Travels in Thailand - Part 5

..a tuk tuk tour of Old Siam continues... 

After viewing the Golden Mount, our tour was supposed to continue onto Wat Pho. I explained to our guide that we had been there just the day before, so could we skip that temple? Instead, he offered to take us to Wat Arun -- famous for the thousands of ceramic pieces attached to the central pagoda.

I blogged about this landmark before, so I didn't take many photos. Here, you can see a sample of the ceramic pieces and sculptures of Wat Arun -- The Temple of the Dawn:

Our next place was "Little India". This area of Bangkok is quite hidden, but worth visiting. It is most famous for its textile market; thousands and thousands of fabrics can be found here at fair prices. The traditional Thai costumes used in dance, can also be bought here.

Entrance to the market: 

An outdoor kitchen: 

Deep inside the market: 

Outside of Little India, one street has been nicknamed "wedding street". Our guide explained that the street is filled with shops related to wedding goods, costumes, invitation cards, gifts, etc. It's the place to come when organizing a wedding ceremony in Bangkok.

Money boxes (used at weddings): 

After completing that market, we headed out in our tuk tuks again.....

My "VIP" tuk tuk passing another tuk tuk:

Our final stop was the Amulet Market. Thai men are quite superstitious and believe in wearing amulets for protection. Men who work in dangerous professions such as police, military, firefighting, etc, typically purchase these.

The Amulet Market was filled with vendors selling trinkets which are supposed to contain famous Buddha statues...

Market entrance: 

A vendor selling a huge assortment of amulets: 


Detail of the amulets: 


More unusual trinkets: 

A tired vendor lying in the sun: 

While walking through this market, we came across two artists who were sculpting statues for Buddhist believers. Our guide explained you could pay 5,000 -- 50,000 Baht for a statue, made to your order! 

Artists: 

 That concludes our tuk tuk tour of the old city of Bangkok. I hope you enjoyed. ^_^

This tuk tuk tour was provided by Urban Adventures. Website HERE. Highly recommended! Little India information and maps can be found HERE and HERE. Information and directions to the Amulet Market can be found HERE. CNNGo featured an article on the Amulet Market. Read more HERE. Enjoy Bangkok's old city!