Day Nine - Thirteen

Last Wednesday, I flew from Singapore to Bangkok, and the past week was a "work" week, meaning less time spent outside and more inside behind a laptop.

During the week, I did manage to find time to wander around Bangkok, my "current" city.

The plan was to spend the evenings after work near the hotel and use the weekend to venture out further through Bangkok.

Benchakitti Forest Park

On the first evening, I explored Benchakitti Forest Park, a large park recently upgraded with illuminated walkways, which look really great in the dark.

Saturday Shopping in Siam

Running dangerously low on fresh shorts (I only brought one and bought one in Singapore), it was time to hit the mall for new clothes.

There are a number of huge shopping malls in Bangkok, and in the past, I didn't get the purpose of these vast buildings. As a European, I take a cozy shopping street in the city center over a shopping mall anytime, but in this 30+ degree weather with the sun blasting all day, I've come around to them.

I didn't stick around too long and explored the area around the malls instead.

Several canals are crossing Bangkok, and they are used for public transport by running boats through them at decently high speeds. The attendants don't always speak English, and I resorted to giving what I thought would be roughly the correct amount, and I got change back, so it worked out.

Sunday chilling in Lumphini Park

I planned to go to a nearby island called Ko Kret, which has a nice weekend market and is quite rural. You can only get around by walking or bike, and you can see local villages.

However, my recurring foot injury came back yesterday, and it made walking very difficult; time to give it some rest instead.

I bought a book at the mall yesterday, and Lumphini Park seemed like a nice place to read it. After getting lunch at a local 7-Eleven, I plopped down on a nice bench in the shade and read till dinner time.

Where to go for dinner... Chinatown was reasonably close by, and there was supposed to be a night market.

On the way, I came across a temple, Wat Hua Lamphong, the first one of this trip!

Keeping in mind the foot situation, I kept it short and took the metro for the rest of the trip to Chinatown.

Chinatown

Hot, crowded, and with delicious smells everywhere, the Chinatown night market certainly is a thing to experience.

The food is amazing and it's all freshly cooked for you on the spot.

The stands I picked seemed to have just enough provisions to last about half an hour and the rest is brought out as needed from storage units with coolers nearby.

Wander away only a couple of meters from the main night market street, and you're completely alone in eery back alleys.