Bangkok - 17.-21.Nov.2006

The Instructional Period is already over. 13weeks of studying more or less.
Now followed by a reading week: The time for every student to prepare himself for the exams. And when the time has come 14 days examination, depending on your modules.
I will have four exams in eleven days (Tuesday, Thursday and Wednesday, Friday).

Since I never experienced the luxury of a reading week before, there is no point for using the time only to study. And here I am, in:
"Krungthep mahanakhon amonratanakosin mahintara ayuthaya mahadilok popnopparat ratchathani burirom udomratchaniwet mahasathan amonpiman avatansathit sakkathattiya witsanukamprasit"
- official Thai name for Bangkok.

Leong, Jason, Flo, Andrea, Philipp and I, we share an appartment in Somerset Hotel.
This is the view from our balcony: during day, during night and down on the pool!!!
And not to forget our all-you-can-eat buffet for breakfast, very good.

Ok, this is the accommodation only for two days. For the other days we prefer a room at Khau San Road in the main traveller center.


First day, Saturday, we go to Chatuchak Market, the mother of all markets.
It sprawls over a hugh area with 15,000 stalls and an estimated 200,000 visitors a day.
Everything(!!!) is sold here from handicrafts, antiques to clothes, from flowers and food to living animals, from... to...











Finished with our exhausting shopping session we are rewarded with a good dinner and the absolutely impressive view from the 65-storey State Tower. Bangkok as far as you can see.



















A must-see is Grand Palace, the former royal residence.
On a perfect day with blue sky and almost unbearable heat, all the gold is sparkling in the sun.






A Buddhist Prayer in one of the tempels inside Grand Palace.

Thebest refreshment for the afternoon is certainly a river tour with one of those famous long-boats. Relax and watch all the houses and floating markets along the winding water streets.






Finally our dinner in the heart of China Town. The biggest sea-food dinner that I have ever eaten, great.












Here are some more nice shots:

A really big shopping mall (SiamParagon)

There are huge advertising signs everywhere along the highway.
By the way there are highways with 12 lanes!!



Means of transport number one:
bikes

no...is it really?
Oh yes it is!
Fried insects: grasshopper, worms and larvae.



Unfortunately the long weekend is way too short for this city. But my physics is waiting.
The last thing to admire is the new airport and the breathtaking sunset. It was even better than you can imagine from the image.