Once you get past the toxic air pollution, ridiculously inflated prices, mass consumerism, and endless traffic, Bangkok is a pretty cool city. While I’m obviously not a huge fan of Thailand’s capital city (see reasons listed), there are some things that you just can’t do or see anywhere else. The Grand Palace is one of those things, and so is Wat Arun.
My new favorite temple in Thailand, Wat Arun Ratchawararam, which means Temple of Dawn, is located in central Bangkok. It is quite a task to get there, involving both a sky train and a water taxi, but it was more than worth it. Wat Arun was built in the 17th century and then the spire was restored in the 19th century during the reign of King Rama II. The relics of Buddha are inside the spire, and the architecture is based around the Buddhist beliefs about cosmology and the universe.
Some big buildings, no big deal. 
The main spire. 
THAT DETAIL THOUGH 
The monkeys are always my favorite. 
The breathtaking view when you looked up. 
The main spire is surrounded by temples. 
They wouldn’t let us climb up so that was kind of a bummer. 
This is what it would look like if it were a game show and I was presenting the prizes. 
Another repetitive picture because I couldn’t choose a favorite. 
Candid. 
Happy! 
Probably my favorite photo. 
Do you see me? 
Mentally crop out the random people in this photo and you get a really great shot of me looking thoughtfully off in the distance.
Besides temples, Bangkok has a few other things going for it. Although its true that the traffic is both terrible and dangerous, the public sky train system above the city is really fast and easy to navigate, and its a great way to see the city. Two other great ways to see the city are the cheap, crowded river taxis, and the overpriced, over the top rooftop bars (see example views below).
Tuk tuks technically should get stuck in traffic but they don’t follow traffic laws so they get places pretty quickly. 
The view from a river taxi. 
The view from a sky train station. 
I took this picture right before being disappointed by not finding any water monitors at the park. 
We snuck into this hotel’s rooftop bar because it had the best view of the smog. 
This is a more realistic photo of the view in a crowded river taxi.
Bangkok also has some really cool night markets. If you are able to navigate the sky train system, and then the MRT underground train system, you can visit Ratchada Rot Fai Train Night Market. Although its technically a knock-off of the larger, original Train Night Market (Srinakarin), most tourists head to Ratchada because it is closer and easier to get to (which is saying something about Srinakarin because it is still a complicated journey). Ratchada Rot Fai is hundreds of tents with vendors selling crafts, clothes, and jewelry surrounded by neon bars and street food-style restaurants. It is quite an experience, but if you’re even a little bit claustrophobic it is not the place to hang out.
Ratchada Rot Fai Train Night Market 
Near the entrance. 
Look at the happy people! 
Some of the bars before they were overrun by tourists. 
In the middle of it all.
Kenzie, these are so cool! Love your Vanna impression!