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Headless buddhas, crumbling bricks & stucco – ruined yet still stunningly beautiful.Can you imagine its former glory? 

Ayutthaya thailand-12One of the highlights of my Thailand trip this year was visiting Ayutthaya, a World Heritage City and historic capital of Thailand.

On the way from Bangkok to Ayutthaya, we visited the the Summer Palace of King Rama V with its mixture of Thai, Chinese and Gothic architecture.

By the time we got to Ayutthaya historic park around 10:30am, it was burning hot already. But the heat couldn’t stop me from running around, staring at everything in awe. This once glittering, vibrant capital city was destroyed by the Burmese in the 18th century. Can you imagine its formal glory?

Wat Mahatad, the royal monastery, served as the residence of supreme monk:

 

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Ayutthaya thailand

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The famous sandstone Buddha head entwined in tree roots:Ayutthaya thailand-4 Ayutthaya thailand-3

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Wat Phrasrisanphet, the largest and most important temple in Ayuthaya, which was used as a residential palace. After Thai Capital was moved to Bangkok, The Grand Place in Bangkok was built, copying the exact style of this palace in Ayuthaya.

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Wihan Phramongkhon Bophit, the large bronze Buddha image was originally enshrined in the ipen are outside the grand palace and later covered by a building called Wihan:

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Cruise back to Bangkok, passing Temple of Dawn which was under construction at the time:

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Back to the hotel, sipping cocktail on the roof top bar while watching sunset:

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Having seen so many Buddhas in Thailand, it wasn’t exactly my plan to see the Big Buddha in Pattya but we kind of bumped into it one day.  It was a hot and steamy morning and I went for a hike to look for the Pattaya tourist centre in hope of getting some local knowledge.  It turned out, that tourist centre was almost impossible to find; as I finally got there, it was obvious that I was the only visitor there and the two girls working there hardly spoke any English.

The good news was, I found some maps and according to one of the maps, we were directly under the top of the hills where the Big Buddha located. It was quite a hike all the way up and by the time we finally reached the top, I was soaking wet. On the upside, I also achieved the most steps within one day. Bonus!

pattaya big buddha You can’t miss the Walking Street if you are in Pattaya. If you want a Turkish ice cream? Try your luck with this man. It was so funning watching all his tricks in delivering the ice cream to his customers. He is so good and I think you can even find him on Youtube.
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Another tourist attraction on my list to visit in Pattaya apart from the Sanctuary of Truth is Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden. It looked amazing in the pictures and had really good reviews on Trip Adviser. When we finally got there, I realised it was such an artificial, tacky tourist trap. There were fake plastic animals everywhere which really destroyed the beautiful of any botanical garden.

Nevertheless, I tried my best to beautify this garden in photos too – as you do.

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Can you spot me in this picture?

Sanctuary of Truth, hands down is the most majestic structure that Pattaya has to offer.  Pattaya indeed surprised me, not totally in a pleasant way mainly due to my own ignorance. Why on earth didn’t I know earlier that Pattaya’s biggest attraction is actually the vast number of prostitutes and lady boys on the streets? Seeing tours to Pattaya are considerably popular and its beach position in close proximity to Bangkok, I planned a self exploring trip to Pattaya in Thailand. On top of my list of places to visit, is the Sanctuary of Truth, which is truly a stunning site and fairly easy to get to from Pattaya city centre.

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12 amazing facts about Sanctuary of Truth:

1.It might give you the impression on the picture that it’s an ancient temple but in fact it’s quite new and still a work-in-progress. Building work started to begin in 1981 and isn’t expected to be finished until 2025. You can see many unfinished pieces and plain wood poles waiting to be turned into something magical.

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2. The massive structure is entirely made of wood without any metal nails. Looking at this architectural masterpiece, I can’t imagine how it could be done but somehow Thai people made it all possible. Those amazing, elaborate carving is totally created by hand using just hammer and chisel.

