Yesterday was mostly a travel day as we made our way from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. However, Landon had arranged a wonderful evening activity to end our first day in Bangkok: The night bicycle tour! I've done several bicycle tours in my life of interesting cities, but never one at night. It got rave reviews on TripAdvisor, but I was midly skeptical of how much we'd be able to see by night. It was incredible. I feel like we got to see a hidden, quieter and more peaceful side of Bangkok from riding through its streets and alleys at night.
First things first, we arrived at Grasshopper Bicycle Tours to get fitted for our bikes and helmets, and have our bikes equipped with appropriate safety lighting. We mounted our trusty bikes around 6:30 PM, and began the ride through alleyways teeming with shops, restaurants and the busy end of the Bangkok business day for small buisness owners. Our tour guide, Wudee, was a forty-five year old Thai man in impeccable physical shape with a love for biking and the outdoors. Jules and he got quiet chummy during the ride, and we learned that he had lived thirty years in Chiang Mai prior to coming to Bangkok has a hotelier then running his own treks and white-water rafting. Wudee pointed out several interesting sights like a famous Thai university on our way to the ferry dock, and I had to narrowly avoid crashing into things because I was turning my head at every angle to catch the rapidly evolving scenery around me. We were on an urban adventure, up stairs, down stairs, through alleys, across bridges, in markets, sometimes walking the bike, sometimes carrying it, and pedaling furiously the other times.
We boarded a ferry boat to cross the Chao Phraya River, and had great views of the electric night horizon, all the sparking lights on Bangkok in all arrays of colors and brightness. Wheeling our bikes off the ferry, we continued through the urban jungle and arrived at Wat Arun, or "Temple of the Dawn". Wudee explained Wat Arun's important role in the early history of Bangkok. After the fall of Ayuthaya, Thailand's ancient capital, the conquering Burmese king Taksin took control of Thailand and established the new capital at the site where Wat Arun stands. The temple was named after the Indian god of dawn, Aruna, and also as a symbol of the beginning of a new era, the dawn of a new capital city. The temple and its compound are absolutely breathtaking, especially at night. There is an 82 meter prang (enormous Khmer-style tower) in its center, and numerous slightly smaller but equally beautiful towers radiating around the central prang. The whole thing from a distance is astounding, but the detail up close is even more impressive. There are endless ornate floral mosaics made from broken, multicolored Chinese porcelain that give the incredible work of bold and powerful architecture a delicate appearance.
We were given special entrance to the wat at night through the bicycle tour, and it was so unique to be allowed into it's sacred gates by night without the crush and bustle of all the other tourists. Our small biking group of nine, plus the temple guards, were the only ones around, and we were free to wander for a long time to take pictures and admire the radiant glow of the temples in the clear and cool night.
Our next stop was Wat Pho, and we cut through the "neighborhoods" of Bangkok to reach the beautiful temple. Biking through more narrow alleys, we passed many people eating dinner, watching TV, conversating outside and waving to the group of bikers whizzing through their nightly routine. We had to duck several times top pass under low-lying awnings, and the alleys were sometimes so narrowed and lined by people, animals and other hodgepodge that I had to brake often. Wat Pho was as beautiful, if not more than Wat Arun. We arrived at a perfect time to see the pure white crescent moon hanging between the peaks of the temple's monuments. The compound hosted various chedis, or enormous mosaic-covered towers that housed the remains of several of the Chakri kings. Porecelain-covered walkways move around the perimeter, blending into spacious temples with awnings and statues of dragons and other mythical creatures. Wudee informed us that Wat Pho is also the national headquarters for the teaching and preservation of traditional Thai medicine, including Thai massage. There is a very famous massage school located in the compound, and the students and teachers still follow the ancient stone inscriptions depicting massage techniques from early Bangkok history. Once again, we enjoyed the peace and tranquility of Bangkok's most famous monuments at night, free from the massive crowds and oppressive humid heat.
The last stop before heading back were the night market and the flower market. To get there, we biked along the river, stopping to watch the lights of the bridges change along their rainbow spectrum as large dinner cruise boats full of merriment and laughter passed below. The night market wasn't much to see, mostly knock-off designer brands of every type of merchandise one can imagine, but the flower market was incredible! It spanned both sides of the city street, with one side entirely devoted to flowers used for religious purposes. The religious side was mostly the traditional yellow margiolds used to make the wreaths and flowery strands that are seen adorning statues and alters in the temples and even in taxi cabs all around Thailand. The other side had flowers in every color of the rainbow plus ones in between. There were types of flowers I'd never seen before, and ones in colors I didn't know existed. I had no idea that orchids came in so many vibrant shades. The smell was intoxicating, and we wandered the stalls for a long time, gently touching soft petals and admiring their beauty before returning to our bikes by the river.
