After thousands of new experiences and
impressions of the Summer School, we are ready to start our exchange semester
in Bangkok! Having discovered more of Bangkok’s surroundings than of Bangkok
itself, we started with a quick “touri” tour through Bangkok’s old city by
foot.
Starting at the BTS Station National
Stadium, we got a quick tour through the Jim Thompson House. Jim Thompson was a
famous American entrepreneur in Thailand since he discovered the high value of
Thai silk and exported it in the time from 1950 to 60. His house is full of
impressive Southeast Asian art and furniture that he collected on his trips in
Asia.
Afterwards, we took a nearby boat cab to
the middle of Bangkok’s old city. This alone was worth an experience: the boat
cabs just passed by the harbor stations in some seconds, so that you almost had
to jump on the cap. Safely back on the ground, we went to one of the most
famous temples Bangkok’s, the Wat Saket also known as the Golden Mountain.
Built first by King Rama III in the 18th century, the first attempt
failed because of the soft nature of the hill’s ground. The current temple was
built on the remains of the original one during the reign of King Rama IV and
V. The 300 steps to the top were the most exciting part of this short temple
climb. Unfortunately, the temple inside is covered with donation boxes and
souvenir shops no one really expects to be at a holy place like this.
Nevertheless, the way up to the temple and the view is worth to go there, many
beautiful bells are waiting for you to be rung.
Our way continued via the famous Khao San Road
- the so-called Backpacker Road - to the beautiful City Pillar Shrine. To have
some cheap drinks in the evening, Khao San Road seems to be the place to be.
But if you do not want to be reminded of Ballermann on Majorca, there are many
nice Thai bars and clubs in the city center of Bangkok. From there we went on
to have a look at the massive King’s Palace. The area is full of impressive
buildings, but we decided not to join every single tour, but to enjoy the pompous
style of its environment.
The time ran by, and we got hungry, so that
we took again a nearby boat cab back to River City from where we walked along
the riverside to the BTS Station Saphan Taksin. On the way, we discovered an
amazing “hipster” café called the
hobbyist. I saw the front of the café, and knew that we have to go inside
to have a cup of coffee. But instead of a coffee, we took a hot milk with
caramel and one with toffee nut flavor. Amazing, a café specialized in hot milk
- and very delicious. Besides hot milk, the café also offers a wide variety of
shakes such as Oreo or banana shake, all kinds of coffees, and some delicious
dishes, like self-made pasta, and French fries. Instead of hipsters, many high
school youngsters were sitting in the café doing their homework or just having
fun, so that you also have the chance to meet local people here.
On this day, we were looking for local
food, so that we went back on the street, into the smallest allays Bangkok’s.
And there we found the best Pad Thai we ever had, cooked from a toothless old
lady, with such efforts that it had to taste good in the end. We enjoyed the
Pad Thai on the terrace of our bed & breakfast Repos Casa, where we stayed
until we could move in into our new accommodation. At this little boutique
hotel, we met the friendliest service we have ever experienced. They offered us
a room upgrade free of charge since we were the only guests at this time,
provided a cold welcome drink, and gave us lots of valuable tips where to go in
Bangkok. The sister of the owner even offered us to teach Thai, so that we are
still visiting this nice place to really get to know the local people and to be
able to communicate with them, to some extent.
Stay hungry, stay foolish,
Kim & Robert
Kim & Robert