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3. There’s a dress code inside Sanctuary of Truth so shorts, short skirts, tank tops and dresses above the knees are not allowed inside. Clothes to cover you up are available for rent ( 200 Bart deposit, refundable upon return). Just as you thought it’d be a place where you need to dress appropriately and show respect, they’ll hand you a helmet to wear because it’s still under construction.

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Behind those gigantic toes, it was me wearing a helmet and a backpack.

4. Due to the deterioration from hot weather, sea air and termites, the woodwork is always under repairs and protective treatment. As a result, the wood colour tones of Sanctuary of Truth range from light honey to dark brown.

5. Most of the Buddha sculptures in Sanctuary of truth are extremely sexy, possessing enviably proportioned bodies and elegant poses.

High five? ?These buddhas pose much better than I do & are way sexier? #thailand #temples #travel #amazing #buddha

A post shared by Yvonne Zhai (@yvonne_zhai) on

6. The highest point of Sanctuary of Truth is about 105 Meters.

7. Open doorways and total reliance on natural light. There are open doors all around the building to allow in natural light. It could be quite dark around the centre as there’s not a single artificial light inside but it’s nice and bright near the doorways in broad daylight.

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8. The design and carvings are rich in symbolism with a mix of Thai, Khmer, Indian and Chinese influences spread throughout the four wings of the building. Its Buddhism core overlays Hinduism, Taoism and Confucianism equally, a sign of perfect harmony and peace.

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9. Sanctuary of Truth has revived and preserved ancient building techniques and architecture in danger of extinction. In this case, the building continues to support hand-hewn woodworking skills.

10. It’s about 3km from Pattaya town center. Next to the Sanctuary of Truth, stretches fine white sand and warm, turquoise water. You won’t see any swimmers or sun bakers on the beach though; expect to see the occasional speedy boats using it as a parking dock.

11. Building such an ornate temple-like complex was the idea of Lek Viriyaphant, a Thai millionaire whose other heritage projects including Ancient City near Bangkok.

12. It’s hard to define what exactly Sanctuary of Truth is. My first thought was that it’s a temple because of the Buddhas and the required dress code but then I was quite taken aback by the helmet.  Isn’t wearing a hat (or helmet in this case) disrespectful to Buddhas? There are also shows of Thai fighters and dancing on a covered stage at 11:30am and 3:30pm, which are nothing spectacular but rather disturbing. Some people say it’s a combination of a temple, a museum and a workshop. Whatever you define it, it’s the most significant attraction for tourists to Pattaya and a magnificent modern work of art to see with your own eyes.

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Opening hours: 8am – 6pm.

Guided tours are offered in every 30 minutes ( the tour is included in the cost of the ticket price, you are not obliged to join the tour).

Ticket price: 500 Bart

Grand Palace Thailand

Grand Palace Thailand

Planning to travel to Bangkok for the first time? You can’t miss the Grand Palace Thailand. Since I posted some of my travel photos in Thailand on my Instagram, many people asked me questions about  their up coming travels in Bangkok through private messages. So here are the top 10 travel tips to the Grand Palace Thailand for the first time visitors.



Get there early.

The Grand Place opens daily from 8am to 4pm. Make sure you go there early! Why? Because you’ll be bombarded by countless large group tours (20 -30 people) after 9am. If you want to get some of those “exclusive” photos without so many tourists in the background, get in early.

How to Get there

Many people get there by boat. Other people go by Sky Train then boat. The easiest way? By taxi. Getting a taxi in Bangkok is very convenient and cheap, as long as your taxi driver uses the meter. Just make sure you ask your taxi driver to switch their meter on politely (or firmly if you have to).

Reasonable entrance fee

The current entrance fee for foreigners is 500 Bart for foreigners which is significantly higher than what Thai locals are paying. You might feel slightly discriminated but considering tourism is Thailand’s main source of income, don’t.  The ticket will also give you access to Wat Phra Kaeo, The Royal Thai Decorations & Coins Pavilion and Queen Sirikit Museum of Textile, which are located within the Grand Palace compound, and to Vimanmek Mansion Museum on Ratchawithi Road. There have been quite a few people on travel forums complaining that the entrance fee is a bit expensive but I think the 500 Bart (about $20)  fee charged is very reasonable.

