A DS Travel representative picked us
at the scheduled pick-up time 
(4:30 PM) for transfer from Pattaya to the Royal
Park Palace Hotel in Bangkok. There was a ten minutes minor delay when our
driver was stopped, apparently for some license issue near the airport. Royal
Park Palace Hotel is sorely in need of a major renovation - the rooms are
infested, the carpets are way too limp, and the furniture needs more than a
coat, etc. The indoor pool is 1.5 meters deep throughout. Room service at the
hotel was average – it was hard to communicate in English.
Related Posts:
Last Updated: 10/2012.
(4:30 PM) for transfer from Pattaya to the Royal
Park Palace Hotel in Bangkok. There was a ten minutes minor delay when our
driver was stopped, apparently for some license issue near the airport. Royal
Park Palace Hotel is sorely in need of a major renovation - the rooms are
infested, the carpets are way too limp, and the furniture needs more than a
coat, etc. The indoor pool is 1.5 meters deep throughout. Room service at the
hotel was average – it was hard to communicate in English.
Breakfast was substantial and
included Thai specialties, bread, few salads, decent coffee, watered juice, and
one cereal option. (Breakfast is served from 6 - 10 AM but that day the place
was packed by 8AM.) Our package included a half day temple and city tour of
Bangkok and we were picked up for that at 8:10 AM. The tour consisted mainly of
short visits to two temples followed by a driving city tour. The first visit
was to the golden Buddha temple which hosts the world’s largest solid gold
statue. It is located in the district of Samphanthawong in Chinatown. 
The
statue is 3m tall and weighs 5.5 tonnes and is believed to have been made in
the Sukhothai period between the 13th century and the early 18th
century. At one point it was completely plastered and moved from Ayutthaya to
Bangkok for hiding from the Burmese, who were besieging the city. Following
that, its true composition was forgotten for almost 200 years. The rediscovery
of the statue is truly an amazing story - An old abandoned temple housed a
stucco-painted Buddha. Although, the statue did not appear attractive, the
decision was to move it to Wat Traimit, a common pagoda in Bangkok. As that
temple did not have a building to house the statue, it was stored under a
simple tin roof for 20 years. In 1955, a new building was built and while
moving it the cable of the crane broke and the statue dropped on to the mud.
The wet plaster covering the statue cracked and during its cleaning the solid
gold statue underneath was discovered!
The
statue is 3m tall and weighs 5.5 tonnes and is believed to have been made in
the Sukhothai period between the 13th century and the early 18th
century. At one point it was completely plastered and moved from Ayutthaya to
Bangkok for hiding from the Burmese, who were besieging the city. Following
that, its true composition was forgotten for almost 200 years. The rediscovery
of the statue is truly an amazing story - An old abandoned temple housed a
stucco-painted Buddha. Although, the statue did not appear attractive, the
decision was to move it to Wat Traimit, a common pagoda in Bangkok. As that
temple did not have a building to house the statue, it was stored under a
simple tin roof for 20 years. In 1955, a new building was built and while
moving it the cable of the crane broke and the statue dropped on to the mud.
The wet plaster covering the statue cracked and during its cleaning the solid
gold statue underneath was discovered!
The next stop was
at the Temple of the Reclining Buddha (aka Wat Pho), 
located in Rattanakosin
district adjacent to the Grand Palace. The complex consists of two walled
compounds. The northern compound houses the Reclining Buddha and the Massage
School and the southern compound is a working Buddhist Monastery. Apart from
the huge reclining Buddha statue, the temple is also popular as the birthplace
of traditional Thai massages. The site was the center of education for
traditional Thai medicine before the temple was founded in 1781 AD and is
recognized as the first public university of Thailand. During King Rama III’s
reign (1824 to 1851 AD), plaques inscribed with medical texts were placed
around the temple. The reclining Buddha is 50 ft high and 143 feet long with
the foot (10’x15’) displaying inlay work in mother-of-pearl. Adjacent to the
reclining Buddha building is a small raised garden featuring a bodhi tree which
is a cutting of the original tree in India where Buddha sat awaiting
enlightenment. The site is huge and home to more than thousand Buddha images –
the reclining Buddha is the largest with a length of 160 feet. 
