkok Adventures Day 1

Our first full day in Bangkok.  Oh, it was gloriously warm.  It wasn't that cold in Seoul, but it was cold enough.  So it was delightful to be in a place that steamed up my glasses when I stepped outside.  We stayed at the Royal Princess Larn Luang, since that was the ISCGM meeting location (and the reason for the trip).  We were able to walk around a fair bit, although the hotel was just a bit beyond comfortable walking range for a few places.

In the hallway near the elevator, they had a bowl full of flowers.  And yes, they're real (and yes, I poked them to find out).  By day 2, they weren't looking quite so fresh as they were the first day.



We headed towards one of the palaces near the zoo first.  This is one of the pedestrian bridges over the canal.


Statue of King Rama V.  It happened to be the anniversary of his death that day, so temples were open for free, and people were leaving flowers and offerings at the foot of the statue. They would put them on a tray, and one of the guard would take the tray when it was full and put the items near the statue.


One of the many palaces or palace type places along our route.

Monitor lizard along one of the canals.  Turns out we saw several of these along our walk along the canal.  Along with a few people with fish nets wading in the water.


This is Wat Benchamabophit Dusitvanaram, a Buddhist temple also known as the Marble Temple.


Dogs of Bangkok.
At the temple we saw several dogs wandering about or even just lazing about.  After being in Seoul, where I rarely, if ever, see stray dogs, it was kind of surprising to find dogs all about in Bangkok.

Smaller structure within the temple grounds.


Bangkok parking.


I love being in places where the plants and flowers are so lush and green.  And I am still fascinated by all the houseplants that grow outside and can turn into gigantic bushes or trees.


Colors of Bangkok.

More houseplants outside.  I still find it fascinating to see these kinds of plants, the ones I have in little pots in my house, everywhere outside.


Corner of a roof seen through vegetation.


Golden Mount, another Buddhist temple.


This one is almost like a ride at Disneyland.  You go up one side (one way traffic), with things to see along the way, like this row of bells.

View from the top of Golden Mount.

After our walking adventure, we went back to the hotel to relax, then headed out to Pat Pong that evening for additional entertainment.  Pat Pong is the red light district that caters to foreigners.  And as you walk down the  street, all the various "salespeople" come up with menus of things you can pay to see, none of which are appropriate to describe in a public forum, so I will leave them to your imagination.  This is where we were followed by a European man, and when we stopped and turned around, he immediately said he was married and had kids.  We managed to ditch him in the Japanese section of Pat Pong, where all the signs were in Japanese.