Well today was another Thai national holiday... Constitution Day, so I got the day off from school! I went into Bangkok to bum around to figure out where everything is located and see some of the tourist attractions! I took the Sky Train (it is about a 20 minute taxi ride from the sky train station) to Victory Monument that acts as a mid point of the city where a significant number of bus lines run to and from. From there I walked to the King's residence to see the grounds but I found it was closed for the Holiday. I continued my walk to the Golden Mount (Wat Saket) which was constructed in the 1800's on an artificial by King Rama III. It is famous for the Golden dome on the top of the hill. From the top you can see the entire city in every direction. Then I moved onto the Wat Ratchanatdaram also built by King Rama III on the canal and is famous for the square pillars around the premise. I spent the afternoon at the National Museum which was wonderful. I couldn't take pictures there but some of the highlights included funeral and ceremonial floats of the King and Queen that were 50 ft tall by 100 ft long, ancient ceremonial thrones made of gold, water puppets, musical instruments, and more Buddha figures than I have ever seen in my life. I walked about 10 miles looking at different places and enjoying the city today! I ended the day at a large mall where I met some friends for dinner.
My impressions of Bangkok so far are these: Traffic is AWFUL! I use to hate an hour commute in Chicago, but getting around Bangkok can take three hours (especially by bus!). However, with that being said they do have an efficient, clean, and new Sky train and subway system that moves swiftly once you are able to get to a station. These stations are not always central locations in big areas of the city. This city has grown tremendously in the last 20 years from what I understand so when you are walking around you will come to a large hotel or skyscraper full of condos and right next door will be a small house made of metal where the family is cooking over a fire pit and fishing from the polluted canals for their dinner. A little different than most large cities I have visited. I also found there is so much to see and do it will take a couple more days of exploring to see everything!
*** Here is a link to more pictures http://picasaweb.google.com/jglesne/ConstitutionDay?authkey=2W2Sh3SUWVE#
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