on the first day of my roaming in bkk, i started to get ready and walked to bts station after my sister left for work. my main transport were bts, mrt and bus.. but if i was in a hurry, i took a taxi.. i liked to leave my room after the rush hour. no need to hurry and join the jam-packed train.

my first destination was Wat Pra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha).. believe it or not this is my first time visiting the temple.. i've been to bkk many times but never had a chance to go there.. i had so many places in mind to visit and surely i would miss some due to my limited time but i had made my mind that i wouldn't miss Wat Pra Keaw this time..

after checking directions with my sister, i took bts to siam. then, caught a bus from there to Wat Pra Kaew. there were loads of buses going there. i didn't remember all the numbers so i read the list of names on the side of the bus instead. seeing a free bus to sanamluang, i immediately hopped on it.. luckily, there were plenty of seats available..it was a sun-baked morning but the wind blowing through the window helped wipe away the heat. while sitting in the bus, i studied bkk map i took from siam.. it looks likely my day were going to be long as there were lots of interesting destination around there.. i could go as many places as my feet permited.. i had to see when my red converses were going to bite me.. surely, they would after a long walking day...

i got off the bus at the t-junction, the right sanamluang and the left to Wat Pho.. i turned right and started walking from there.. and took photos along the way.. on the roadside were lined up with big trees, so it was not so hot to walk under the shade.. but leaving the shade, the sun really baked my dark skin.. i could feel sweat running down my back like a steaming pot.. i was thinking of owning an umbrella..

i didn't know where the main gate was, so i just kept walking following other tourists and most of them were foreigners.. finally, i saw it and started looking around for the entrance..

..and i saw this sign, so i queued up to buy the ticket..

here, i got the ticket!

then i walked and followed other tourists.. but i saw this sign.. shit! i already paid 350 baht for the ticket! the guy at the entrance told me that i could refund my ticket.. wow! good news!

so, i walked back to the ticket counter and got my money back. the lady at the counter looked unpleased as i was not the first person refunding the ticket that morning.. ther was a small sign telling that it is free for thai but i didn't see it at the first time..

entering inside, before starting taking photos, i bought a set of flower, incense and candle to pay respect to the buddha image..

...then i walked around slowly, taking heaps of photos..

..as the sun was strongly bright, i learned to use the cpl filter.. i knew it better in this trip.. still, i am not professional..

while walking inside with eddy in hands, i was very happy when seeing sign 'take your shoes off'.. yeah, my red converses were being cruel to me.. and i need a break from them..

there were so many spots to stop by and take photos.. beautiful walls with ancient fairy tales which i used to learn at school.. but please do not ask me about them now..

i guess it took me nearly 3 hours to walk through the temple and the palace.. i stopped by every museum and hall along the way. i didn't know when i would be coming back there again, so i didn't want to miss a room..

i finally left the temple an hour past lunch time. i walked slowly out of it, due to my swollen red feet.. seeing this sign, i stood still weighing my thought.. where should i go next??

another intention was to ride this tram around rattanakosin area, so i walked straight to the station and waited waited and waited.. 20 minutes past, there was no sign of the previous tram coming back and no other passengers waiting.. it was just me sitting and waiting..

then, i walked looking around and saw a giant map of the area.. i stood studying it for a while.. a tuk-tuk driver approached me talking in english, thinking that i was japanese (a dark japanese). i told him i was thai.. he tried to convince me to go around in his tuk-tuk.. it sounded interesting but when asked about the price, he said 200 bth.. i told him 'i didn't want to go all over the places, just some that i had never been, he said okay 150 bth.. i said 100 bath...we negotiated for a while, until he surrendered.. when he said 'okay'.. i hopped on his tuk-tuk..

..he brought me around and told me the names of the places which i didn't remember all..

i asked him to stop at the giant swing.. then i crossed the road to snap some picture..

after getting around as we agreed, i told him to drop me at pakklong market..

..i walked around the market to take some pictures and and got something to eat... then i walked back to Wat Pho..

surprisingly, there were more foeigners than thais. i guessed it was only me (thai) walking around with camera in hand taking photos. even, the officers thought i was a foreigner (bc i walked in the foreigner's lane)..

i walked around slowly taking photos and stopped by to take a rest under a tree shade when my feet started to hurt again.. an afternoon breeze blew constantly making the steaming afternoon more bearable..

i left Wat Pho around 3 pm, sweaty, tired and a bit hungry. seeing a pink bus to siam center, i instantly hopped on it.

along the way to siam center, the bus passed the national stadium bts station, so i rang the bell and hopped off the bus.. i didn't know how far i would be on the road to siam, so it was better and quicker catching the bts..

an art center (don't remember the name) sitting nearby the staircase of the bridge leading to mrt station.. before climbing the stairs, i took few pictures..

..only one stop from national stadium to siam center, i changed bts there and then headed home..

getting off bts at akamai, i had to walk to boss mension for 500 meters.. i knew i knew, i'd been cruel to my feet. they were all swollen and bloody red. reaching the room, i peeled of my sweat-stained tops and jeans and took a long shower.. i air-dried my body and jumped into bed.. i dozed off immediately after the room started to get cool with the air-con.

feeling a bit disoriented seeing the darkness outside, i woke up again by the ring of my handphone. my sis just finished work and called to ask if i wanted to eat papaya salad with her and her workmates before we went out. i immediately said yes as i was starving.. i dressed quickly and went down to meet her and her pals at the shop, not far from boss mension..

after eating somtom, p'tang, muay, p'prasit, my sis and i packed inside muay's car and headed to a pub called 'shade of retro'.. it was still early, so we were their first customers... the pub was in a townhouse sitting in a narrow dark soi. if you didn't know it before, you wouldn't imagine that there was a pub in this soi.. it was decorated in retro style, mix and match.. it looked stylish and had a character when night fell with all the lamps on.. but it would look messy in day time, i guess..

we ordered different kinds of cocktail and shared them together. they gave us unlimited bowls of popcorn for free. we sat there and chatted until it was a bit late. thought that we ate more than 10 bowls of popcorn that night..

around 11.30 pm, we left 'shade of retro' for boss mension.. firstly, we wished to hop to another pub named 'funky' but it was pouring outside.. so, we got stuck at 'shade of retro' and left it when the rain stopped.. we came back home with sleepy eyes and another plan on the next 2 days..

till next time.. this post is an excuse to take a break from translation and heat up my writing.. after posting it, i have to get back to translation.. i feel like i need a break from it for a little while as i have been wrestling with it the whole week and also during the weekend, i packed it home and got it done while phun was sleeping.. the deadline was short and the works were plenty.. i can't whine much, as it means money and i am getting better at my work.. actually, i LOVE it! ;]