My roommates started our weekend in style by hiring a Bentley to take us from the surprisingly modern Bangkok airport to the St. Regis Hotel in the city center. I shared a room with Alyson and Kim and I knew I chose my companions well when we all headed straight to the hotel bar for vodka tonics before even seeing our room.
Friday morning we were up bright and early to spend the day sightseeing. We hired a guide named Nut to show us the highlights of the city. When packing for the weekend, I checked the weather forecast and was a bit disheartened when I read Bangkok holds the claim of being the hottest city in the world.
Clothing quickly became comedy when our group realized that every time we visited a temple or palace, the appropriate attire changed. At the first temple, one had to cover their shoulders with a shawl if they wore a sleeveless top and clothing below the knee was fine. At the next stop, shoulders had to be covered with a shirt (a shawl simply wouldn't do!) and full legs had to be covered unless one wore a dress or skirt. No worries though, as they rented tops for people who needed them and as a result, two members of our group resembled cafeteria workers in their lovely lilac polyester tops. Thankfully I wore a short-sleeved shirt and carried my own sarong that acted as my "skirt" where required. Lesson learned: when visiting Bangkok, wear a short-sleeved dress! The hottest city in the world becomes even more unbearable when wearing multiple layers of clothing.
Friday's tour began with a long boat ride that was fairly unsafe in the choppy river but provided great views of the architecture. We first visited Wat Arun Temple that had incredibly steep steps. One couldn't appreciate just how steep they were until we attempted to go back down. And I was reminded the next morning of those steps when my leg muscles screamed at me. Not the best decision before running 13 miles.
Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn)
From Wat Arun, we boarded the long boats again and saw a floating village in the city. We arrived at the Royal Grand Palace, which was amazing. We spent a couple hours touring the grounds of the palace and pictures could not do it justice. The combination of gold, jewels and Thai architecture was breathtaking.
Typical Ornate Building at the Grand Palace - Jewels and GOLD
Royal Grand Palace
Group Shot with Lovely Lilac Rental Shirts
Temple of Emerald Buddha
Emerald Buddha - actually solid jade. He wears different clothing each season and wore a winter shawl during our visit. Never mind the 90-degree weather!
King Rama V's Palace
King Rama V's Palace - beautiful blend of European and Thai architecture
Our Tuk Tuk, Before it Went MIA
The Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho certainly did not disappoint. I was not prepared for just how enormous it would be! And we were relieved that this particular big Buddha wasn't as picky about our attire or photography as the Emerald Buddha at the palace.
Big Feet!
Nut escorted us to a traditional Thai restaurant for lunch. While the atmosphere was odd and felt a bit like we were on a senior citizen cruise, the food was delicious and we all enjoyed sampling numerous dishes. I love, love, love Thai food!
While driving through the city after lunch, we began to really appreciate just how much the Thai people love their king. While King Rama IX is elderly and frail, I quickly lost count at the number of portraits of him displayed throughout the city, showing him in his younger, vital years. King Rama's first-born is a daughter who would have taken over upon his death, except that she went to college in the US and married an American man, effectively disqualifying her from the throne. None of us were surprised that an American college guy would fall in love with a Thai princess.
Portrait of King Rama IX
We also saw our first protest in the city that afternoon and when we asked Nut about it, he replied, "The people are showing their love for the king." Nice tour guide explanation but there was nothing loving about their display.
After happy hour back at the hotel, we hired a driver to take us out for the evening. We chose to have dinner at the Face Bar and aside from the awful traffic on a Friday night to get to the restaurant, it was an excellent choice. After more delicious Thai food in a beautiful atmosphere, we went to Lebua Sky Bar. Friends had recommended the bar for its views of Bangkok and since the bar was also featured in the movie "Hangover, Part II," we had to check it out. It was a great way to finish our first full day in the city.
Drinks on the Roof with Alyson, Kim, Megan, Adeline and Andy
Enjoying the View with Rachel and Adeline
On Saturday, we made the group decision that we were not willing to don extra clothing to sightsee. So, Nut drove us to the famous Chatuchak weekend market. For those from Texas, it was similar to a Canton experience multiplied by 1,000. The offerings were overwhelming. I could have bought everything from housewares and silver to fabric and dresses. We spent a couple hours browsing through the stalls, enjoying the bargains, before our group split for the afternoon. I knew I needed to head back into town because I wanted the custom tailor experience so many people enjoy in Bangkok.
Kim and I were picked up at our hotel and taken to James Fashion on the other side of town for custom dresses. We each chose two dresses to be made and after selecting our fabric, a woman spent no more than 2 minutes measuring us before we returned to our hotel for a lazy afternoon by the pool. We would return the following day for a fitting, giving the seamstress less than 24 hours to sew the gowns.
Saturday night we had our fill of pre-race carbs at the Italian restaurant at the hotel before getting to bed early for the race Sunday morning. We had to wake up at 3am for the half marathon, which is not natural. Thankfully we arrived at the race plenty early for the 5am start. I was delighted to run before sunrise, trusting it would feel cooler. Only it didn't feel cool at all. Remember the claim? Hottest city in the world indeed.
Pre-Race
All 8 runners finished strong and aside from the "last kilometer" really measuring twice that distance, I felt great afterwards. I only shaved a little bit off my last race time but I was happy to finish at 2 hours 12 minutes and relax the rest of the day. One member of our group, Leslie, ran the full marathon, and finished 4th in her age group! I had never actually known someone on the medal stand at a race before and we were so excited for her.
Finished!
After devouring a cheeseburger poolside at the hotel, Kim and I returned to the tailor to try on our dresses. We were amazed with how well they fit on the first try. Our sweet tailor had a few changes to make and assured us the dresses would be delivered to our hotel that evening. We returned to the pool and didn't move much the rest of the day!
First Dress Fittings for Kim and Me :)
After finishing our race Sunday morning, our group was eager to celebrate the achievement that evening. We dined on yet more Thai food that night and then experienced some typical Bangkok evening entertainment. I'll refrain from providing details but I'll just report that my face hurt the next morning from excessive laughter and I'll never look at a Pepsi bottle or ping pong balls the same ever again.
Monday morning I returned to Singapore, satisfied to have finally seen Bangkok. After training with this group of women since last August, it felt great to finally run a race with them! It was the perfect girls weekend destination and I can now understand why Bangkok is many people's favorite Asian city. It's chaotic, a bit dirty but also has an energy Singapore lacks, amazing shopping, beautiful architecture, friendly people and did I mention the food?
As for the custom-made clothing, the dresses turned out perfect and I'm thankful to have them as souvenirs from Bangkok. I look forward to sharing pictures of my red gown in use very soon...
And thanks to my wonderful husband for taking care of the girls with no complaint while I shopped, ate, drank (and ran!) to my heart's content with great companions all weekend!
For more Bangkok pictures, check out my web album:
Bangkok - February 2012
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