The City of Angels

"The City of Gods, the Great City, the Residence of the Emerald Buddha, the Impregnable City (of Ayutthaya) of God Indra, the Grand Capital of the World Endowed with Nine Precious Gems, the Happy City Abounding in Enormous Royal Palaces Which Resemble the Heavenly Abode Wherein Dwell the Reincarnated Gods, a City Given by Indra and Built by Vishnukarm," – I copied this verbatim from my guidebook, and for good reason – it is the word-by-word translation of the official Thai name for Bangkok.

I spent just over five full days in the Thai capital on my way to an island resort in Phuket. How can I summarize my stay? It was far too short to see all this wonderful city has to offer. Let me see: cheap (by Western standards, of course) five-star hotels, yummy local food (though you must love spices to enjoy it), atypical (for anyone more accustomed to traveling in Europe or the United States) architecture.

Among the sites you cannot miss – however short your stay might be – are: - Wat Arun temple, or the Temple of Dawn;
- Wat Pho, or the Temple of the Reclining Buddha;
- Wat Phra Kaeo, also known as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha;
- The Thai National Museum;
- The Grand Palace;
- The Floating Market – a feature unique to this city;
- Royal Thai Decorations & Coins Pavilion;
- Vimanmek Mansion Museum;
- The Orchid Garden – there I took some of my best photographs I brought home from Thailand

If you have anything like a free day, you could invest it in an out-of-town excursion to the ancient city of Ayutthaya (the full name of which is a mind-blowing Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya), which served as the capital of Thailand for exactly 417 years from 1350 to 1767. It is situated just under 80 kilometers from Bangkok and has good transportation links, or you can book one of dozens of daily tours.

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

You are better off hiring a taxi or using public transport than navigating traffic-jammed streets on your own.

As one of the world’s prime museums, the Thai National Museum in Bangkok was started at the Grand Palace in order to include the private collection of antiquities of the local monarch – in this case, King Mongkut (King Rama IV, 1851-1868). It was also the first museum ever in Thailand. It was made public by King Mongkut’s son, King Chulalongkorn (King Rama V, 1868-1910).

The museum’s goal is to preserve Thai history and heritage through sizeable collections of art, archaeological and cultural objects. You should start by exploring some of the country’s history with a black-stone inscription from Sukhothai, which is the oldest-known record of the wonderfully crafted Thai alphabet. Although the majority of the museum’s pieces are from Thailand, there are some wonderful antiques from other Asian countries, including India. Funeral chariots, stuffed animals purchased in Europe and the United States, skeletons, rocks, and minerals make this museum an well-rounded experience.

The museum compound also contains many interesting buildings, including Sala Longsong Pavilion, Bhuddhasawan Chapel, Tamnak Daeng, and theMungkhalaphisek Pavilion.

If you prefer something more personal than a guidebook, you should take one of the free English-language tours of the museum, offered by local volunteers on Wednesday and Thursday and starting rather early, at half past nine in the morning. On Wednesday, you can learn about Buddhism, and on Thursday, about Thai history, arts, and culture. The guides are extremely knowledgeable and have answered all the questions I had – try to get that out of a guidebook! If English is not your first language, you can take one of the French and Japanese tours on Wednesday or a German-language tour offered each Thursday.

The museum is open from Wednesday to Sunday from 9am to 4pm, and the admission fee for foreigners is just under $1, or 40 Thai Baht. Keep in mind that you are not allowed to take photographs inside the museum’s gallery and the building.

The Wat Arun has two other names, one simple and one not-so-simple. The simple one is the English-language translation – ‘The Temple of Dawn’. Now comes the difficult one - Wat Arunratchawararam, which is just another Thai name signifying pretty much the same. And I do not even want to think about the number of orthographic errors in that one! Surprisingly, the name comes from the Indian, not Thai, word Aruna, which is the name for the goddess of dawn. It was formerly known as Wat Makok and Wat Jaeng.

Formerly, the temple housed the emerald Buddha statue, but that was moved to another temple. What we can see today still inspires. Wat Arun has a typical prang, based on two terraces. There is also the highest tower, which pretty much dominates the surrounding part of Bangkok, and four minor towers standing in for Mount Meru. The Prangs are beautifully decorated with fine Chinese porcelain. Different layers stand for levels of heaven, and there are 33 of them, which should give you a rough idea of the architecture. There are also interesting sculptures of Kinnaree (the half-humans), Yaksas (the demons), Buddha, and the 33-headed elephant.

Even after you visit it in full during the day, come back in the evening to see this splendid off-white building brightly lit up, sometimes in reds, sometimes in purples, often in yellows. And some more advice, this time for photo junkies--remember to load your camera and climb up the prang for an excellent view of Wat Phra Kaeo and Wat Pho on the other side of the river. But the viewing platform can get crowded, since it is a firm favourite with tourists.

The Wat Arun temple is open daily from 7:30am to 5:30pm, and admission to the prang costs 10 Thai Baht.