Chinatown and a solid gold Buddha

This weekend Colb and I decided it would be fun to play tourist and head downtown to explore Chinatown. We took our motorbike to the pok soi (where our street meets the main street) and got on a bus from there. A big rainstorm blew in right after we boarded our bus, and it took about 2 hours to get to the MRT (subway) station. From there we hopped on the subway, and had a smooth sail down to the edge of frenetic Chinatown. It really is something else down there. It's said that Chinatown was first developed 400 years ago, and some of the buildings are still almost that old. When you walk through the alley ways, seeing the bikes carrying baskets of goods, or  smell the gigantic cauldrons stewing up food from recipes 100's of years old, you feel like you've stepped back in time.

On our way back to Hua Lompong train station, we stopped by "Wat Traimit" where the largest gold statue exists in the form of an enormous Buddha. It is believed that the Buddha was originally made in the 13th of 14th century, and is literally solid gold. In 1991 it was estimated to be worth USD $32 Million. Forgive my math skills but I that would put it somewhere in the neighborhood of USD $140 Million given the current price of gold.

It is huge. And Shiny. And there is no security around it.

Here are some pics:

Hua Lamphong train station downtown Bangkok. HAIR! 

Even the phone booths have Thai roofs on them.

Pastry (not sure what its called) but its delicious. Has something like dates in the middle. We have learned not to ask. Try first, ask questions later. 

One of the oldest markets around.

What do you want? Easy to read menu...

Dim Sum Ramen

Found some amazing Dim Sum tucked away in deep in the heart of Chinatown.

Beans. Chinese, Thai, Japanese, you name it. We picked up some jumbo sized black beans here. Will let you know how they turn out. 

Temple.

Where the enormous gold Buddha is.

The King of course! Longest living Monarch in the world. Sixty Seven years he has been King of Thailand.

Detailed artwork on the temple.

The outrageously huge solid gold statue of Buddha crafted in the 13th century. 

Pardon Colby's awesome outfit, she didn't have pants on and her shoulders where showing! You are NOT to go into a Buddhist temple without some covering garb on. For 40 Baht, we rented some stylish scarves.