Sweaty and exhausted we took a cab home from the city center and turned into bed. We all felt as if we had seen a hidden part of Bangkok, a more calm and peaceful side that would surely dissolve into something equally wonderful in the daylight hours to come.
First things first, we arrived at Grasshopper Bicycle Tours to get fitted for our bikes and helmets, and have our bikes equipped with appropriate safety lighting. We mounted our trusty bikes around 6:30 PM, and began the ride through alleyways teeming with shops, restaurants and the busy end of the Bangkok business day for small buisness owners. Our tour guide, Wudee, was a forty-five year old Thai man in impeccable physical shape with a love for biking and the outdoors. Jules and he got quiet chummy during the ride, and we learned that he had lived thirty years in Chiang Mai prior to coming to Bangkok has a hotelier then running his own treks and white-water rafting. Wudee pointed out several interesting sights like a famous Thai university on our way to the ferry dock, and I had to narrowly avoid crashing into things because I was turning my head at every angle to catch the rapidly evolving scenery around me. We were on an urban adventure, up stairs, down stairs, through alleys, across bridges, in markets, sometimes walking the bike, sometimes carrying it, and pedaling furiously the other times.
We boarded a ferry boat to cross the Chao Phraya River, and had great views of the electric night horizon, all the sparking lights on Bangkok in all arrays of colors and brightness. Wheeling our bikes off the ferry, we continued through the urban jungle and arrived at Wat Arun, or "Temple of the Dawn". Wudee explained Wat Arun's important role in the early history of Bangkok. After the fall of Ayuthaya, Thailand's ancient capital, the conquering Burmese king Taksin took control of Thailand and established the new capital at the site where Wat Arun stands. The temple was named after the Indian god of dawn, Aruna, and also as a symbol of the beginning of a new era, the dawn of a new capital city. The temple and its compound are absolutely breathtaking, especially at night. There is an 82 meter prang (enormous Khmer-style tower) in its center, and numerous slightly smaller but equally beautiful towers radiating around the central prang. The whole thing from a distance is astounding, but the detail up close is even more impressive. There are endless ornate floral mosaics made from broken, multicolored Chinese porcelain that give the incredible work of bold and powerful architecture a delicate appearance.
We were given special entrance to the wat at night through the bicycle tour, and it was so unique to be allowed into it's sacred gates by night without the crush and bustle of all the other tourists. Our small biking group of nine, plus the temple guards, were the only ones around, and we were free to wander for a long time to take pictures and admire the radiant glow of the temples in the clear and cool night.
Our next stop was Wat Pho, and we cut through the "neighborhoods" of Bangkok to reach the beautiful temple. Biking through more narrow alleys, we passed many people eating dinner, watching TV, conversating outside and waving to the group of bikers whizzing through their nightly routine. We had to duck several times top pass under low-lying awnings, and the alleys were sometimes so narrowed and lined by people, animals and other hodgepodge that I had to brake often. Wat Pho was as beautiful, if not more than Wat Arun. We arrived at a perfect time to see the pure white crescent moon hanging between the peaks of the temple's monuments. The compound hosted various chedis, or enormous mosaic-covered towers that housed the remains of several of the Chakri kings. Porecelain-covered walkways move around the perimeter, blending into spacious temples with awnings and statues of dragons and other mythical creatures. Wudee informed us that Wat Pho is also the national headquarters for the teaching and preservation of traditional Thai medicine, including Thai massage. There is a very famous massage school located in the compound, and the students and teachers still follow the ancient stone inscriptions depicting massage techniques from early Bangkok history. Once again, we enjoyed the peace and tranquility of Bangkok's most famous monuments at night, free from the massive crowds and oppressive humid heat.
The last stop before heading back were the night market and the flower market. To get there, we biked along the river, stopping to watch the lights of the bridges change along their rainbow spectrum as large dinner cruise boats full of merriment and laughter passed below. The night market wasn't much to see, mostly knock-off designer brands of every type of merchandise one can imagine, but the flower market was incredible! It spanned both sides of the city street, with one side entirely devoted to flowers used for religious purposes. The religious side was mostly the traditional yellow margiolds used to make the wreaths and flowery strands that are seen adorning statues and alters in the temples and even in taxi cabs all around Thailand. The other side had flowers in every color of the rainbow plus ones in between. There were types of flowers I'd never seen before, and ones in colors I didn't know existed. I had no idea that orchids came in so many vibrant shades. The smell was intoxicating, and we wandered the stalls for a long time, gently touching soft petals and admiring their beauty before returning to our bikes by the river.
Sweaty and exhausted we took a cab home from the city center and turned into bed. We all felt as if we had seen a hidden part of Bangkok, a more calm and peaceful side that would surely dissolve into something equally wonderful in the daylight hours to come.
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