Yesterday we decided to go to Dusit Park, which is kind of like a big center in downtown Bangkok for memorials, etc. (it reminded me a lot of DC). There is the zoo, which we didn't go in because it's apparently sad and the animals live in bad conditions. My favorite place was the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, which has a two story exhibit on different thrones and gifts basically made for the King and Queen. A majority of the things were made with beetle wings, nothing I can say will put how beautiful everything was to justice. Sadly, you can't take pictures inside (and I can't really find any online), but there were multiple thrones, "saddles" for riding elephants, and
models of barges. Everything was plated with gold, the barge I linked even has diamonds as it's eyes and dangling out of its mouth. One strange part about this wonderful museum is the exterior and multiple
frescoes inside. It felt like being inside a
Thai Sistine Chapel! We were all definitely in sensory overload, the entire time. They did give us headphones for an audio tour which was really cool and helped remind us why all of the pieces were made and why they were important. At the end of each explanation it said how many artists worked on the piece and how long it took- which was one of the most surprising parts about each piece! They usually took about 60-100 workers and anywhere between 300ish days to 6 months to over a year!
After the memorial we pretty much just wandered around outside the park. It was about 1 PM at this point and we knew all the museums closed at 3, so we had to hurry and find another museum to go to. There are 5-6 different museums/attractions on the maps at Dusit Park, none of which we could get into or find for that matter. We ended up at the National Library (which was closed) but re-grouped ourselves at the coffee shop attached. In the Lonely Planet guidebook we found a restaurant and immediately headed over there- which turned out to be our best decision of the day! After walking through a random alley, we crossed some planks into what seemed to be a dock, but was actually the restaurant (called
Kaloang Home Kitchen). We were the only people there for most of the time, and it was the most peaceful I've felt the entire trip. It was right on the water and had an amazing view with an awesome breeze. The menu was also in English, and one of the workers spoke English so we ended up getting one of the best meals I've had in Bangkok (which is saying a lot). Everything is pretty much family style here, so we got: fried frog legs, "spicy" stir fried fish, a green curry, a chicken pineapple dish, crispy kale, and obviously rice. It was amazing!
After eating an amazing meal, we wandered around and stumbled upon a gorgeous temple. We didn't go inside because we weren't sure what the protocol was and there wasn't really anyone around, but I took some cool pictures of the outside!
And some random pictures I took while wandering around downtown...
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| Yes those are fish, in a "TV" |
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| Tuk-tuks! Without harassing drivers |
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| Sun-drying fish, on the back of a bike |
Yesterday we decided to go to Dusit Park, which is kind of like a big center in downtown Bangkok for memorials, etc. (it reminded me a lot of DC). There is the zoo, which we didn't go in because it's apparently sad and the animals live in bad conditions. My favorite place was the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, which has a two story exhibit on different thrones and gifts basically made for the King and Queen. A majority of the things were made with beetle wings, nothing I can say will put how beautiful everything was to justice. Sadly, you can't take pictures inside (and I can't really find any online), but there were multiple thrones, "saddles" for riding elephants, and models of barges. Everything was plated with gold, the barge I linked even has diamonds as it's eyes and dangling out of its mouth. One strange part about this wonderful museum is the exterior and multiple frescoes inside. It felt like being inside a Thai Sistine Chapel! We were all definitely in sensory overload, the entire time. They did give us headphones for an audio tour which was really cool and helped remind us why all of the pieces were made and why they were important. At the end of each explanation it said how many artists worked on the piece and how long it took- which was one of the most surprising parts about each piece! They usually took about 60-100 workers and anywhere between 300ish days to 6 months to over a year!
After the memorial we pretty much just wandered around outside the park. It was about 1 PM at this point and we knew all the museums closed at 3, so we had to hurry and find another museum to go to. There are 5-6 different museums/attractions on the maps at Dusit Park, none of which we could get into or find for that matter. We ended up at the National Library (which was closed) but re-grouped ourselves at the coffee shop attached. In the Lonely Planet guidebook we found a restaurant and immediately headed over there- which turned out to be our best decision of the day! After walking through a random alley, we crossed some planks into what seemed to be a dock, but was actually the restaurant (called Kaloang Home Kitchen). We were the only people there for most of the time, and it was the most peaceful I've felt the entire trip. It was right on the water and had an amazing view with an awesome breeze. The menu was also in English, and one of the workers spoke English so we ended up getting one of the best meals I've had in Bangkok (which is saying a lot). Everything is pretty much family style here, so we got: fried frog legs, "spicy" stir fried fish, a green curry, a chicken pineapple dish, crispy kale, and obviously rice. It was amazing!
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