Dress code

It’s always very hot in Bangkok, so you’ll be tempted to wear shots or tank tops to go out and about. The Grand Palace has strict dress code and you won’t be allowed to get in wearing clothes that are considered inappropriate for the sacred sits of Thailand. But don’t worry, you can rent something to cover yourself up for free easily at the Grant Place if you are stopped for not wearing long enough pants. All you need to do is to pay a small deposit which will be returned to you once you’ve returned the rented clothes.

Once you are in the Grand Place, make sure you are covered properly and behaving respectfully.

It’ll be more crowded than you’ve imagined.

You’ll see more people than you can imagine, especially after 9am. You’ll see many large group of Chinese tours, way more than you can imagine. Don’t expect to take photos of the landmarks without any tourist in the background.

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Bring drinking water and a sunhat

It’ll be hotter inside the Grand Place than outside. Make sure you have plenty of drinking water to keep you hydrated. A sunhat would be helpful too if you are not used to heat like this.

Take a guided tour or not

The choice is yours. Maps and brochures are available to help you explore. There are also free guided tours in English are available from 10am, 10:30am, 1pm and 2pm. Those guided tours last about 40 minutes and go in one direction. You can also rent an audio tour for 100 Bart and explore at your own pace.

Shoot up and go for detailed shots

It might be hard to shoot the landmarks without lots of tourists in your photos but here’s a trick or two to help you get perfect photos:

  1. Shoot up. You’ll be able to photograph those glorious architectures with perfect blue sky as your background. Lots of opportunities for detail shots. if you shoot up, you see blue sky and get a great.
  2. Go for close-up, detailed shots. There are so many amazing details that be your perfect photo objects.

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Don’t miss the Temple of Emerald Buddha

Among many temples in Thailand, the Temple of Emerald Buddha – Wat Phra Kaew, is regarded the most sacred and a must see. Shoes need to removed before entering the temple. Once you get in, look around and you’ll admire those walls around you. The Emerald Buddha is quite small in size, about 66 centimetres (26 in) tall, carved from a single jade stone. Wat Phra Kaew is located within the compound of the Grand Place so make sure you don’t miss it.

You’ve got go

#Obviously. Ok the point is, Grand Place Thailand is THE must go historical sight in Bangkok. I know someone would go to Bangkok and spend most of their time drinking in the bars. Some people might be on a business trip with not much time for sightseeing. If you can make a trip to one sight in Bangkok, go to The Grand Palace. One of the best known and most sunning landmark in Bangkok, the compound is home to a collection of royal palaces, which blend European and Thai architecture. Every visitor to Bangkok must go to see the Grand Place:).

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During our day tour to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, we had two stopovers: one to a coconut producer’s workshop on the way to the floating market; one to an elephant farm on the way back to Bangkok.

That workshop was very small with a fair sized orchard farm adjacent to it. Not surprisingly, the souvenir market comes with this stopover was much bigger than both the coconut workshop and orchard farm:).

The stopover in the afternoon was  much more exciting. We had the chance to ride an elephant inside the farm and across the river. There were also buckets of lady finger bananas were available for elephant feeding for 100 bart each. We grabbed a bucket and waited eagerly in the queue for our turn to ride. While waiting in the queue, a lady in front of started to eat those bananas in her bucket. Curious about the taste of those bananas, we tried one from our bucket too… It was sweet and delicious!

Having heard quite a few horror stories such as elephants were treated badly or elephant keeper killed by his elephant, I was a little wary of it but our elephant ride turned out to be super pleasant. The elephant ride was super pleasant. Those elephants we so calm and well looked after from what I saw. Our elephant keeper kept talking to his elephant and obviously there was a strong bond between them. Not sure if there’s a term of “elephant whisper”, but if there’s such expression, our elephant keeper certainly is one.

