Eat, Shop, See Some Culture-Bangkok, Thailand

Show respect for Buddha

It is a well known fact that a few days in a new place can do wonders for a person's mental, physical, spiritual and emotional health . 

I learnt this the first time I went away on a writing retreat.

And this year, that's what a few days in Bangkok Thailand did for me.

It was a work trip so I decided to incorporate some leave days to enjoy the city sights, and to catch up with a friend I had not seen since university graduation. 

After all, I thought to myself,

 "Who knows when I'll be on this side of the world again!" 

So first things first... the hotel  Novotel Platinum Pratunam was lovely. Comfortable room, lovely view and great hospitality!

It was rainy season in Bangkok. 

That's the hotel! photo taken from across the street. 

Day time view from the room.

From day one....I ate. 

I ate in restaurants, on side walks, in my hotel room...I ate!

I eat charcoal vanilla flavoured ice cream and prawns that still had legs and eyes!

 I think it is important to try new food, even if sometimes you need to google how to eat it properly .

Vanilla Charcoal Ice Cream

Chocolate Cake

Crème Brule

Noodles with squid ink

Egg Fried Rice

Lunch plate  during the work shop 

Seafood red soup

On one of the days I had 4 cappuccinos...they were sooo tasty! #noshame

I fell in love with their savory porridge with chicken or pork and dried onion shreds 

Room Service, a result of  jet lag induced hunger pags!

I can't remember the name of this dish 

I drank a lot of ice cold coconut water!

Mango, Sticky rice and coconut milk 

A yummy curry dish, I can't remember the name 

I shopped.

Oh dear Lord forgive me,  I shoooooooooopped!

I was surrounded by 4 huge shopping malls

Including the 10 story one below my hotel and

The night market across the street!

So thank God I had been good this year with my money, I had some savings to spend on myself.

I even stumbled into a tech mall and bought some gadgets for filming at a bargain! 

It sure is overwhelming at first, just the shear amount of stuff available, so I would recommend you spend a day  window shopping  before purchasing anything. Just peruse through and see everything so that you have time to decide what you'd really like to buy. 

I think this city is the go-to-area, to buy your outfits for the year. Things may be cheap, but speaking for myself, the quality of the clothing is great. You will not regret it when you return home. 

You will find anything and everything!

I didn't buy makeup but all the brands were there and all the accessories too.

Brushes, glue and eyelashes... you name it. 

Seeeeeeeeephoraaaaaa we meet finally!

So hard to resist that red sign 

For me. it's like I met Beyonce...lol!

Finally saw Fenty Beauty with my own eyes!

I loved all the scarfs, patterns were so unique!

Soooooo many floors of shops!

The tech mall

Always take a cocktail break....

That is what I did. Only a few though. 

With dinner. 

The margarita's sassy cousin!

Some bubble gum , berry flavored contraption...

I was advised to purchase a sim card so that I could keep in contact with my friend, which I did from a 7 Eleven. Very Cheaply!

The same friend  graciously organised to show me around The Grand Palace , Wat Pho and  Wat Arun . 

I was just in awe.

They value their temples as religious and cultural places but also they are very aware of  their role as tourist attractions.

The temples are well taken care of. 

We were not allowed in sacred places with shoes, and modest clothing had to be worn. I saw people in tiny shorts & spaghetti tops being guided to purchase new clothing before being allowed to enter the premises. 

And in sacred areas...No pictures allowed!

It rained heavily that afternoon, the palace was packed with soaked happy tourists.

We were all scrambling to get our Instagram pics lol.

Ancient paints telling the stories of the Thai Buddhist religion 

So much details sometimes I didn't know where to look. 

I kept taking pictures of these men at the palace and  the temples. Fascinated 

I just LOVED the detail! 

Can you see the Jade Buddha...no pictures allowed inside...so we took one here.

Apparently this is the popular  Instagram photo spot

These tall warriors always protecting exits and entrances even at the airport

The trees reminded me of Dr Sseus. 

The Reclining Buddha in all it's glory 

It's huge!

The feet of the reclining Buddha

I loved the Chinese statues of the old men , they were once ballasts on ships 

Gosh the flowery details ! So lovely. There are four of them representing the first four kings of the current dynasty

Reclining Buddha in different positions. Wat Pho was the public university in Thailand. 

Sacred warriors protecting the Temple of Dawn . 

They recently restored The Temple of Dawn, was told it used to be grey but now they added colour. 

I walked everywhere and enjoyed it.

I mean I was eating and I temporarily abandoned my exercise routine 

so I NEEDED to walk...trust me on that one lol. 

Took a boat once to see a temple and a taxi to the palace. 

But literally spent more time walking.

Another interesting sight, was shrines placed around the city. People would stop , pray and give offerings. 

All in all as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I needed those few days. I got some time just to rest my mind, my body and my spirit,

 but also to be inspired by the sights and sounds of the city. 

It was amaaaaaazing Bangkok! Hope one day I can return and see more of Thailand.

(Btw find me on Twitter @mariajulietrose 😀)