The grounds
outside the temple contain 91 stupas – 71 of the smaller ones contain the ashes
of the royal family while the 21 large ones contain the ashes of Buddha. The
driving tour included photo opportunities at Emerald Temple, Royal Palace,
Lumpini Park, police grounds, and the huge flower market. The tour ended by
~10:30 AM (very short for a half-day tour) with a marketing stop at a Gem
Gallery. 
We were dropped off at at Robinson Plaza upon request. Level 0 of the
plaza has a variety food court – it is very popular with the locals – lunch
including desserts for four was only 400 Bhats. A McDonalds and a large grocery
store are available in Level 1 as well – coffee was about 45 Bhats but
ice-cream was only 9 Bhats due to some promotion. Nearby is the intra-market
(roadside stalls) where bargaining is the order of the day – T-shirts start
around 150 Bhats while regular shirts start around 200 Bhats – both can be
easily bargained down although they quote about 50% more initially.
located in Rattanakosin
district adjacent to the Grand Palace. The complex consists of two walled
compounds. The northern compound houses the Reclining Buddha and the Massage
School and the southern compound is a working Buddhist Monastery. Apart from
the huge reclining Buddha statue, the temple is also popular as the birthplace
of traditional Thai massages. The site was the center of education for
traditional Thai medicine before the temple was founded in 1781 AD and is
recognized as the first public university of Thailand. During King Rama III’s
reign (1824 to 1851 AD), plaques inscribed with medical texts were placed
around the temple. The reclining Buddha is 50 ft high and 143 feet long with
the foot (10’x15’) displaying inlay work in mother-of-pearl. Adjacent to the
reclining Buddha building is a small raised garden featuring a bodhi tree which
is a cutting of the original tree in India where Buddha sat awaiting
enlightenment. The site is huge and home to more than thousand Buddha images –
the reclining Buddha is the largest with a length of 160 feet. The grounds
outside the temple contain 91 stupas – 71 of the smaller ones contain the ashes
of the royal family while the 21 large ones contain the ashes of Buddha. The
driving tour included photo opportunities at Emerald Temple, Royal Palace,
Lumpini Park, police grounds, and the huge flower market. The tour ended by
~10:30 AM (very short for a half-day tour) with a marketing stop at a Gem
Gallery. 
We were dropped off at at Robinson Plaza upon request. Level 0 of the
plaza has a variety food court – it is very popular with the locals – lunch
including desserts for four was only 400 Bhats. A McDonalds and a large grocery
store are available in Level 1 as well – coffee was about 45 Bhats but
ice-cream was only 9 Bhats due to some promotion. Nearby is the intra-market
(roadside stalls) where bargaining is the order of the day – T-shirts start
around 150 Bhats while regular shirts start around 200 Bhats – both can be
easily bargained down although they quote about 50% more initially.
Breakfast at the hotel the next day
was a repeat of the previous day. 
We checked out around 9:45 AM and were
transferred to the airport at around 10AM for our afternoon flight to KUL.
Document verification in the airport went very smooth. Food options during our
Air Asia flight was again very limited – managed to get three tandoori wraps
and a Malaysian dish (Nasi Lemak). Overall, we felt a packaged tour is a good
option for a first trip but anyone wanting to explore more should allot a week
or more to this country.
We checked out around 9:45 AM and were
transferred to the airport at around 10AM for our afternoon flight to KUL.
Document verification in the airport went very smooth. Food options during our
Air Asia flight was again very limited – managed to get three tandoori wraps
and a Malaysian dish (Nasi Lemak). Overall, we felt a packaged tour is a good
option for a first trip but anyone wanting to explore more should allot a week
or more to this country. Related Posts:
Last Updated: 10/2012.
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