Those who have been to Bangkok will love its sights and sounds, food and – ahem – ladies (or are they?). My other half is really into shopping so much so she can be a Thai if air fare is given free to her for every trip to the land of smiles. And for a snapper like me where I don’t even know how to speak a word of Thai, it gets kind of frustrating especially you know there are so many things to explore after my last trip to Thailand (http://wilzworkz.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/travel-thru-the-lens-series-bangkok-dangerous/). So where to next? Thanks to Bangkok2Tour.com’s Danny he suggested a unique festival that happens around October every year to celebrate the harvest for the year. Festivals eh? Images of dancers and monks starts to drift in. Time for a trip this time joined by Ms Marie Mangin my french friend from SPIN and SDP-Meetup!
Nice to be back into the skies again!
Pak Ping Ing Tang Boutique Hotel. Heard that this is more of a motel for the locals who are visiting the capital from other parts of the country. No wonder it is located next to the expressway.
Love the interior!
We got ourselves into this boutique hotel called Pak Ping Ing Tang. I am a sucker for special boutique hotels and this hotel is pretty nice. Location wise it won’t win any awards and medals as it is quite far from the city centre or the public transport. Food solution? Nope. Can’t see anything so we are glad that Tiger, our tour guide from Bangkok2Tour, picked us up and whisk us towards Asiatique.
Asiatique is a fairly new redevelopment of some godowns next to the chao phraya river much like how the first version of Clarke Quay was like in the first decade of this century. There are boutique shops and fine café and restaurants and it is a nice place to wander about. As for shopping, it is still quite limited in the range but is a welcome change in terms of a cleaner and cooler environment.
There’s this old house at the corner of Asiatique. Honestly it is kind of spooky to leave this corner house untouched.
You know where we are.
The tram service. Save you 10 minutes of walking that’s all.
Fine dining options aplenty around here. Just like Clarke Quay.
Yup. Bronze Statues like those found along the Singapore River too. Shows the history of the place where coolies labour.
Daddy’s Toys. A Store selling odd stuff. However what got my attention was the sign that says ‘coffee’. And it is great stuff!
Is a quirky place indeed. Ultraman statue and in front is a saucer to collect…alms? Are they praying to Ultraman?
We had a steamy time for dinner. Hungry….
Roast meat…fantastic!
The nice thing about our boutique hotel is this roof top bar. Super cozy.
Like father like daughter. Smartphone connected all the time.
After a hearty sleep we started to go to the North Eastern region of Bangkok to attend the festival and ceremony and we dropped by Farm Chokchai on the way to our next accommodation. Farm Chokchai is the first dairy farm in Bangkok and it has tours that educate the young ones how milk comes about. For me a beef lover, I kept seeing sirloin steaks walking around. But seriously it is a great place for the whole family to spend the morning.
Just in case you couldn’t see the sign. Ummm! Milk…
I see veal! errr….calves…
BBQ Festival? Wow! I didn’t know a cow can be so happy to have this.
Inside the restaurant for our lunch. Nice interior.
T-Bone Steak…Yumm!! At half of Singapore’s price 🙂
Tiger flock to the girls…as always..
Want to taste some?
There’s actually a rodeo show? Seriously?
Gun playing…
Branding….ouch.
Dangerous person on the loose.
Waiting for business
Look so…mexico?
The farm rearing some huskies and the girls really go ga-ga over them. awwww….
AWWWW….
Before we left, we stopped by the steak burger bar.
Wagyu burger anyone?
We stayed here for the night. A cowboy themed resort.
Horse Carriages as chalets? Check!
Tee Pee? Yup!
Nah…i rather stay in normal rooms.
Amongst the brave. Another quirky place to stay but is really nice!
Hmmm…they had country music festival.
The next morning we went to the temple to witness the start of the festivities and the buddhist rites
The locals are very much involved. Even the army boys.
…and dogs.
The start of the procession. Those are glutinous rice wrapped in leaves as offerings. Much like the malay ketupat.
A closer look with flower offerings
The dancer procession. Colourful and graceful
Full concentration
That gaze.
Inside the compound. Dance offering.
We all are waiting.
The senior monks waits too.
Presening of alms and respect to the senior monk.
One of the dancers.
Depicting an evil character from hell no less.
Performance prior to the unveiling
The lead dancer
Beautiful side profile
The Unveiling
Slowly coming down. Signifying Buddha coming down to earth.
Putting the statue on the chariot.
The monks follows after
Thoroughly protected from the glare.
In deep thoughts…
Alms Bowl
The procession goes around blessing the village. Note the locals are throwing the glutinous rice into a container on the chariot. They believed that once it is in the container, good luck will come to them.
The dancers posed for a group shot.
Back in Bangkok staying at The Park Residence
The Vampire Slayer?
Nope…
Certainly not!
Vodka?
Nah…i rather have vampy…
We visited the flower market on the outskirts of Bangkok City early in the morning
Flower Power
Preparing the flowers and thread them together to be used for prayer offerings.
Roses from the highlands
Interesting toilet signs in the market
Looking after the kids (like bird in a cage) while doing business.
Buying some food back.
The next day. Back to the train track wet market at Mae Klong.
Crab!
They starting to clear the merchandise for the train. Unlike the last time I was here, I did not experience the ‘Train running by your nose’ feeling.
Here comes the train.
The “Train pass by your nose” feeling. Scary.
Welcome to…
..the floating market
The best way to sell oil is to test them…free massage?
Interesting handicraft
The flower is made of soap. Seriously!
Ready to go..
Yup…we are that close while the boat traverse the narrow waterways.
Food stuff…
…and souveniors
Fun day at the market
The night life of Bangkok!
mouthless…
…to big eyes.
Fruits….
…food…
…and more food.
Snacks perhaps?
Street food galore. This is behind the famous duck meat store in Bangkok
Dry kway teow with succulent braised duck meat. Heavenly!
The SF Golden Gate Bridge inside Terminal 21. Tons of things to take, buy and eat.
T21 has a lot of themes of countries and cities such as San Francisco…
…Japan…
…and London. That’s the the entrance to the toilets.
Over at the ancient Siam, the dragonfly rests on the lotus flower.
The whole place is a like houses the various landmarks and architectural styles of Thailand’s monuments throughout the land.
Nice place for a shoot.
There’s even a church in the middle of the village.
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