A market in Bangkok, Thailand - day 1

Yesterday and today we were in port in Bangkok,Thailand's capital city. Bangkok has a population estimated at 11,069,982! Locals call it Krungthep or "City of Angels." But its real name is 169 characters long and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest name of any place. 

Here ya go - Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahinthara Yutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udom Ratchaniwet Mahasathan Amonphiman Awatansathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukamprasit. This translates roughly to "city of angels, city of immortals, city of 9 gems, seat of the king, city of royal palaces, home of gods incarnate". I read that there are over 4,000 temples in Bangkok, at least 30,000 of which are still in use. Not surprising, as there seems to be one on every block. They are all very ornate (gaudy) and like my sister Marilyn says, you've seen one, you've seen 'em all. We try to pick the excursions with the fewest number of temples.

Bangkok is also considered the world's hottest city, according to the World Meteorological Organization. And it is sometimes called "Venice of the East" because it is built on dozens of canals and is home to many structures on stilts. 

Since we didn't have a planned excursion here, we and another couple from the ship decided to do a little sight seeing by using the hop on/hop off bus to take us to different parts of the city. We didn't dock until around 2 pm so we got a late start. We first took the Oceania shuttle bus which was dropping people off at a huge shopping mall. From that mall, we needed to walk to another nearby mall (maybe a 10-15 minute walk) to reach the hop on/off bus location. We finally arrived, only to learn that it was already closed. So Ronnie, being the navigator extraordinaire that he is, suggested that we ride the train to the water canals that I really hoped to see. We agreed so we tagged along behind him as he purchased sky train tickets and managed to get us to the correct gate. 

This is much harder than it sounds because you first have to figure out where to go to buy tickets, be able to count out the right amount of local currency and then navigate your way around in a huge unfamiliar city (did I mention the 11+ million people live here?) Amazingly, he was able to take us exactly where we were trying to go - only to discover when we arrived that it was a market by the same name and not the REAL canals that I was hoping to see. 

Whatever, we were blown away by this huge market and the good news is that it was all indoors. It was sensory overload as well as being super crowded but we enjoyed just walking around and seeing it anyway. I apologize in advance if this is too many photos, but I want to give you a real feel for what the market was like.

 

Bangkok's skyline (seen from Chao Phraya River) goes for miles and miles! 

 

always need to account for traffic - night or day

a motorcycle parking lot

a city full of skyscrapers

inside (above ground) train station

which gate will get us where we want to go?

waiting on train platform

Fast forward and we finally find the place, although it was not the place I thought we were going. Instead of being on the real canal with vendors riding in long skinny boats offering their their fruits and vegetables for sale, it was a big market with hundreds of food sellers inside selling everything from beautiful fruits to chicken feet to cuttings off an entire cooked alligator! And individuals as well as entire families vying for stools and tables to sit while they ate their dinner.

get your chicken here

BBQ squid

different types of rice noodles

claiming a short table and stool requires patience and/or luck

duck feet?

beautiful mangoes

the inside of the market looks kind of "temple-esque"

this is what the inside of a durian looks like

durian - you smell them the minute you enter

Thai "fast food"

very fresh lobsters

fresh rambutan, lychee

young lady let me snap a picture of her meal

this little piggy went to market

some type of crepe taco-looking thing?

some kind of sweet dessert?

chicken feet?

coconut filled with various ingredients (sweet)

smoked alligator

lobster somethings

fried squid eggs?

(whole) chicken on a stick

beautiful pomegranates

colorful lanterns on ceiling inside market

After an hour or so, we were starting to get hungry so we walked back to the mall to find transportation back to the ship. There was a celebration of some kind going on with music and a water show in the giant fountains so I snapped a few more photos.

Instead of renting a taxi, we thought it might be fun to return to the port by tuk tuk. Ronnie negotiated the rate for what was SUPPOSED to be 2 tuk tuks for 4 persons (they are designed for 2 persons). We thought it was too much so we walked back over to get a cab. At that point, the tuk tuk driver came to get us and agreed to a price, so we followed him back to get in the tuk tuks, but then he said it was for only 1 tuk tuk! Grrr!!! Frustrating! But being the good sports that we are, we decided we could do it. I only wish I had a video of us trying to get in and out of that thing - it was rediculous!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy some of the many photos I snapped during our outing.

hundreds of people outside the mall (water fountains on left)

crowd outside mall

And a few seconds from our 9 mile tuk tuk ride....