After two months in beautiful northern Thailand, hot and dusty Bangkok isn’t quite hitting the sweet spot for us. We scour top ten lists of things to do and not much is piquing our interest so we’re reverting to our default travel mode, randomly exploring by public transportation, shopping, and eating.
We found an Ethiopian restaurant — one of our favorite cuisines — but getting there was going to be a bit of a challenge. We started with the riverboat, which was supposed to connect with a canal boat but when we got to the canal landing some locals told us the boat wasn’t running. A hot walk lead us to a bus stop and eventually to the restaurant. It took nearly two hours to get there but it was worth it!
We wisely sprung for a tuktuk ride back to the hotel.
One thing on everyone’s top ten list is a visit to the Golden Mount Temple, and while we’ve seen some fine temples during our time in SE Asia, this one promised a panoramic view of the city. So it was back on the riverboat and the long walk up the steps to the top.
In 1820 Bangkok suffered a cholera epidemic and so many bodies piled up that in some areas they resorted to allowing vultures to reduce the backup. This monument below the temple commemorates that gruesome period.
It was another oppressively hot day but luckily the temple grounds hosts a cafe with cold drinks, cooling towels and welcome shade.
As always we explored local markets.
One of the best ways to cool off in hot Asian cities is to go shopping in one of the massive malls. This is also an opportunity to get ice cream, always a noble pursuit.
This mall had the largest Starbucks we’ve ever seen, three levels plus an enormous outdoor patio with a fantastic view of the city.
The heat and dust are really getting to us. It’s time to move on.