Bangkok, Thailand (part two)

It is definitely an interesting time to be in Bangkok. The election was held today (Sunday) and there was a noticeablely tense atmosphere to the city. We didn't experience any negative affects from the protests. However, we may have got lost and found ourselves smack dab in the middle of one of the protests (sorry mum!) It's never comfortable pulling out a tourist map while surrounded by people chanting loudly in order to choose which pile of sandbags is the right one to scurry over. But we survived with no harm done. As well, most Thai restaurants and shops were closed today and there has been an alcohol ban in place since Friday.

Bangkok really is a massive city. We walked mostly around old town and were worn out. And that is only a fraction of the whole city! It's definitely a hard place to get a handle on. Our ability to cross streets, on the other hand, has improved immensely. It seems if you just go for it, the scooters and tuk tuks will stop (albiet reluctantly). 

Below our some highlights from our wanderings about town:

Friday was Chinese New Year. There were beautiful lanterns everywhere in Chinatown.

Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn)

Jasmine dressed in her awesome elephant pants was unwittingly in camo at Wat Arun

The stairs were very steep. For the second time since leaving Toronto total strangers have stopped to comment on how slow I am. Jasmine was an excellent coach at getting me down the steps with only moderate panicking.

We kept walking through the city on unorthodox routes that took us through back alleys and under highways. As a result we came across this really awesome park beneath a large overpass. Pictured here is a Muay Thai boxing ring.

Temple of the standing Buddha. Jaz and I may have fallen for the classic "you are so lucky. Temple open for one day only" line. I thought we would be wiser that that, but alas! However it did not turn out to be too bad of a deal. A tuk tuk driver took us to temples and waited while we looked around. In return, we begrudgingy went to the obligatory store to feign interest in expensive jewelry. Apparently, the store gives the driver a gas coupon to bring tourists there, so we only paid 20baht to the driver (Equivalent of 60cents) for him to drive us around for 2 hours. No complaints on our end!

View of Bangkok from the golden mount temple.

Finally we saw this excellent (and helpful) sign on a street food vendor. If they didn't say it was forbidden, how could you know? It's the latest in store front security!

Tomorrow we head to Chiang Mai in North Thailand where we will meet up with our friend Anna!