The elephant was stopped for us to have many photo opportunities on the way. Towards the end of our ride, the elephant keeper pulled out a box suddenly and presented us a box of jewellery which appeared to be mad of elephant tusks. Kind of turn off by it, I didn’t show any interest. “Ok, tip, tip.” The elephant keeper then asked. That’s fair enough, he did a good job and deserved his tip. Would have given him without being asked:).

Oh, remember those bananas we bought for elephant feeding? We gave the bucket to our elephant keeper, then he passed the whole bucket of bananas to the elephant; they were taken in one go and finished off within 30 seconds, skin included. Cute hey? Why did I imagine elephants would eat those bananas one by one like humans do!

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market was in the “maybe” pile on my itinerary to Bangkok. While definitely wanting to visit one of the floating markets in Thailand, I also read a lot comments about Damnoen Saduak Floating Market market on the internet. Most comments are mainly among those lines: “It’s too touristy nowadays…” ” It is very far from Bangkok city centre…”  “Buyers there are 100% tourists… etc. ets.” Happy to report that I did manage to go to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.Damnoen Saduak Floating Market (1 of 1)



You might have been deterred from the thought of paying a visit to the market like I did originally, but come to think of it, you are going to Thailand for a visit, not to live there long term. You are going to be tourists! Hence being touristy is totally fine, right? Now, what about the problem of having to get up early and catch the 7am tour bus? Is that a real problem? 7am is not that early! Do you really want to spend your mornings on vacation in your hotel room? I hope not. It is actually easier to get to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market than you might have imagined!

Here’s a quick guide to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market based on my personal experience:

1.It’s the largest and most famous floating market in Thailand.

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market has the most boats! It was also featured in one of the James Bond movies.

2. It is about 100 kilo meters southwest of Bangkok.

That’s why I thought it might be a hassle and not easy to get too.

3. It opens everyday!

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market opens everyday from 7am -11am. “Open everyday” is very convenient for tourists like us because some markets only open on the weekends. As most short term visitors only have 1 or 2 weekends in Bangkok, it is very practical to fit this activity during the week.

4. The easiest way to get there as a tourist is to join a tour.

The easiest way to get to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market from Bangkok is by tour. As mentioned earlier, Damnoen Saduak Floating Market is the largest and the most famous floating market, it is so easy to book a tour in Bangkok. Most hotel help desk could help you with that. We booked ours through our hotel and it took less than 5 minutes of our time.

5. You’ll be looked after by your tour company.

The tour bus normally will come to pick you up in the morning at 7am and drop you off after the tour finishes. English speaking tour guides will keep your entertained and explain what to expect on the way.

6. You’ll have stopovers.

There will be stopovers on your bus tour to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. Our tour had Damnoen Saduak Floating Market day tour stopovers: One to the Orchid Farm and coconut producer workshop on the way to Orchid Farm and coconut producer; one to an elephant farm on the way back. I’ll post photos of the stopovers in a separate blog post.

7. Long tail boat ride is going to be a bumpy one.

After the coconut workshop, it takes about 10 minutes bus ride to the pier where you can hop onto one of those painted long tail boats to finally arrive the market. The long tail boat ride will be a bumpy one. Remember to keep your head high and mouth closed, because you definitely don’t want to drink the water from that river, not even by accident!

8. You have the choice to hire a boat to cruising along the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market.

The long tail boat ride is included in your tour price. That’s how they get you to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. Once you are in the market, you have a choice of just walking along the banks of the canals or hiring a boat to cruise along the canals.

9. The boat fairs are different for tourists and local Thai people. 

Surprised? You shouldn’t. It is common practise to charge tourists much, much higher fees than local Thai so get used to it! To share a wooden rowing boat with other people, fares very between 200-350 bart. There are many boat hiring businesses among the banks of the canals. Those ones near the entrance usually have long queues and demand higher fees. But if you walk a few meters further, the queue will eventually disappear and you’ll also get charged 100 bart less.

10. Someone will quickly snap a photo of you and sell it to you later.

The moment I took a seat on the boat, a thai girl quickly emerged and took a snap of us. “How friendly these people are.” I thought and left to explore. The same girl appeared again on my way back with a photo of us stuck in the middle of a picture board and offered to sell it to us. It wasn’t a bad photo so I bought it.



