A quick trip to Bangkok, Thailand also known as "City of Angels" allowed for two days of sightseeing. First day was temple day as Thailand is a Buddhist country and there are many, many of them. The place to start is The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo (The Temple of the Emerald Buddha). The days are about 35 degrees celcius but in order to see the temples appropriate clothing must be worn (i.e. no exposed shoulders and long pants or skirts must be worn).

The splendid Grand Palace enclosure is home to many ornate temples and buildings with a variety of architectureal styles. Gold leaf, reflective tiling and Buddha images are to be seen everywhere.

After the Grand Palace, it was off to the somewhat unremarkable temple of Wat Traimit, where is hidden the world's largest solid gold Buddha image. Weighing in at five and a half tons, the 15-foot tall seated image is worth in the neighborhood of US$14 Million.

A few more temples were in order and by the end of the day I was templed out.

There are food vendors everywhere on the streets and it is all great food, especially the seafood. This place below was my local eatery each night. $1 for a beer and another $1 for a large dish of great seafood and noodles or rice. Grab a plastic stool, sit on the sidewalk and watch the street life. It can't get any better.

Day two I did a bike tour of the city which was a great way to see authentic Bangkok. I would highly recommend it. (Tour company was http://www.covankessel.com/.) We wound through narrow alleys, past colourful shrines, markets, took a boat across the river Chao Praya and up a canal to more a more rural area where there were rice paddies and coconut groves.

The 20 minute boat trip up the canal allowed for some viewing of typical houses along the water...

And there were some homes that looked a bit more "Thai" in design.

Bangkok has an extensive Chinatown.

And some wonderful florescent pink taxi cabs.

After Bangkok, it was back to Singapore and then a return to India for my departure home.