Bangkok is known as "Venice of the East."
After class on Tuesday we grabbed a cab and picked up Randy. We had a flight to Bangkok. Kim and I had a couple of days off because of the Indian new year called Deepavali. We took a bus to the airport and flew out at 6:45. on landing in Bangkok we were shown to an information booth that happened to double as a local tour provider. We got directions and a river tour for 1200 Baht (about $12.00 each Canadian) We walked away from the booth wondering if we had just been taken.
A 30 minute taxi ride across the city of 10 million plus got to our hotel that was still on the edge of the city. At 7:30 the next morning our tour guide met us at the lobby with a van and a driver. We challenged rush hour traffic and got to the pier at the river in an hour or so..JPG)
The river tour took us into the canal system where we viewed the homes and temples. Temples are everywhere. Over 90% of Thailand is Buddhist. After the boat tour we were taken to several commercial establishments. Apparently both the cab drivers and the tour providers subsidize by taking kick backs from these establishments. We had asked for a tailor. Shou (our guide) took us to James Fashion which was named number one in National Geographic. We didn't actually see the article :-) Kim and I each purchased three pair of pants. Originally they were asking 20000 Baht but Kim talked them down to 15000 plus two ties for Bill.
Afterwards we visited a lapidary company. Thailand is renowned for its gemstones. Then on to an oriental rug company where we got an education in the science and art of hand knotted area rugs. These are actually made in Kashmir, India and I have no idea why they are in business in Bangkok. We returned to the hotel to rest up. But first we booked another tour with Shou to go to a buffet dinner and a Thai cultural show. This was also complete with a driver who picked us up at the hotel. The dinner was good but the preamble and the show where amazing.
When we returned to the hotel we were met by a young tailor from James who gave us a fitting of the first draft of the pants. The service is fantastic!
.JPG)
In the morning we took the sky train to James Thompson House Museum. Jim Thompson is a legend in Thailand. He's an American who was here during the war (WWII) and fell in love with the place. He returned to live here during the 50s. The Thai silk trade was a cottage industry and it was dying. He took samples to New York to show to the editor of Vogue magazine. The local designers fell in love with it and the passion transferred to Paris, London and Milan. Thompson returned to Bangkok and set up business, becoming a silk mogul. He also love the Thai traditional architecture and bought up several houses to be transplanted to his property in Bangkok. This is the museum now.
We were to meet our tailor back at the hotel but there was slowness in the manufacture. We checked out and wanted to visit the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. the doorman recommended that we hire a taxi for the day. we were introduced to a delightful young Thia driver who spoke English, albeit limited. He drove us and our luggage around Bangkok and accompanied us on a walk through of the temple and the palace. Pictures don't do it justice. Afterwards we went through the regular round of haggling with local traders before returning with our driver to James fashion for a final fitting. Some small alterations to Kim's pants were necessary and we sipped tea while waiting. Afterwards our driver dropped us at the airport. We were back in our condo by 11:00 pm.
We highly recommend Bangkok and we will return!
We will post pictures later because we now have to prepare for a weekend in Bali. We're only home for 14 hours....November 26 and the pictures are up. Take a look at the right..........
After class on Tuesday we grabbed a cab and picked up Randy. We had a flight to Bangkok. Kim and I had a couple of days off because of the Indian new year called Deepavali. We took a bus to the airport and flew out at 6:45. on landing in Bangkok we were shown to an information booth that happened to double as a local tour provider. We got directions and a river tour for 1200 Baht (about $12.00 each Canadian) We walked away from the booth wondering if we had just been taken.A 30 minute taxi ride across the city of 10 million plus got to our hotel that was still on the edge of the city. At 7:30 the next morning our tour guide met us at the lobby with a van and a driver. We challenged rush hour traffic and got to the pier at the river in an hour or so.
.JPG)
The river tour took us into the canal system where we viewed the homes and temples. Temples are everywhere. Over 90% of Thailand is Buddhist. After the boat tour we were taken to several commercial establishments. Apparently both the cab drivers and the tour providers subsidize by taking kick backs from these establishments. We had asked for a tailor. Shou (our guide) took us to James Fashion which was named number one in National Geographic. We didn't actually see the article :-) Kim and I each purchased three pair of pants. Originally they were asking 20000 Baht but Kim talked them down to 15000 plus two ties for Bill.Afterwards we visited a lapidary company. Thailand is renowned for its gemstones. Then on to an oriental rug company where we got an education in the science and art of hand knotted area rugs. These are actually made in Kashmir, India and I have no idea why they are in business in Bangkok. We returned to the hotel to rest up. But first we booked another tour with Shou to go to a buffet dinner and a Thai cultural show. This was also complete with a driver who picked us up at the hotel. The dinner was good but the preamble and the show where amazing.
When we returned to the hotel we were met by a young tailor from James who gave us a fitting of the first draft of the pants. The service is fantastic!
.JPG)
In the morning we took the sky train to James Thompson House Museum. Jim Thompson is a legend in Thailand. He's an American who was here during the war (WWII) and fell in love with the place. He returned to live here during the 50s. The Thai silk trade was a cottage industry and it was dying. He took samples to New York to show to the editor of Vogue magazine. The local designers fell in love with it and the passion transferred to Paris, London and Milan. Thompson returned to Bangkok and set up business, becoming a silk mogul. He also love the Thai traditional architecture and bought up several houses to be transplanted to his property in Bangkok. This is the museum now.We were to meet our tailor back at the hotel but there was slowness in the manufacture. We checked out and wanted to visit the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. the doorman recommended that we hire a taxi for the day. we were introduced to a delightful young Thia driver who spoke English, albeit limited. He drove us and our luggage around Bangkok and accompanied us on a walk through of the temple and the palace. Pictures don't do it justice. Afterwards we went through the regular round of haggling with local traders before returning with our driver to James fashion for a final fitting. Some small alterations to Kim's pants were necessary and we sipped tea while waiting. Afterwards our driver dropped us at the airport. We were back in our condo by 11:00 pm.
We highly recommend Bangkok and we will return!
We will post pictures later because we now have to prepare for a weekend in Bali. We're only home for 14 hours....November 26 and the pictures are up. Take a look at the right..........
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