11.The boat will stop at every vendor that offers merchandise that one of the passenger on board.

If you don’t want to spend 1000 bart to hire a private boat to cruise along the canals, you might want to consider who you want to share your boat with. The boat will stop at every vendor that offers merchandise that one of the passenger on board. So unless you are a keen shopper or not a shopper but super patient, ideally you’d like to share your boat with people who have less tendency to shop and haggle for a long time. But it’s hard to tell when you don’t really know people so it’s purely a game of luck.

12. Unless you have to, don’t buy souvenirs from the market.

The boat stops when the passengers want to buy something. The ladies sharing the boat with us stopped boat many times to buy stuff. Obviously they didn’t know anything about the hat shop in Chinatown. It took them at least 20 minutes to pick and haggle, the hats they bought on the boat were still more expensive than the asking price in the shop in Chinatown.

13. There are more boats for tourists than vendor boats.

Overlooking the canals of Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, there are boats of boats of tourists with the occasional vendor boats. Those vendor boats mainly offer food, fruits or … hats.

15. Authentic Thai food.

The food sellers along the docks have some nice photos of their food on offer and I do believe they are just as tasty as they look. But after seeing how food was usually handled locally and the cleanness of the canal water, I didn’t try anything:). On the positive note, big bottle of change beer were offered at super reasonable price. I really liked the taste of Chung beer and it was wonderful to sip cold beer in the shade.

16. Photo opportunities?

Guaranteed, there are quite a few fruit sellers rowing their boats along the narrow canal that provide a unique experience for tourists and great photo opportunities. Believe it or not, boats of tourists holding cameras also provide photo opportunities haha.

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Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

17. Countless stalls along the banks of the canals.

Souvenirs, fake handbags, Thai spices, buddha heads, wooden carvings are among the most popular merchandise on offer.

18. There are live monkeys and snakes.

Should these be grouped as photo opportunities too? It’s up to you.

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

19. Don’t try to buy a pig souvenir. 

A friend of us wanted a pig figure as a souvenir from Thailand so we went for our mission seriously. Though I didn’t want to do any shopping here but still paid close attention to see if they have any cute pig figures  for sale. Well, you guessed it, there were lots of elephants – no pigs.

20. Alright, call it a tourist trap but what isn’t?

It totally depends how you see it. Yes there will be more tourists than local Thai poeple. Most likely they’d try to rip you off just as you’ve been warned. But Thailand is touristy country nowadays and it is expected.  If you choose to travel in Thailand, be ready for those type of experiences and enjoy the ride!

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

Want to see more photos? Here are more posts about my trip to Thailand:

 

 

Bangkok Chinatown is listed on many travel guides as one of the tourist attractions for obvious reasons. Maybe because I’m an adopted Australian Chinese, Chinatown has always been on my must see list wherever I go. Every time prior to any overseas trip, I’d Google that country’s China Town and plan and trip there. A meal in China town is a must too! As a keen traveller, I’ve visited many Chinatown in different cities all over the world but Chinatown Bangkok by far offered the most unique and authentic experience.

Our hotel wasn’t far from China Town and initially we wanted a “local” treat getting there by tuk tuk, because you have to do that once you are in Thailand right? So we went out on the street around mid day. Immediately we were swapped by many tuk tuk drivers which made me a little uncomfortable. Fear not, I asked how much is the fare to China Town. They offered something ridiculous like 4 times more than a taxi fare to Bangkok China Town. We knew the price is negotiable but who had the time and patience to deal with them in a hot day? Besides that, I was sick of being harrassed.

As we walked away, one persistent tuk tuk driver follow along. He reduced his price to twice as much as a taxi fair. As we refused to get onto his tuk tuk once again, he said, ” China Town is closed now. It’s only open at night, so you won’t see anything there now.” “Oh really?” I felt disappointed and nearly believed him and stopped trying to go. Yes I’m just someone naive like that. “Yes. nothing.” Tuk Tuk driver replied firmly like a local authority. But lucky I wasn’t by myself and we decided to go and see ourselves anyway.

