Thailand Honeymoon Day 1 - Jim Thompson House | River Cruise | Wat Arun

I got married to the love of my life on Jan 14th 2012, four days later we were on a plane to Thailand on our Honeymoon. We started planning 6 months in advance and after a lot of internet research, debates and arguments  we decided on Thailand. The plan was to land in Bangkok spend 2 days exploring the city and its temples and then make our way to the beautiful island of Koh Samui. 

Breakdown of the itinerary

We arrived in Bangkok early morning and it took us about 30 minutes by cab from airport to the hotel. We checked in to hotel  Siam@Siam; a cozy boutique hotel in the heart of the city. The hotel décor was very contemporary with a lot of modern art installations and very friendly staff. I would highly recommend the hotel

Siam@Siam Hotel Lobby 

We had not planned how to spend our time in Bangkok so we picked up a tourist map from the hotel lobby and headed to the nearest tourist attraction the Jim Thompson house which was a 10 minute walk from our hotel.

Jim Thompson House 

The Jim Thompson House is a museum in Bangkok and one of the most visited tourist places in the city. Jim Thompson used to work for the US secret service before he retired and settled in Thailand. Mr Thompson was fascinated by the quality of silk that was being weaved in Thailand and that sparked a business idea. He sent samples of Thai silk to fashion houses in Paris, Milan etc. and found an international market for Thai silk.

Old Restored Thai Home  

As Thompson build his Silk empire, he also began collecting Southeast Asian art, mainly Buddhist and secular art from Burma , Cambodia, Laos and Thailand .In 1956 he build the Jim Thompson house to showcase his art and architectural collations.  He bought old houses in the royal city of Ayuthaya and dismantled parts of the buildings got them ferried to Bangkok and assembled several of them at his complex. We spent about an hour strolling around in the exotic garden and koi ponds and admiring the old buildings. I would recommend the Jim Thompson house if you have some extra time to kill, I found the Thai temples to be far more interesting.

Glass Noodles, minced chicken and stir Bok Choy

We found this really crowded make shift restaurant and decided to have some authentic Thai Food. Best decision ever! The food was spicy and full of flavor. Think we had some glass noodles, stir fry bok Choy and spicy minced chicken and rice and I must say none of the five star hotels does justice to Thai food ever when u compare it to this.

Tuk Tuk is like a Indian Auto Rickshaw on steroids

Our Colourful Zippy Ride 

After lunch we took the tuk tuk to the river front from where all the river cruises operate. These cruises take you through the river channels and to some of the famous temples by the river. I explored Wat Arun and Wat Poh by the river cruise . You also get to see how people live in small houses by the river.

Wat Arun on one side and the city on the other 

Temple Of Dawn 

Visiting Wat Arun was definitely one of the top things on my checklist and it was totally worth it. Taking the canal cruise to see Wat Arun is a good idea as you can see urban Thailand on one side and ancient temples on the other. The Temple of Dawn is located on the west bank of the Chao Phraya river and from a distance it looks like a grey structure but up close you can see that its made up of colourful broken tiles. Wat Arun was named after the Hindu God of Dawn “Aruna” to symbolise a new era after the fall of Ayuthaya kingdom. Make sure you climb the steep stairs up to the top of the temple, you get a amazing view of the grand palace, Wat Pho, downtown Bangkok and the river. Unfortunately my battery ran out and I missed out on some good photo opportunities.

Temple Grounds 

Wifey taking pictures 

Green Temple Guardian 

Ornate Interiors of Wat Arun

Giant Demon Guardians

That night we visited the night market a must see while in Bangkok. They are bustling with people and  have a lot of interesting knick knacks and not to forget the creepy crawlies all fried and kept ready to eat if you feel adventurous.

After the long day we decided to have dinner at the hotel where they were having a sea food festival.They had a huge spread of all kinds of sea food but what really caught our eye was the gigantic Alaskan crabs and jumbo lobsters.

Sushi and Sake to end the night 

By the end of day one we had visited beautiful temples, explored the river canals and eaten some of the best street food. It was a amazing start to a beautiful honeymoon ..... blog post of day 2 coming soon.

CLICK HERE FOR DAY 2

Bangalore Fort

The Bangalore Fort or the City Fort was built by Kempe Gowda who was a chieftain of the Vijaynagar Empire in the year 1537.  The fort was initially build as a mud fort but was later reinforced with stone by Haider Ali the ruler of Mysore Kingdom and father of the famous Tipu Sultan. 

The fort was the stronghold of Tipu Sultan during the Mysore wars when Lord Caorwallis lead the attack on the fort. A marble tablet in the fort wall records the spot where the British breached the fort wall leading to its capture in 1791. 

Most of the fort walls fell to ruin and only two of the 26 bastions remain today 

Delhi Gate showcasing Indo-Islamic architecture 

The Ganesha Temple build by Tipu reflects his respect for other religions 

Gignatic wooden door with rows of metal spikes at the entrance, I am guessing the metal spikes were to prevent war elephants from ramming down the fort gate.

The fort lies close to one of the oldest markets in Karnataka the K.R. Market, and its very easy to reach by bus, auto and taxi. Make sure you also visit Tipus Sultans Summer Palace which is about 100 meters away from the fort.

All Photos were taken with my new Fuiji XE-2 and 18-55 mm f2.8 kit lens .