What's Up Al ? 遊記隨筆 生活點滴

We were last in Bangkok in 2007 during our three months Indo-China backpacking trip and the modernity and excitement of this city are still fresh in our minds. After almost 16 years, Bangkok has improved a great deal in its public transport of crisscrossing metro and skytrains, even though the road traffic remained heavy. However, the landmark train station of Hua Lamphong will be serving it's last trains and we took time to savour our memory of this beautifully designed station. 

Our surprise discovery this time around in Bangkok was the Queen Sirikit Convention Centre, just 10 minutes' walk from Asoke, with its tranquil lakes and greenery - the centre was the venue for the APEC 2022 just a few months back. We spent a good part of the morning walking around in the bright sunshine and taking in the fresh air. Taking a boat on the River Chao Phraya is an excellent way to get to know the Bangkok neighbourhoods as well as a good way to appreciate slowly the many temples and architecture erected on both sides of this clean waterway. We hopped on at the very southern end of Central Pier and took 45 minutes up to Tha Phra Athit (Stop N13) for a quick backstreet noodles lunch at Khao San Road. These tranquil side trips were welcoming distractions from the oh-so-crowded Bangkok mega malls and shopping areas of Pratunam, MBK, Siam Paragon, Terminal 21 and Central World !