Walking Tour of Bangkok

 We started today by saying goodbye to our gracious hosts in Siem Reap and to our local guide "Ton" as we made our way to the airport to catch our flight to Bangkok, Thailand for the last leg of the journey.  The flight was quick - only taking about an hour - and immigration was also pretty fast. 

Once we gathered our luggage, we met up with our new local guide, "Pom" and made our way to the hotel where we had an "international buffet" lunch - which was a bit overwhelming - they had every sort of food you could imagine.  After the bellies were full, we checked in and had about an hour to settle in and clean up a bit before we headed off into the city for a walking tour of Thonburi - the older part of the new Bangkok and the original capital of Thailand. 

In Thai, the official name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or just Krung Thep, but Pom also told us the full official name, which is Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit.  This translates to:  City of angels, great city of immortals, magnificent city of the nine gems, seat of the king, city of royal palaces, home of gods incarnate, erected by Vishvakarman at Indra's behest.  Quite the mouthful!

While walking we stopped and bought a durian so we could all try it.  This is nicknamed the King of Fruits here.  The kids were not quite sure what to make of it or whether or not they liked it.  It tasted a bit like a melon of some sort and an avocado - very different taste and texture.



We also tried fresh coconut water and meat.   Again - the kids all noticed the difference in the flavor compared to what they had in Cambodia and other places we have traveled to such as Australia and even in South America.  We crossed back over the river and then took a Tuk Tuk tour around the Flower Market district - after all you can't come to Thailand and not take a Tuk Tuk tour!!

We ended our walking tour and Tuk Tuk tour by visiting the flower market and the vegetable market.  This is open 24 hours a day and is quite busy.  It is filled with flowers everywhere and we told that they sell out of fresh flowers every day.  It was amazing to see so many flowers in one place.  We had dinner overlooking the river near the market and then headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest and getting ready for another big day tomorrow. 

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