After a nice day in Pattaya yesterday, we left in the morning and headed back to Bangkok. We were dropped off at The Ambassador Hotel, a well-known landmark in the vibrant Sukhumvit area. We waited to be checked in, and eventually, they managed to find a room for us on a non-smoking floor. The room was nice, with a small balcony overlooking the swimming pool. The pool looked very inviting, and I should have gone for a swim right then and there instead of saving it for later. At that time, I didn’t realize that with all the activities we had planned in Bangkok, that “later time” would never come.
We took the City Tour in the afternoon and visited Wat Trai Mit Witthayaram Worawihan to see the Golden Buddha. This massive statue is the world’s largest solid gold Buddha, weighing five and a half tons and dating back to the Sukhothai period. The gleam of the polished gold against the intricate white and gold architecture of the temple was truly breathtaking.
The next stop was the Reclining Buddha temple, officially known as Wat Phra Chetuphon (Wat Pho). On the way there, we got a real taste of the famous Bangkok traffic—a slow-moving sea of colorful taxis and tuk-tuks. Inside the viharn, the 46-meter-long Buddha covered in gold leaf was an awe-inspiring sight.
We got to see beautiful Thai temple art and architecture throughout the complex. The grounds are dotted with towering “chedis” or pagodas, including the four Great Chedis like Chedi Phra Si Sanphet, which are decorated with vibrant ceramic tiles and intricate floral patterns. The level of detail on every spire and roofline was incredible.
There were some other things on the list, but we couldn’t see everything due to the lack of time. Of course, there was a mandatory stop at the Gems Factory, but this time we actually bought a little something as a souvenir. During our explorations, we also encountered the famous Ramayana murals. These detailed paintings encircle the temple galleries, depicting scenes from the Thai epic ‘Ramakien’ with stunning colors and gold-leaf highlights.
That evening, we had reservations for a Dinner Cruise on the Chao Phraya River. We reached the registration desk and were assigned to board the Chao Phraya Princess III. While waiting on the waterfront for our boat to arrive, I leaned over to see if I could spot anything in the water, and the sunglasses I was wearing over my head fell straight into the river. That made me a little upset, but I got over it soon enough as the brightly lit boat docked.
We were seated on the lower deck of the boat at a table by the window. As soon as the boat started, people hit the buffet. There were a lot of different items served, and it was difficult to even taste everything offered. We decided to walk around, check what was available, and only focus on what we liked most. It was truly a gastronomic delight. As we enjoyed our dinner, we cruised along the Chao Phraya River, passing under many beautiful bridges that were superbly lit up at night. The illuminated temples and city skyline passing by on either side provided a nice backdrop to our meal. After the cruise, we were dropped back at our hotel.