Twelve days has passed since I came back from my Thailand trip, and I still have a hangover! Touring, shopping and going all around Thailand is one helluva experience.

When I got to Bangkok, my first impression was that it was just like Metro Manila, only cleaner and more orderly. The Sathorn road traffic below really looks similar to an EDSA traffic scene.

However, after going around and getting a glimpse of Thailand’s city life, Bangkok soon became less and less like Manila. There are shrines and altars situated in some unlikely places, street vendors selling strawberries and various spicy foods, and tuktuks ‘cruising’ the traffic jammed road.

For our first day, my friends and I decided to tour the must-see places in Bangkok – The Grand Palace, Wat Pho, and Wat Arun. And since we’re all trying to save our money for shopping, we opted not to avail of any tour packages and just go there ourselves. Good thing our hotel was just right beside the BTS; it made commuting and getting to places really easy.

Our first stop was supposed to be the Grand Palace. Unfortunately, there were several tuktuk drivers that tried to scam us. They kept telling us that the Grand Palace was close and that our only choice was to ride their tutktuks to Wat Pho. That would’ve been okay IF they weren’t charging us THB140 per tuktuk! Because of that we ended up walking on and on just to avoid them, and well, we ended up in Wat Pho anyway.

The place was amazing. I haven’t been in a Buddhist temple before, thus, everything seems so new to me. It would’ve been nice if we had a guide that could’ve narrated the history of the place. Unfortunately, we were on our own on this one. There were several times that we chanced upon a group with an English speaking tour guide, and overheard several snip-bits of the temple’s history.

Initially, I thought that Wat Pho was going to be small place, where you’ll just find the temple with the giant Reclining Buddha. I was wrong, there was so much to see. But, of course, I don’t think anything could top the huge reclining buddha. I’ve never imagined that it would be that tall and long.

[Wat Pho Entrance Fee: THB50]

After that, we decided to go back to the Grand Palace via tuktuks. The tuktuk ride was an adventure in itself. I’ve always thought that the most dangerous vehicles can be found in Manila, I guess I was wrong. The tuktuk ride was some sort of a roller coaster ride. After that, I never rode the tuktuk during my whole stay in Bangkok.

Everyone says that you cannot leave Bangkok without going to the Grand Palace. And they were right. The place was amazing.

The place was shinning and shimmering in gold.

There were also lots of artwork, and very fine intricate details. I would love to say a more refined, and articulate description of the entire place, but I can’t. You have to be there.

I could just imagine how their royalty lived before. It must’ve been something. And yes, I was able to take a picture of the Emerald Buddha, but I was outside when I took it. I think I exhausted my camera’s zooming feature.

The place is perfect for taking pictures. I couldn’t stop.

Here’s one picture with one of the palace guards. It must’ve taken great discipline just to stand there all day without moving, while pesky tourists takes pictures of you.

There were definitely lots of things to see at the Grand Palace. When you think you’ve seen the entire place, you’ll suddenly find yourself in a totally different area. It was huge! If we weren’t so  tired and hungry, we would’ve probably checked out everything.

[Grand Palace Entrance Fee: THB350]

After the tiring tour of the Grand Palace, our next stop was finding food. It only took us a few minutes to find a restaurant just outside the Grand Palace. It wasn’t an authentic Thai restaurant, but it’ll do as we were hungry already. Afterwards, our next stop was Wat Arun.

This temple was amazing. The view was breathtaking; it’s especially exquisite when viewed on the boat. What’s great about Wat Arun is that you can climb it. What’s not so great about it is the steep stairs and the terrifying way down.

Climbing up the stairs of Wat Arun was not easy. The steps were high and narrow. It was more like climbing a ladder rather than a stair. But then, the real challenge for me was going down. It was the thought of not being able to go down and my legs betraying me that made it difficult. If you’re afraid of heights, I strongly suggest to hype yourself up for this, and make it some sort of getting-over-your-fear challenge. [Wat Arun Entrance Fee: THB50]

After the long tiring day, we decided to treat ourselves and try out one of Bangkok’s fancy restaurant. Fortunately, the Blue Elephant Restaurant is just right beside our hotel. So we headed over there and tried out their dishes.

The restaurant had a very classy, romantic and antique feel to it. Though some people may find it intimidating. As for the food, all I can say is that it was definitely good. If I wasn’t on a budget, I would’ve ordered more. My only peeve was that the drink Blue Mai Thai tasted like medicine mixed with vodka.

After dinner, we wanted to experience Bangkok’s night life. Initially, we had Bed Supper Club in mind. It took us probably around 30 minutes searching for the place in Sukhumvit Soi 11. However, upon getting there, we found out that there was an entrance fee. Unfortunately, it was just too pricey for me, especially after the fancy dinner we had. So thanks to me, we had to find another place. Unfortunately, most of the bars we passed by were either closing or full already. The Australian was one of the few bars that were open and had available tables.

And this is the story of how we ended up in an Australian pub while in Thailand. The place was okay. If you’re looking for a place to chill while listening to music, or watching a game, then the Australian is for you. I can’t recommend it for their food because I didn’t try any. But their cocktail drinks were good. My favorite was their Sex On Bondi Beach drink. However, the prices of the drinks were kinda expensive. But then again, I was converting everything to pesos, and comparing the prices to the drinks in Manila.

We stayed until the pub closed at around 01:30 AM. It was quite early compared to the 02:00 – 03:00 AM closing time of  most bars here in Manila. But it wasn’t really a good idea to be out so late, especially when we plan to shop at Chatuchak the following day. Still, that didn’t stop us from looking for a 24-hour McDonald’s.

We finally found our McDonald’s after walking for several blocks, and discovering that “5-minutes away” in Thailand really means you’ll be walking for 20-minutes.

And that’s it for Day 1. It was definitely a long and adventurous day.