Bangkok Trip: Wat Maha That / Monastery of the Great Reli Ayutthaya

The sun shines so much brighter this morning, when I woke up. The flowers smell sweeter and the grass look greener. Hehe, I'm in a cheery mood apparently. Little things make me happy =)

Today, you're lucky enough to get to lay your eyes on one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Thailand, Wat Maha That aka "Monastery of the Great Reli". But before showing you the actual images, I shall just brief you through a little history of Wat Maha That, written on one the notice boards there.

"Wat Maha That is located to the east of the grand palace. It is the royal temple and most sacred in Ayutthaya during the glorious time. Buddha relics were enshrined in the Mahathat Chedi (the principle pagoda). This monastery was once the residence of the Supreme Patriarch.

According to Ayutthaya chronicle, Mahathat Chedi was starting to be built in the reign of Phra Borom Rajathirat I (Khun Luang Pha -Ngua) in 1374 and completed in the reign of King Ramesuan.

In the reign of King Song Tham, the principal pagoda collapsed through the foundation but it was restored later in the reign of King Prasat Thong.

This monastery was destroyed and had been burnt in the last war between Ayutthaya and Burma in A.D. 1767 and was left ruined."

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Bangkok Trip: Bang Pa-In Palace / Summer Palace

Sipping on a tall Chocolate Cream Chip as I'm writing this post in Starbucks, one word - YUMMEH! It's the only coffee-free drink I enjoy most from the coffeehouse chain stores so far. Yeah, speaking of the miserable life of a gastric sufferer.

Bangkok seems distant now. I hardly remember the details about our Bangkok trip anymore. Blame my prematurely aged brain. Argh! Gotta watch my sodium intake from now on. You better, Christina!

We joined local tour again on day 4. First stop of our marathon temple tour was Bang Pa-In Palace aka the Summer Palace located in Bang Pa-In district, Ayutthaya Province. Approximately 60km away from the Baiyoke Sky Hotel we stayed in Bangkok. It was a great honor to be able to visit the facilities once utilized by the royal family, despite the blazing hot sun that cost us so much sweat and strength.

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Bangkok Trip: Chao Phraya Floating Market

Hey, hey! How's everyone been doing? I don't feel very good still. Been down with food poisoning since Monday. Vomiting, headache, nausea, diarrhea, fever, stomach cramp...

I AM SO GLAD I SURVIVED!!!

Apart from visiting palm sugar factory and orchid farm, our day 3's itinerary also consists of a trip to Chao Phraya Floating Market. It's a bit remote from the Bangkok city to my surprise, approximately two hours or more by car. Transportation fees, both land and water were all included in the day tour package, except meals. Why need it when food is just at the reach of our hands?
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Bangkok Trip: Palm Sugar Making and Orchid Farm

For years, I've been using palm sugar in my cooking, and I wasn't aware what exactly it is made of or made from until my recent trip to Bangkok two weeks ago. Well, it never occurred to interest me, so yeah. Fortunately, our third day tour package covered the topic pretty well. We were exposed to the process of palm sugar making and a little hands-on experience.

I woke up super early that morning just to get myself ready and to enjoy the complimentary buffet breakfast which started from 6 to 10 every morning. My restless body wished to stay in the bed longer but my mind opposed, "Come on, girl. It's your first morning in Bangkok!!!"

So minus all the time spent to wait, ride and change elevators (only certain elevators get you to certain floors *smacks head*), we had merely half an hour to eat or less. In that case, "gulp down" is the more appropriate way to describe the situation.

After quick breakfast, we came down to lobby to find that our friendly tour guide was already there waiting with a big smile on his face. Some of the Thai people are genuinely really friendly and soft-spoken. He led us to a mini shuttle bus parked not far from Baiyoke Sky Hotel. Departure time was sharp at 6.45am as scheduled.

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Baiyoke Sky Hotel Bangkok: Buffet Dinner and Night View

Another month has passed by. Time is just slipping away through my fingers like sand, I realize. There's only eight weeks, exactly 55 days left of 2013. It does not feel good, awful indeed, living in a luggage that I was unsure whether to unpack or not in the past few months. But I made it through alright. Having my family and friends who have been kind and supportive to me. THANK YOU.

I take it as an opportunity and freedom to rot at home and grow mushrooms on my head do things I wanna do and go places I wanna go. Bangkok was one of the destinations on my travel list.

We went through a 23-hour exotic train ride from Butterworth, checked in into our accommodation, did some shopping and street food hunting at the Chatuchak Weekend Market before returning for a seafood buffet at the Bangkok Balcony Crystal Grill.

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Bangkok Trip: Chatuchak Weekend Market and Baiyoke Sky Hotel

Our first day in Bangkok was free and easy. We wanted it that way actually, so it wouldn't end up like our Hong Kong and Shen Zhen trip back in 2011, overly packed schedule that involved lots and lots of walking. I enjoy a leisure trip better, personally.

Upon arrival, we faced the dilemma to choose between train, tuk-tuk and taxi. Communication was really an issue in Bangkok. The people there don't speak foreign languages or dialects as good as those in Hatyai and Betong. After going through some discussion that required body language, LOL, we came to the conclusion that taxi is the fastest and most convenient way to deliver our exhausted bodies and baggage to where we stayed.  

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Bangkok Trip: Train from Butterworth

Spending 23 hours in a train from Butterworth to Bangkok may be one of the wildest and craziest things I ever imagined myself doing, and I did it!!! Yay to my virgin cross-country train voyage! Would this considered backpacking without traveling with an actual backpack? Hahaha, forgive my silliness.

I went without preparing anything to keep my tummy and mind entertained. Glad that my sis brought grapes, breads and some other tidbits and my brother-in-law brought Steve Jobs, the book. LOL. Oh well, I'm easy. As long as there's a socket for me to charge my phone, I'll be more than happy. Even happier if there's internet access on my handheld device. I was born a social media addict!!!

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Hatyai Stainless Steel Temple / Chedi Traiphop Thaimongkhon

Hatyai, sometimes being spelled as Hat Yai, Had Yai or Haad Yai, is the largest city of Songkhla Province in southern Thailand. On a broiling hot Saturday, we traveled more than two hundred kilometres up north to Chedi Traiphop Thaimongkhon aka the Hatyai Stainless Steel Temple on Ko Hong Mountain.

By the time we arrived, it was already past two in the afternoon, Malaysia Time (MYT). It's subtle how the temperature increases every time we cross the border of Malaysia-Thailand. So clammy and ravenous I was that I secretly wished we were dining in an air-conditioned restaurant, feeding scrumptious good food into my mouth instead.

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Lunch and Shopping in Betong

We came back to have lunch with my mom and her friends (who are also my former secondary school teachers) yesterday at one of the Thai restaurants in Betong. It was the same restaurant we visited last year when I came back to Malaysia (sorry that I still have no idea what's the name of that restaurant =.="). The feeling was good, being able to sit down and have a decent meal with my family once again!

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