thailand - bangkok
schiphol airport
We departed from Schiphol (Amsterdam) this time. No direct flights between Brussels and Bangkok yet, but Eva Air provided a handy shuttle service between Antwerp and Amsterdam, so no harm done.
bangkok marriott entrance hall
Arriving at the Marriott. What you can't see on this pic is the huge gallery on top of us decorated with plants, leading to a pretty cool sunroof. What you can see is the stylish waiting hall.
marriott swimming pool
A jungle view of our swimming pool. Like everywhere in Thailand, green is the absolute dominant color. It felt a little like those local tropical swimming paradises in Europe, only the real deal.
pool at twilight
The pool view by twilight. Ideal for some late night refreshments and a little sip and dip at the pool bar.
bar decorations
Some random bar decoration illustrating the Thai love for orchids. They put them everywhere, even on top of your bed pillows. Nice touch though.
late night entertainment
Pretty much how every evening in Bangkok ended. Two cocktails, some local crunchy sweets and a set of refreshing towels. I kinda miss that.
bridge on the river kwai
The popular bridge, made famous by the movie and the horrid history surrounding it. It's quite small compared to its legend, but it forms a nice starting point for a train ride through the Northern Thai provinces, towards the Myanmar border.
thai scenery
A single, desolate house in the vast Thai greeneries. Must be quite lonely out there, though it's a beautiful place to have your own house I guess.
thai trains
Random pic! Actually I took this picture to check the time, something I do quite often when I'm on vacation and I can't be bothered to put my watch on. Something about this picture caught my attention though. After some soul searching, it turned out that the combination of colors reminded me plenty of Wisit Sasanatieng's visual style of film making.
the birma railway
The end point of our trip on the Birma Railway. Quite a tricky passage over there, but quite beautiful and an ideal place for a local Thai lunch.
temple near the khlongs
The khlongs are canals around Bangkok. It offers strange sights, alternating between beautifully maintained templates and rundown shacks where locals live.
shacks near the khlongs
The less colorful side of the khlongs. You'll find many people fishing for catfish here (there are plenty around), often beaten by rather large water monitors (a type of lizard).
wat pho temple
The biggest temple in Bangkok. Which means something, because there's literally one temple on each street corner over there. It's a mix of East-Asian influences this one, boasting lots of elements from China and Cambodia.
temple in front of the royal palace
The big golden temple in front of the royal palace. The Thai love their gold and they might look at you a little strange if you say you prefer silver over gold.
wall paintings in the temple
Along the entire length of the palace temple runs a huge, continuous wall painting illustrating some epic religious wars. In the end, the bad guy loses.
1 snake body, 5 heads
Another very common Buddhist symbol. I already forgot what it symbolizes, but you'll find these five heads attached to a snake's body quite a lot over there.
creepy figures abound
Near Buddhist places you'll find a lot of influences from other East-Asian countries. This is a Chinese statue placed in the royal palace temple. A sneaky little bugger if you ask me.
our chao phraya transportation
To get from our hotel to the Sky Train (a monorail really) we had a private hotel boat. It made for some very nice trips across the Chaa Phraya river, especially at night.
waiting for the ferry
While waiting for a boat, we'd sit on the pier sipping on a cocktail. It sure beats waiting for the boat without a cocktail.
bangkok by night
A view from one of the boats bringing us to central Bangkok. Left is our hotel, to the right on of our boats and right in front some of the many skyscrapers of Bangkok.
mbk center
The MBK center is the largest shopping center in Bangkok. You won't find many of the big labels over there, but plenty of cheap and rather chaotic little shops that try to stock as many items as possible on their limited spaces.
pink cabs, for real
Illustrating the well-developed feminine side of the Thai population, they have pink cabs in Bangkok. Quite a colorful sight really, and you never need to look long to find a cab.
returning to the hotel
Returning back to hour hotel. A nice little action shot, even though our boat didn't go all that fast.
bangkok airport
Bangkok airport is easily the coolest airport I've been to so far. It's light, modern and boasts some superb gardens in between the gates.
bangkok airport (avalon)
Add a little trickery and you'll get Bangkok Airport boasting a nice Avalon-like effect. The metal constructions and abundant light are just perfect.

Comments
Linn
Bangkok is Beautiful! Best Holiday ever :)