We begin this stay in Thailand with the capital, Bangkok. Very well known and reputed around the world as the place to be for travellers in South East Asia, Bangkok is a good mix between cultural visits (iconic temples and superb museums), but also amazing parties, in roof top bars or in Khao San Road. Easy to remember Leonardo diCaprio in the movie The Beach!
First feelings
First, Bangkok is very big and spread so that you have to focus on specific areas during your trip. Very dynamic, as Ho-Chi-Minh city is in Vietnam, we need at least 1 hour to come from the airport to our hotel in the centre of Bangkok. As you can imagine, traffic is pretty bad! But we find a good hotel, located in a quiet area not far from Khao San Road, one of the best places for travellers to enjoy quality night life and all commodities that you can expect from this big city. You immediately feel you are on holidays! But it is good to choose carefully your neighbourhood as it needs to be not far from the river and public transports (to be able to go and visit historic places easily), near good restaurants and bars but also in calm and quiet places so that you can rest after a long day out!
What to see?
In Bangkok, most of the interesting places are not far from each other, near the river. That’s why we decide to commute with a local boat to reach the quay and discover the Gian Buddha in the Wat Pho temple, an astonishingly golden. Not far, we walk to the Royal Palace and the Wat Prakaew, built in 1782 and which have been the king’s palaces for more that 150 years. We continue with Wat Arun, built at the beginning of XIX century, dominating the city and the river with the impressive and imposing columns. Also if you have time, don’t forget to pay a visit to the floating markets, particularly the Damnoen Saduak, the pioneer market, where you can find absolutely every kind of vegetables and fruits, although it has become bit too much for tourists these past years.
We jump in a cab to reach the central station, from which we will take a night train. As usual, Bangkok is buzzing at night time!
Then we head off to Chiang Mai, north of the country! We take a night train, good way to save time and a night in a hotel, and a typical experience!