Bangkok (Lonely Planet) - Andrew Burke [47]
This is a great place to just wander and watch men (because it’s rarely women) looking through magnifying glasses at the tiny amulets, seeking hidden meaning and, if they’re lucky, hidden value. The market stretches all the way to the riverside, where a narrow alley leads north to wooden kitchens overhanging the water. Each humble kitchen garners a view of the river; students from nearby Thammasat University congregate here for cheap eats before heading off to class. It’s an ideal stop for a lunch of classic Thai comforts and Western adaptations popular with students.
If you continue through the warren all the way to Tha Phra Chan, between 7am and 7pm you’ll find a bunch of tarot readers and palmists set up at tables just off the entrance to the pier. Some of them speak English and charge 200B for a 20-minute reading. If experience is anything to go by (my reader told me ‘don’t go out after 9pm, it is too dangerous’ and seemed concerned that I didn’t have a giq [Thai mistress], though she did accurately predict trouble with my car…), you probably shouldn’t make any life-altering decisions based on the wisdom imparted here.
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STONE COLD STARE: WAT PHO’S ROCK GIANTS
Aside from monks and sightseers, Wat Pho is filled with an altogether stiffer crowd: dozens of giants and figurines carved from granite. The rock giants first arrived in Thailand as ballast aboard Chinese junks and were put to work in Wat Pho (and other wát, including Wat Suthat), guarding the entrances of temple gates and courtyards.
Look closely and you’ll see an array of Chinese characters. The giants with bulging eyes and Chinese opera costumes were inspired by warrior noblemen and are called Lan Than; notice their swords tucked behind their ornate robes. The political nobleman wears his hair and moustache below his shoulders and carries a scroll in one hand; his long cloak indicates that he is a member of the aristocracy. The figure in a straw hat is a farmer, forever interrupted during his day’s work cultivating the fields. And can you recognise the guy in the fedora-like hat with a trimmed beard and moustache? Marco Polo, of course, who introduced such European styles to the Chinese court.
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Unpopular plans to redevelop this area as a cultural theme park with shops catering to tourists have been shelved – for now. But considering Bangkok’s love of reinvention, leaving Th Maharat for your next trip is probably not a good idea.
MUSEUM OF SIAM
Map
0 2225 2777; www.ndmi.or.th; 4 Th Sanam Chai; adult 100B, under 15yr free; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun; air-con 503 & 524, ordinary 3, 6, 12, 47, 53 & 82; Tha Tien (N8)
This fun new museum employs a variety of media to explore the origins of the Thai people and their culture. Housed in a European-style 19th-century building that was once the Ministry of Commerce, the exhibits are presented in an engaging, interactive fashion not often found in Thailand. They are also refreshingly balanced and entertaining, with galleries dealing with a range of questions about the origins of the nation and its people. Each room has an informative narrated video started by a sensory detector, keeping waiting to a minimum. An Ayuthaya-era battle game, a room full of traditional Thai toys and a street vending cart where you can be photographed pretending to whip up a pan of pàt tai will help keep kids interested for at least an hour, adults for longer. Check out the shop and cafe in the grounds for some innovative gift ideas.
NATIONAL MUSEUM
Map
0 2224 1402; www.thailandmuseum.com; Th Na Phra That; admission 50B; 9am-4pm Wed-Sun; air-con 508 & 511, ordinary 12, 47 & 53; Tha Chang (N9)
Thailand’s National Museum is the largest museum in Southeast Asia and covers a broad range of subjects, from historical surveys to religious sculpture displays. The buildings were originally constructed in 1782 as the palace of Rama I’s viceroy, Prince Wang Na. Rama V turned it into a museum in 1884.
The history wing presents a succinct chronology of events and figures from the prehistoric, Sukhothai, Ayuthaya