All packed, off we go to the airport for a 2-month trip to Sweden. As we checked in we realised that we had planned a whole day in Bangkok en route. Both Jill and I had forgotten, and we were dressed for a Swedish winter on arrival. So, overnight to Bangkok, where we leave a bag of fleece jumpers at the left-luggage place, change some money and head on the railway towards town. It seems funding for the railway ran out before the line quite made it to town, so we had to take a second line to Victoria Monument, and then a shuttle bus to the centre. Little did we realise how many more modes of transport awaited us.

Our visit was dominated by the death about 6 weeks earlier of the much loved king who had held the throne for 77 years. Everywhere were symbols of the sorrow at his passing. posters, kilometers of black and white cloth draping along fences, flowers, shrines … most people were wearing black. … a year of national mourning … large numbers of people are coming to Bangkok to mark their sorrow. To cater, there are free shuttle buses etc, and stalls for water and food. Many attractions, such as the national museum, temporarily have free entry. It is an amazing response.

First stop, the National Museum where there are cultural relics, historical information, and some lovely bats roosting under the eaves. Jill bought a black t-shirt to match the current fashion.

Pondering our maps outside the museum a helpful local suggested some places to visit and negotiated a tuktuk driver to take us round, waiting for us at each site. 80 Baht (about AU$3.50) got us the driver for a couple of hours plus quite a few km of transport. For reference, average salary in Thailand is around AU$600/month, with unskilled workers typically getting around AU$200/month.

So off we puttered, taking in giant standing Buddha, Happy Buddha, Fashion Show (this turned out to be a tailoring factory who could turn out made to measure suits in fine cashmere wool in one day for US$200 (in reality probably half that if you are good at bartering). Then, the driver suggested that the next stop, reclining Buddha was closed to tourists until 3 and why don’t we take a boat tour for an hour.  We had a boat and driver to ourselves for an hour and a quarter meandering the waterways that percolate through Bangkok. We presume the tuktuk driver got a commission that supplemented the meagre amount we paid for his services.

The boat trip was fascinating. Bangkok is build on a delta, and chugging up the waterways we found both sides were lined with buildings build on decaying wooden posts sunk into the river bed. In many cases the buidings were lop-sided and lots appeared past redemption and were uninhabited and decaying away.

The boat dropped us at a dock from where we walked to the the Reclining Buddha, past more free water bottles and free icecream.

The reclining Buddha is vast – 15 m high and 40 m long, nicely gilded. It is in part of the Wat Pho Buddhist temple complex, which itself is huge. We wandered around there for a couple of hours, awed by the intricate decorations, elaborate structures, bonsai trees, temple cats, and Buddha’s everywhere.

With the sun sinking and energy sapped we decided to head back to the airport and catch a few hours of airconditioned coolth before our flight.

Unsure how to get back to the shuttle bus we enquired with some local official looking people who, once the understood what we wanted,  they promptly flagged a passing motorbike – apparently part of the free services, where the two of us crowded on behind the driver for a “thrilling” ride up the road to … well we weren’t sure where to go from the drop-off to get to the shuttle. Standing on the footpath looking lost, however, brought assistance. A nice Thai lady enquired if we needed assistance, and took us from where we were about a km down the roads to the shuttle bus, ensured we got the right shuttle bus to the Victoria Monument station, and then showed us the right place to find the railway. It turned out she was employed to assist, another part of the free services. She was fluent in English, and, it turned out, Swedish too. She had married a Swede and had lived some time in Sweden so Jill and she had a good natter in Swedish.

Rail to the airport was uneventful but sardine-like – rush hour again and the airport line serves city to suburbs too. In to the airport, retrieve the left baggage, in though immigration (very slow) and then a few hours catching up on rest and cool before our flight.

Bangkok is a fascinating place and we did lots of things I did not expect. And we have another day in transit on our way back. Lots more to explore.

Here is a link to a gallery of more photos: https://goo.gl/photos/385eeyKrtYbRvYMe8