Bangkok and beyond...

Finally we've reached Thailand - the epitome of backpacking in Asia and country number 15(!) of the trip. We of course started by spending a few days city slicking in Bangkok, which following our chilled stint in remote Sumatra, definitely added to the capital's novelty factor (can you believe they have Tesco and Boots?!). Thailand is well and truly geared up for tourists (catering for the whole spectrum...) but again in comparison to Indonesia we've welcomed it with open arms, and appetites!

We spent a day at the Grand Palace - former residence of the Thai king

We must have seen several hundred Buddhas so far..
.

A huge gold Chedi in the Grand Palace

Buddhists fill each of these pots in the temples with a coin for good luck 
and to have blessings bestowed upon them

A five and a half tonne solid-gold Buddha and 

a 46m long reclining Buddha

 

 

Bangkok is basically a very busy, extremely hot, loud, Asian city. Skyscrapers (complete with breath-taking rooftop bars where we reflected on the trip thus far whilst sipping cocktails), food stalls on every corner with all kinds of tropical fruits on offer, elaborate Buddhist temples home to orange-robed monks going about their daily business, one of the world's biggest markets, and tuk-tuk drivers beeping their horns every few minutes to get your attention. We loved it!

Thailand's tuk-tuks

The view above the city

We also ventured out of the city for a day trip to Ayuthaya - Thailand's ancient capital repeatedly seized and partly destroyed by the Burmese 250 years ago. We hired bikes and spent the day touring old temple ruins, watching the elephants at work and eating sugar cane filled crepes (roti).

 An eery Buddha's head nestled in the roots of a tree

Setting us up for our whistle-stop tour of mainland SE Asia before we hit China in September, Bangkok certainly helped us re-fuel and re-energise - helped by the fact we stayed in one of the nicest hotels of the entire trip complete with complimentary green tea - it felt positively 5*.