Day Two in Bangkok: Temples

Day Two Highlights

• The Blue Whale Cafe
• Wat Pho
• Wat Arun
• Le Du

The Details

We didn’t accomplish as much as we had planned to on day two, but that wasn’t surprising considering that it was New Year’s Day. After a late start we walked a couple doors down from our hotel to the Blue Whale Cafe. This trendy little cafe specializes in coffee and pancakes but they also have some savory lunch dishes too. All of the pancake options sounded so good that making a choice was near impossible. We settled on the coconut banana and berry crumble pancakes and they did not disappoint.

We had planned to go to the Grand Palace but were luckily tipped off that it was closed for the day, so we headed over to our second planned stop, Wat Pho.

• When Visiting Temples
  
  
  • Like any major tourist attraction in Thailand, try to get to the temples early. By mid day it’s sweltering and everything is crowded.
  
  
  • Dress properly to visit the temples! The rule of thumb is to have your knees and shoulders covered to enter a temple. At most temples popular with tourists, you will be asked to borrow clothing to cover up if you are not dressed properly. At Wat Pho you must be dressed properly to see the Reclining Buddha but this policy is not enforced on the grounds outside of the temple. Although it’s not mandatory, be respectful and dress modestly for the temple grounds as well. It is hot, so if you want to wear a modest tank top and bring a pashmina to cover your shoulders, that’s fine. But don’t be that person wearing a bikini top (I actually saw this). These are religious sites, so don’t wear an outfit you wouldn’t wear to any other place of worship.
  
  
  • If you are taking a cab to one of the popular tourist destinations, do not agree to be taken anywhere else. Some drivers will target tourists with offers to take you to a tour outfitter that they have an in with, or to take you to a couple cool sightseeing stops along the way. The goal is to get you to a business that they have an arrangement with or to run up the meter. We actually met people that this happened to, so it’s not just a myth.

Wat Pho is a sprawling temple complex and home to the Reclining Buddha. It was quite crowded when we got there. We filed in behind all of the other tourists to the main attraction, the giant gold Buddha. Measuring 150 feet in length, the Reclining Buddha is truly impressive. I had seen many pictures before we got there but I was still in awe at just how big the statue is. The flow of traffic took us along the front of the Buddha and back around behind. Just through the doors that lead to the hall behind the Buddha is a row of 108 bronze bowls. For 20 baht you can buy a cup of 108 coins, one to drop in each bowl for good fortune.

After visiting the Buddha we spent another hour or so exploring the grounds. Wat Pho is home to 1000 images of Buddha, 91 chedis (picture below), several smaller halls and pavilions, many statues, gardens, and a school of Thai massage. If you wanted to see only the Reclining Buddha, you could be in and out in under 30 minutes. If you want to explore the grounds, plan at least an hour.

From Wat Pho, we headed over to the Tha Tien pier to take the ferry to Wat Arun. After an exciting boat ride across the extremely busy Chao Phraya river we arrived at a crowded Wat Arun. The Wat Arun complex is much small than that of Wat Pho with not as much to see. The main attraction is, of course, the large tower, or prang. The prang is beautiful from a distance but unbelievable when you get up close. The entire giant structure is covered in colorful, iridescent tiles that are arranged in intricate patterns. You can climb part way up the prang to admire its beauty up close, but there isn’t much else to see in this area. Off to the side sits the Ordination Hall, an ornate building also worth checking out.

From Wat Arun there are several ways to get back across the river. There is the Wat Pho-Wat Arun ferry, which we took both ways, that just goes back and forth between the Tha Tien pier and Wat Arun. The ferry boards right where it drops off so we went with this route because it was familiar. There are also water taxis that will take you either way down the river. These board at a pavilion closer to the prang.

Once we were back across the river we walked back to our hotel. With some time to kill before we had to leave for dinner we went up to the rooftop restaurant for a drink (and some mango sticky rice, of course). After our relaxing little cocktail hour on the roof we caught a cab to Le Du, where we had dinner reservations.

If you plan to dine at a popular restaurant, make a reservation. The dining scene in Bangkok is very busy, especially with the new Michelin Guide, so having a reservation can never hurt.

The restaurant is unassuming from the outside but has an air of relaxed luxury inside. Because it was New Year’s Day they were serving a set tasting menu. As someone who is indecisive and usually wants to try everything, this is probably my favorite way to dine.

We picked a bottle of wine from the impressive wine menu and started the seven course meal. I was impressed before even lifting a fork. The plating was beautiful, a work of art, with some of the dishes looking too good to eat. And the taste lived up to the appearance. I don’t think there was a single dish that didn’t impress. The meal took almost two hours, but we didn’t mind because it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Very full and tired from a day in the sun, we cabbed back to the hotel to pack and get ready to leave for Phuket the next morning.