Our second day in Bangkok was relaxing and fun, albeit hot. We woke up feeling fairly well rested and set off for the Wat Arun temple, aka the Temple of Dawn. We started off by taking the ferry there. We then realized upon arrival that the actual temples were ages away from the ferry stop so we contemplated what to do. Jorge thought it would be fun to take the moto taxi, aka licensed drivers who take you on their motorcycles. We each got our own helmet and popped on the back of two different motorbikes for a 10 minute ride (would be been at least 40 minutes walking). It was fun zooming through a section of Bangkok that was relatively un-touristy.
Once we arrived, we headed into the temples, and much to my dismay, they were mostly under construction, so we really couldn’t get that full sense of awe, but it was okay. It was actually pretty cool to see the people hand-renovating the temples using hammers, plaster and paint, going to painstaking lengths to make sure every detail was perfectly represented. We enjoyed a nice walk around and then realized that we could get a quick boat to the ferry we needed to be on to get back to our main area. By then the hunger pains had set in and we hada great lunch at one of my favorite BKK restaurants, Tongue Thai, and then went back to hotel for a swim.
After a few hours, we headed back out to Khao San road to grab a Singha beer and do a little shopping for cheap shirts/ Chang pants and enjoy some street food. Once we’d had our fill of the tacky backpacker street and were all shopped out, we got a foot massage at a nearby joint and then took a Tuk Tuk over to Cloud 47, a newish rooftop bar. The city views were incredible and the drinks were flowing.
I highly recommend checking out Cloud 47. We decided we wanted a more local, sexier rooftop experience than the typical one from Hangover 2 at the Le Bua towers, so we did a little research and it paid off. Insane views, nice service, no dress code (Jorge happily sported shorts, a tank and flip flops) and best of all—just a few bucks for a beer instead of $15 which is what several other rooftop bars charge. Go there! You will love it.
Our last day in Bangkok included a morning at the gym and pool (gotta work off all that curry) followed by an afternoon at the Siam Paragon mall complete with the VIP movie theatre. I told Jorge that Magic Mike XXL was an action flick and he agreed to see it with me (hehe!).
We purchased the special VIP tickets for $30, which typically I would NEVER pay for a movie but I really wanted to experience this VIP cinema I’d heard so much about. The ticket includes: movie entrance with seats that recline into beds (similar to a first class airline seat) and before the movie you get your choice of wine/beer plus snack in the swanky, heavily air conditioned lounge. You also get a 15 minute massage which you can enjoy before or after the film. We started off with wine and popcorn, got our 15 minute massage and then headed into the movie. Jorge was surprised that my definition of an action film included male strippers, but the experience was fun and different, great for a one-time activity.
We then headed out to our last night in the nearby airport hotel to wake up early for our flight to Mandalay. Stay tuned for Myammar!
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