Bangkok Chinatown, Thailand

We got there by a taxi. No haggling involved because we simply asked the taxi driver to turn taxi meter on. After a short and easy drive, we arrived Bangkok China Town. It was full on! Nothing was closed, therefore the “China Town is closed until night.” wasn’t true. Wonder why a local person would say something like that is not remotely true? Nevertheless, I wasted no time exploring. Bangkok China Town is wonderful and foreign, even to me.

Here’s a collection of 15 weird or wonderful things to see and do in Bangkok Chinatown from my personal experience. The list is nevertheless not exhausted. You can choose to see and experience as much as you can or as little you can. The choice is yours!

1. Shark fin and bird nest shops everywhere

Chinatown Bangkok must have the most shark fin and bird nest shops per square meter in the whole world. I mean, they are everywhere there. I know the old generation of Cantonese love shark fins and bird nest, but until my visit to Chinatown Bangkok, I didn’t realise shark fins and bird nest are loved that much.

Have you ever tried shark fin soup or bird nest? I’ve had shark fin soup many times and it tastes like some kind of vermicelli soup. It normally comes as part of a banquet in expensive Chinese Restaurant. I’ve never tried bird nest though. Never had the desire to try – it doesn’t sound edible. Looking back, I should at least try. It’s not as scary as those fried insects!

chinatown Bangkok bird nest

2. Seafood from market stalls, fresh or dry

Bangkok didn’t strike me as the city that offers the best seafood but those seafood stalls from Sampeng market certainly left a good impression on me. They reminded me of some seafood stalls in China and Japan, especially China where I grew up. The fresh and dry seafoods of those kind are no where to be found in Sydney Fish Market. We mainly have large sized crabs, boneless fillets and limited kinds of seafood for sale here in Australia. Seafood is getting slightly more diversified in Sydney nowadays because of the hugely increased amount of Asian immigrates in recent years. But markets in Australia are totally different. Look at those crabs with roes! If I had cooking facilities in my hotel room, I’d totally cook them there. Haha, there isn’t of course so I kept walking.

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chinatown bangkok seafood

3. Walking along those little dark alley ways

Those little dark alley ways didn’t look inviting. They look a little scary actually. It’s quite dark even in broad day light. I was hesitant to go that way but to experience the authentic Thai way of life, one must walk through those little dark alleys in Bangkok Chinatown Bangkok in my opinion. We didn’t see any tourist in those part of China Town, only local residents there doing their everyday thing.

Perhaps tourists are scared to go in just like I initially felt. We went in anyway because we were curious and kind of brave, lol. Check out those stoves and pots, you don’t get to see these things anywhere else. One can easily get lost in those dark little alleys ways. But your most memorable experience getting lost in those alleys can be the most memorable experience of your trip.

chinatown bangkok dark alleys

bangkok chinatown bangkok dark alleys

It’s very dark!

4. Lots of grand Chinese restaurants

If your stomach is not strong enough and you are cautious about food offered by various street vendors and small restaurants, there are many Grand Chinese restaurants in Chinatown Bangkok for you to choose from. Guess what are most common signature dishes? Yes, that’s right – shark fin soup, bird nest and seafood of course:).

bangkok chinatown

5. The “Facial”

This is quite an ancient way to get rid of the facial hair. I’ve heard that in the old days, all Chinese brides had their faces done in this way the first time in their life on their wedding day but not with the white cream on their faces. It was so fascinating to see the procedure in real life especially when it’s so commonly available on the streets.

chinatown bangkok facial

6. Wat Traimit with the largest golden Buddha inside

Temples in Thailand are like churches in Europe. They are everywhere! As if there are not enough temples in Bangkok already, there’s a famous temple right in Chinatown – Wat Traimit.

Wat Traimit hosts the world’s largest golden Buddha so indeed it’s quite worthwhile to visit. I personal love seeing temples and Buddhas because I’m a sucker for anything old and beautiful.



