I arrived into Bangkok after a 6 and a half hour flight from Perth around mid afternoon, and after a small queue for immigration, I was granted a 60 day visa. Locating my transfer was a little chaotic, the drive from Suvarnabhumi airport to my hotel in Chinatown took around an hour and a quarter, and as we approached Chinatown, the traffic almost came to a standstill.
After checking in, I went in search of some food. This wasn’t difficult to find as I was staying on Yaowarat Road in the heart of Chinatown and as it was now the early evening, the street food markets were in full force. Being a little careful on my first day in Asia, I opted for some dumplings which were cooked in front of me with some flames thrown in for good measure. I spent a while wandering up and down the markets and absorbing the chaotic atmosphere which was in fairly sharp contrast to what I’d come from in Australia.
The next day I’d booked myself on a half day street food tour of Chinatown (which I’d literally booked in the taxi from the airport), which started in the late morning. We had 15 different dishes, and there was only 1 I wasn’t a fan of (a sort of unripe mango with spicy dipping sauce)!! Also we walked through the back streets of Chinatown which I don’t think I’d have had the courage to do on my own
After the tour, I went to the Golden Buddha, and also to Wat Mangkon Kamalawat (a Chinese Buddhist temple). Despite it being very busy for the holidays in Bangkok, it was very peaceful in both temples.
More food in Chinatown in the evening, Singapore Chicken and Rice, with delicious chicken broth, for 90 baht (about £2.20).
The next day, before my G Adventures tour started in the evening, I went to the Grand Palace, which I’d missed the last time I was in Thailand. I took the metro to the closest station and walked the rest of the way – quite proud of myself for navigating Bangkok public transport, (with the help of Google maps and a google search of how to buy MRT tickets – you can tap Visa/Mastercard cards at the gates, I’ve not yet seen Applepay accepted anywhere here).
As it was very close to New Year, it was very busy. Additionally, as the Queen Mother has recently died, there were lots of mourners at the palace. The Temple of the Emerald Buddha was particularly crowded which was a little overwhelming.
After meeting the group in the evening – only 8 in total for the first part of this trip, 2 weeks to Hanoi through northern Thailand and Laos, the smallest G Adventures group I have been on since Peru in 2015 – we went for dinner in a local restaurant and then drinks in the rooftop bar of the hotel we were staying in.
The next morning started with a longboat tour of the klongs (canals) in Bangkok which ended at Wat Po. I went to Wat Po on my previous visit to Thailand in 2019 but found I’d remembered very little of it beyond the Reclining Buddha, and I’d even forgotten how big that was!
We then had a free afternoon before boarding an overnight train north to Chiang Mai. A new train station in Bangkok has been built in between my visits, the new station is very spacious and easy to navigate around. The train departed shortly after 7pm for the 12 hour journey north. The seats were very quickly changed into beds, one upper (which I was on) and one lower. There were also western style toilets which were a definite improvement on my previous overnight train here! I can’t say I got a good nights sleep though, the carriage lights were on all night and despite individual curtains, it didn’t do much to block the light.
We arrived into Chiang Mai just before 8am and went for breakfast before 4 of us opted for a Thai cooking class. A great experience and some delicious food for us to eat for lunch.
In the afternoon we had a trip to Doi Suthep temple, high on the hillside just outside of Chiang Mai. Even once you’ve driven up the windy hillside to get to it, there are still 300 or so steps to walk up to reach the temple. Again it was busy with people enjoying the holidays but there was a lovely peaceful air there
It was New Year’s Eve and so after visiting the night markets and watching a Ladyboys Cabaret show, we headed to the old town to watch the New Year fireworks. Definitely a different way for me to be celebrating new year!!
After a free morning on New Year’s Day, we set off to the border town of Chiang Khong, stopping at the White Temple in Chiang Rai on the way. A very different style of temple to others seen so far, and much more contemporary, but the contrast of the white with the sky and surroundings is spectacular
We reached Chiang Khong in the early evening and after dinner at a local restaurant, including exchanging some baht for Lao kip, it was a relatively early night ready for the border crossing into Laos and my first new country of this trip…
catsgreatadventure 