I’ve wanted to visit Thailand for quite some time now. We almost made it certain to go there during the upcoming winter school break, but after a lot of talking, discussing and counting the days, we decided to postpone it for… no idea how long. We had a trip to Egypt still ahead of us, a cruise down the Nile river, and summer holidays to plan, so we decided not to dwell on the Thai idea. Once our cruise got cancelled, though, that idea popped right back into my head, made its place, a comfortable one, and made me book flight tickets for October. Rainy season, I know, but Thailand. I mean, Thailand. Rainy season couldn’t stop me.
Once we had our flight tickets, I could finally focus on reading about Thailand and planning the trip. There were so many places I wanted to visit, so many things I wanted to do, and so little time we could spend there. I was adding places to the list and then crossing them out again. That process went on and on for two weeks or so (we booked the flights a month before the trip), when I was finally content with the general plan. Not too thrilled, cause I still wanted to see more, visit more, do more, stay longer! But I was content enough. A good first trip, I kept telling myself. We had a little bit of a huge city sightseeing (Bangkok), a few active days on the west coast (Ao Nang in Krabi province. Yes, that’s the place from which you can go and see the famous PhiPhi Island. And no, we didn’t do that). Then we had a few days on an island that felt like a paradise on earth, just a little bit cluttered and full of trash. But still beautiful, though. Towards the end, we were to get back to the big city (Bangkok yet again) to go a bit north and see one of the former capitals of Thailand, Ayutthaye (or however that one is spelled, 'cause I’ve seen at least three or four different ways to spell it ;)). We didn’t get to the last one. But we saw some other parts of Bangkok instead.
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| Dusit Garden |
Thailand is full of colours, full of flavours, full of smells, full of energy, full of nature, full of contrast, full of friendly people. It’s easy to explore on your own. You can arrange everything beforehand, with the Internet as your main means for communication. Or you can get there and get everything organised while you’re already there. It’s up to you, both would surely turn out successful. Or, at least, both worked for us.
Today, I’d like to show you that even when you get to the most touristy places in Thailand, you don’t have to do the most cliché stuff there. I mean, you can, sure. They’re popular for a reason, I have no doubt in that. But you can try something else as well.
Bangkok is a city that never sleeps. With traffic jams that you can get stuck in for hours. And at any time, probably. That was one of the reasons why we didn’t decide to get out of Bangkok once we already got back to the city. Cause we spent the whole previous afternoon/early evening stuck in traffic jam on the way from the airport to our hostel. During our first stop in Bangkok we visited the most touristy spots in the city, i.e. the Grand Palace (with the Emerald Buddha statue), Wat Pho (with the Lying Buddha statue), Wat Traimit (with the Golden Buddha statue), we cruised the canals of Bangkok, got lost in the Chinese district, had a tuk tuk ride, had a water tram ride, watched a Thai cultural show on Khao San Road, ate the most delicious coconut ice cream I’ve ever had, tried some exotic fruit and the famous pad thai. On our second stop in the city, we decided to explore some other parts of the city, that we couldn’t read as much about in the travel guides. Bits and pieces in “additional stuff” sections, yes. But not the “hey, you’ve gotta visit this place for sure” revelations.
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| Dusit Garden |
We stayed in a hostel which was a walking distance from Khao San Road. Close enough to get there any time we wanted to, but far enough for us to stay in a quieter neighbourhood with lots of local food stalls and tiny restaurants. A walking distance from our hostel (for us a walking distance can be long, but it took us about half an hour to get there) was a place called the Dusit Garden.
First, we wanted to see world’s largest golden teakwood mansion – Vimanmek Mansion. In order to get inside, you have to be properly dressed. Sleeves covering your shoulders, pants/skirts covering your knees are a must, both for men and women. Once you get past the proper dresscode control, you might feel like you’ve made it, you’re in, you’re about to see the mansion. Yes. And no. You get closer to it, that’s true, but then there’s another control point. You have to leave all your belongings in lockers. And by all, I mean all. Cameras, phones, sunglasses, hats… You can buy yourself a book guide, though. And that you are allowed to take inside. Left everything and ready to get inside? Yet again, almost. You get to the mansion building itself and you’re asked to leave your shoes. It’s common in Thailand to get in many places barefoot. Vimanmek Mansion is no different in that respect. But once you leave your shoes, you can finally get inside the mansion. The mansion dates back to the sole beginning of the twentieth century. And it’s all made of teakwood. Beautifully ornamented, it houses a wide collection of china, ivory, beautiful furniture, and family souvenirs. Through the windows, you can see other parts of the building, its gardens and waters. There were not too many people inside, so there was no rush in seeing the place and no one was getting into our way. Always a plus. Once you get out of the mansion and pick up your belongings from the lockers, you are allowed to photograph the mansion from the outside. Seeing the mansion doesn’t take too much time and, as for me, it’s worth it. Especially that it’s not the only building to see in Dusit Garden.
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| Vimanmek Mansion |
Apart from seeing some smaller buildings, mostly housing some parts of the exhibition, you can also see the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall. The largest stone building in the garden, totally different from all the other ones in the area, is a place where you can learn more about modern Thai art. It’s a building that houses the Exhibition of Masterpieces of Arts of the Kingdom V by the Support Foundation of HM Queen Sirikit. I’m not into galleries, art, not even too much into museums. But we were intrigued enough to get into this building as well. It’s enormous. Women have to wear long skirts or dresses, pants are not allowed (I had to put on a skirt on top of my trousers. And a top that was ok in Vimanmek, was no longer ok here – had to put on a t-shirt). Once you get inside, you are given an audio guide that takes you through the exhibit. You can learn a lot about Thai art. Contemporary yet traditional at the same time. All of the stuff they display inside was made for the royal family within the last twenty years (more or less). The masterpieces are made using the following techniques: woodcarving, beetle wing decoration, embroidery, weaving, to name a few. Some are made using a mixture of techniques. They are very detailed, perfectly made. Gorgeous. I couldn’t stop marvelling at them. And they were so much different from the art seen in Europe. Me, not a fan of galleries, couldn’t leave the place. Luckily, I got hungry.
Many people get overwhelmed with Bangkok. With its atmosphere. Its noise. The amount of people you see everywhere. But once you get away from the most touristy spots, you might find it more pleasant. Or, at least, most bearable. We surely did. If you want to find out what else we did in Thailand, make sure to visit my blog,
Me and My Itchy Feet, or like my
Facebook page!
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| Dusit Garden |
Like many museums in London, the British Museum has no entry fee for the permanent exhibits, although a suggested donation of 3-5 euros per person is appreciated, particularly if you grab a museum map. And since the British Museum encompasses 990,000 square feet (that's 22 acres), you may actually need a map to find all the artifacts you want to see. Come prepared with a game plan or you'll leave exhausted!
Having explored Athens earlier this year, my September 2015 visit to the British Museum provided the perfect opportunity to view the sculptures and friezes taken from the Parthenon between 1801 and 1812. The marbles and statues are, in a word, amazing. These 2,000 year old pieces of history are in remarkable condition, although their current display in the British Museum leaves much to be desired as they blend in with the gray walls of the room. No two figures are alike, and the detail invested into each carving manifests the pride the artist took in creating these masterpieces.
