For our first full day in Bangkok, we started with the free hotel breakfast and then took the train to Wat Pho. By the time we got to the train we were drenched. As you look at our photos and see that we are wearing long pants you may be wondering why given that I’ve told you it’s hot hot hot 🥵 . We’re wearing pants because you can’t wear shorts into the temples, they make you put on a long skirt or pants over your clothes which would only make things worse… so pants it is! Wat Pho is Buddhist temple considered the oldest school for Thai medicine and the birthplace of Thai massage. Thai massage is still taught and practiced at the temple.
The most famous thing at Wat Pho is the giant golden reclining Buddha. The Buddha truly is giant is 45ft tall and 140ft long and housed in a dedicated building that you, of course, need to take your shoes off to go inside.
After the seeing the reclining Buddha finished walking around Wat Pho and got a massage at the school for traditional Thai medicine at the back of the Wat Pho complex.
We then wandered around trying to find the boat dock to take a boat across the river to Wat Arun. Luckily we got to the dock just in time, paid the 5 baht, and got on the boat to the Wat Arun dock.
Wat Arun is Buddhist temple named after the goddess Aruna, who is commonly depicted as the radiation from the rising sun. Wat Arun refects the sun in a similar fashion in the morning off of its many faceted tower.
At this point we were a bit exhausted from walking 6.5 miles in the heat of the day and desperately needed showers, so went back to the hotel for a shower before dinner. After getting cleaned up we went and had dinner and drink at a rooftop bar called Speak Easy.
After dinner we went to check out some other cocktail bars and speakeasies. First we went to the crimson room for a couple drinks and to listen to some jazz.
Next we went to Havana Social, a cool speakeasy near our hotel. To enter the bar you need a secret code that you “call” at the phone booth door. Once you enter the code you here a click, a door opens, and you enter into a cozy Cuba themed cocktail bar.
After Havana Social we called it a night because we had to get up early for an all day tour of the outlying provinces around Bangkok.