IMG_0976, originally uploaded by noveltimes.
Bangkok is a big, beautiful mess. Sprawling in all dimensions, packed with people, littered with cars, taxis, touktouks and cycles of all kinds, the city is almost too much too handle. As a gateway to Thailand, Bangkok serves to whet your palate for much of what the country has to offer: amazing food, filth in the air and on the streets, truly kind people, temples of stunningly detailed beauty and indulgences of every stripe.
I know the title of this post is somewhat trite, but I had to use this overused phrase because it was true. I stayed in Bangkok for only one night and one day and that seemed enough for the moment. I missed my chance to view the legendary Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho because of a religious ceremony in process, but I did walk the grounds of the Grand Palace, a grand buddhist temple at which I took the above photo. Considering a mild head cold in London that turned into a terrible sore throat due to horrid Bangkok air quality, I was ready to shove off for parts north.
Ah yes – the Bangkok cough. I had it the entire time I was there. Great food, sweet people, horrible air pollution. One night in BKK is just about one night too much.