7. Best souvenir shopping

Every tourist attraction you go, it’s guaranteed you’ll find lots of souvenir shops. I  don’t buy much souvenirs nowadays because I’ve accumulated enough junk over the years. While in Bangkok China Town, I discovered a secret. Now I’ll share the secret with you: If you want to bring some typical Thai souvenirs back home, don’t buy them from the usually tourist attractions, buy them from the Sampeng Market in Chinatown Bangkok. No only you can find endless choices there, you’ll also get the best value for your money because Sampeng Market is a wholesale place for retailers. Even the retail price there is much lower than what you can get from any other tourist places in Thailand.

8. Practical clothes & accessory shopping

Chinatown bangkok market

I was really happy with my hat purchase. So why don’t I look happy in this picture… too hot?

You’ll need a hat in the hot sun in Thailand. I knew I was going to buy some new hats in Bangkok but didn’t have any idea about where to buy them from, until I came across this hat shop in Chinatown. It was located in one of the alleys in Sampeng Market. The size of the shop was huge compared to many little stalls and shops and it was very busy serving retailers from everywhere in the world. If I have a shop boutique, I’d buy from them too! Spoilt with choices, I ended up buying 3. Seriously, if I’d buy more if time permitted.

There was no need to haggle, the asking retail price was still only half as much as you buy from other tourist shops after haggling.  It made me wonder how low the wholesale price would be. J also bought a pair of the most comfortable pyjama pants made of good quality cotton. We didn’t manage to find something similar anywhere else afterwards.

9. Traditional Thai massage.

After half day of sight seeing and shopping, you might want to stop for a massage. Why not? Thai massage is world famous and in Chinatown Bangkok. Of course there are good one and not so good ones. The good news is you can get the good traditional Thai massage easily in Chinatown.

chinatown bangkok massage

10. Sharing the narrowest streets with cars and motor bikes.

Exploring Chinatown is not going to be a leisurely stroll. The streets and alleys are so narrow and you have to share them with many cars and motor bikes. How spoilt are we in Sydney Chinatown where the streets ( much wider and neat ) are blocked for pedestrians only!

chinatown bangkok

11. Fried Insects

You’ll find fried insets in Bangkok China Town. People generally call them “exotic food” or “delicacies”. Do you think I’d try them because of their fancy names? Of course not. 🙂 I consider myself quite adventurous when it comes to food, but there’s no way in the world that I’d like to ever try those fried insects.



12. Bustling gold shops

There are many gold shops in Chinatown Bangkok – almost as many as the shark fin and bird nest shops.

Want to buy gold as pure as 96.5%? There is no better place to buy in Bangkok other than Yaowarat Road,Chinatown and one of the most reputable along this road is Hua Seng Heng. You won’t miss it wandering around Chinatown.

chinatown bangkok gold shops

13. Thieves Market

Intriguing name. It’s no longer called that I believe and it’s no longer selling the stolen goods. For those who are curious, the market closes at 6pm and provides interesting objects for photography.

chinatown bangkok thieves market (1 of 1)

14. Night life

If you think Chinatown is busy during the day, come at night and see what “busy” really means:). Cooler air, abundant food, neon lights, night markets, bars, and night clubs will welcome you in open arms.

15. Grand China Princess revolving rooftop bar

Feeling tired after a day’s exploration and in need of a little chilling out time? There’s a rooftop bar in Chinatown too! The top floors of the Grand China Princess Hotel Bangkok offers brilliant view of surrounding attractions sites such as Wat Arun Golden Mount and Wat Traimit. For less than 100 baht, the cost of a drink including a draft beer at 75 baht only, you get the view of Chinatown and beyond, all the way to the Chao Phraya river at Sky View 360˙Restaurant Rooftop Bar and Restaurant. It is located on the revolving top floor of the China Princess Hotel and it takes about two hours to complete a full round.

chinatown bangkok the grand China hotel

What a perfect to unwind and chill after a hot and busy day.

Want to see more photos? Here are some other posts of my trip to Thailand: