It was indeed an early start (0500 hrs) as we set out in a taxi to Hua Lamphong Station. The taxi driver didn't seem to know where he was going which was somewhat alarming on a fairly tight time schedule! Driving through the dark streets on a Saturday morning was easy as most of the city was still asleep. The station looked very grand all lit up in the dawn light. We were off to Kanchanaburi....or so we thought. The ticket office informed us that there was only one seat left. So, we booked our tickets for tomorrow and reassessed our day!
Despite the offers of "Taxi", we know to opt for a "metered taxi" rather than being taken advantage of! We were driven back to Lumpini Park, where at 0545hrs, the fitness fanatics and Tai Chi classes were in full swing and the Food Court was brimming with activity and cats. No shortage of doughnuts today! Whilst the rest of the family opted for doughnuts, I thought I'd try Asian greens and amazing mushrooms for breakfast which were a good choice.
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| Doughnut stall with chickens |
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| 30 Baht for these sensational greens |
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| 30 Baht for these amazing mushrooms |
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| Lumpini Lake at sunrise |
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| Sunrise pink |
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| Good morning from a giant monitor lizard! |
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| Doughnuts for the rest of the gang. |
We walked back to our condo to rest for a bit before our next outing. The advantage of being up so early is that there seems to be hours of the day ahead. We decided to go to the Temple of Dawn or Wat Arun. With vague grumbles about "another temple" we coaxed the troops along and it was worth it!
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| Choppy water = sea sick even for a short journey. |
The Chao Praya River was a bit choppy and I felt sea sick just waiting on the pontoon and on the little barge across the river. The thick humid air didn't help.
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| Rahhhhhh! |
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| Suessian? |
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| Steep steps and they got steeper toward the top! |
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| Ornate mosaics from Chinese porcelain |
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| At the top! |
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| Surrounds looking over Chao Praya River |
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| See what I mean about steep? |
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| What an amazing piece of work! |
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| Rather gorgeous dragon |
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| Luke's fang face |
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| Mucking about with my husband! Pinching ourselves cos we're in Bangkok!! |
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| Love the "trufula" trees |
The beautiful gardens with "trufula" trees and Suessian style buildings lead me think that the dear doctor must have visited this city. The main attraction at Wat Arun is the 82m-high Ъrahng (Khmer-style tower). It was built during the 1800's by Rama II and later finished by Rama III. We did notice all the porcelain plates which decorated the tower in the form of ornate
floral mosaics, apparently Chinese porcelain. What good recycling to make
temple ornamentation from the discarded ballast from Chinese ships
who called at the port of Bangkok!
The 50 Baht admission encouraged us to risk life and limb climbing extremely steep and high steps up the outside of the tower. To be honest, the going up was less stressful than the going down! I am always amazed at immaculately dressed women in high heels and tight skirts attempting this kind of challenge. The one in front of me had to give up any thoughts of climbing higher and steeper. We all loved it and declared that it was NOT "just another temple".
The walk around the temple complex was pleasant especially as the rain broke the thick air at last. The three monkeys attracted our three monkeys!
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| My three cheeky monkeys |
Karl and Tim decided to go back home whereas Luke, Annika and I were keen to check out the Chatuchuk Market again to see the animals and try some more food.
First stop: mango and sticky rice, mango smoothie and even Luke ASKED for a watermelon smoothie instead of refusing to taste something new. Wow!! Next stop: chicken kebab and garlic bread. Third stop: coconut ice cream and our tummies were happy and full!
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| Favourite garlic bread |
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| Kebab stall! |
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| Coconut ice cream recommended by Bridget. |
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| Annika with coconut ice cream and Luke with Jade tortoises - win for everyone! |
The pet section was as awful and wonderful as it was last time. Several stalls banned photography for obvious reasons. The huge tortoises stuck in cages and the overcrowding of animals in tanks is really disturbing but in amongst all that are the most pampered and adored pets you have ever seen. Luke was delighted by a tree shrew and we showed Annika the toucans and racoon.
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| Feeding a baby sugar glider |
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| Miniature piglets |
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| Endearing sugar glider |
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| Sugar glider's palace |
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| Male tree shrew in a dress - not the only "Lady Boy" we saw today. |
Back through the thick crowd and onto the train. We misread our station, got off, tried to find familiar land marks and realised we were on the wrong train line and we actually had to alight at Chit Lom! We were home in no time and very glad to have had an extra day at the most amazing market!
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