Bangkok

Our first night in Bangkok found us wandering the street for some tasty Thai food.  We settled on a street "restaurant" which had tables on one half of the street, and tables on the other side of the street.  The waitress had to keep crossing the street (which was always busy with cars/motorbikes/tuk tuks) to serve all the customers.  We had pad thai and "spicy soup with beef" ... questionable name, but DELISH!

The next day, our first full day in Bangkok, we got to meet up with my momma, two aunties, and my cousin's wife, Purita, who is originally from Bangkok.  It was nice to see family, talk to people who understood us, and have a knowledgable, personal tour guide.  We took a scenic long neck boat ride on the Chao Phraya River for about 45 min. and ended up at Wat Arun, or the Temple of Dawn, which is probably the most photographed temple in Bangkok.

Our private boat driver 

The temple in the middle of the picture is Wat Arun

The long neck boats cruise the river all day

On the boat tour, you can stop and feed the catfish bread (for good luck).  The fish are crazy!!  There are sooooo many of them and they all flap about and splash water into your boat.  

Hungry hungry catfish

Pulling up to the dock for the temple

Wat Arun - GORGEOUS

James and I climbed the incredibly steep stairs to the top

After visiting Wat Arun, we went through a street market.  I felt like a sardine, packed into a tiny space.  It was claustrophobic, chaotic, and incredibly HOT.  The street food was good, though!

  The packed street

Peanut and pork in two different kinds of jelly-wrapping things

Exotic and tasty!

We found Bangkok to be so incredibly different from Chiang Mai, and it was a little hard to adjust to.  The air is much more polluted, it's definitely more crowded, and people in general are not as friendly or helpful.  But, we are trying to stay positive and are grateful to be broadening our horizons and gaining wonderful travel experience!! New adventures await us daily!

Up next on the blog: the Grand Palace and Wat Pho (the reclining Buddha) - probably my favorite two sights in Bangkok.

- Meredith ♡

["Wake up and live." - Bob Marley (James chose this one for me! :D)]