Ko Rattanakosin area is where Bangkok's most interesting and holy temples is located. Also in this area where you can find the oldest and largest temple of the country, the Wat Pho Temple. Inside the temple is where you can find the biggest collection of Buddha images as well as the stunning 46 meter long and 15 meter high reclining Buddha making it the largest in Thailand.

Never in my entire life have I seen a reclining Buddha as gigantic as this. And I really can't imagine how this enormous size Buddha housed inside that small hall. The hall with the reclining Buddha is just located at the right side near the entrance gate. There is also a huge crowd of tourist inside the temple making if difficult to take good picture and making the place quite hot. Tip: Visit the temple early in the morning to avoid the rush.

Before leaving the temple/hall make sure you make a wish and your wish will only be granted once you drop one coin in each of the pots on the way out.

Throughout the grounds of the Wat Pho are hundreds of sculptures and statues of Buddha, as well as pagodas of varying sizes. The intricate and colorful design of the pagodas is similar to that of Wat Arun which is located far south to the temple and across the river.


How to get there:
Wat Pho is located on Maharat Road in the Old City of Rattanakosin just south of the Grand Palace. The temple of Wat Pho is open for visitors 8:00 am to 5:00 pm daily. The entrance fee is 50 THB per person. Guides can be hired for a small fee, but this is not necessary if you just want to explore the temple on your own.

One of the most popular tourist activity in Bangkok is temple hopping or visiting Bangkok's famous temples. While strolling along the busy street of Khao San, we are approached by a tuk-tuk driver asking if we are Malaysians and we politely responded that we are from Philippines. Then he (the driver) ask if where are we planning to go. We said, we just want to eat and then visit the Grand Palace. He explained that the Palace is closed this morning because its "Buddhist Day" and viewing will be reopened in the afternoon. However, he reassured us that we are still lucky because there is one temple that only open to public viewing once a year and he can bring us there. Since our plan was really to see the Grand Palace, we decided not to pursue the temple hopping, instead visit the Ancient City of Ayutthaya.

Day 2:
Still slightly intoxicated from last night boozing, again we strolled KSR searching for any food to feed our hungry stomach. Initially, we planned of having a "fun-walk" going to Royal Palace but while at the Ratchadamnoen Road we ask this stranger for direction going to the Palace. Instead of giving direction, he  suggested us to take tuk-tuk for the tour which cost 4 THB per person. Furthermore, he explained the route and the temples included in the tour.

After visiting few temples, we were dropped by at a tourist agency because we mistakenly mentioned to our tuk-tuk drivers that we will be going to Siem Reap the following day. So I get in to the office and the man in the office tried to sell us a ticket way higher than the usual price. Of course, we declined the offer and then leaved.

Then before heading to the next temple, the driver explained that he need to take us to jewelry shop in order for him to get a free government gasoline credit. Further, he said that we need not to buy anything, just a short visit. We just said Yes thinking that we are doing him a favor.

Off we go to our next destination, and spend about twenty minutes at the next temple, and when we get back to where our driver left us off, we discovered that our tuk tuk is gone. We walked the entire block twice but the drivers are nowhere to be found. At this point, we are hot, soaked with sweat and thirsty. The lady selling refreshment near the Golden Mountain exit explained to us that our drivers already left us. We asked her how did she know that it was our drivers when they parked on the opposite gate. We further explained that we have not paid the drivers. She said that the drivers were only after for the free gasoline and not for our payments. The lady also tried to get for another tuk-tuk but later we decided to get a taxi instead.

So are you planning of travelling to Bangkok?

Here are few compilation of sites about Bangkok Scams.

Avoiding Bangkok Scams

Top Ten Scams in Thailand

The Scams of Bangkok

A UNESCO World Heritage site, the historic temples in Ayutthaya are scattered throughout this ancient city, and along the encircling river. Three rivers converge to form the island of Ayuthaya. These rivers served dual in purpose, one as a barrier for invasion and second for trading goods. Today, the rivers acts as transport, for bathing, and kitchen sink for the residents.

The ruins in Ayutthaya are divided into two geographical areas: "ruins on the island" (Wat Phra Si Sanphet, Wat Phra Mahathat) and "ruins outside or off the island" (Wat Chai Wattanaram, Wat Yai Chai Mongkon). Most of the temples are open for 8 o'clock in the morning until 6 o'clock in the afternoon.

Temple Hopping
The ruins in Ayutthaya are fairly spread out so you should consider getting some wheels or whatever vehicle you can afford. Bicycles are available just about everywhere  for 40B per day but the extreme hot and humid temperature in Ayutthaya makes this not a good option. Tuk-Tuk can be hired for the day to tour the sites but the drivers can be difficult to bargain with. Standard rate is 200THB per hour or 500 THB for a 4 hour temple tour but we haggle it for 400THB. Also apart from the tour fee most of the temples were collecting 20-50THB as entrance fees. Too commercialized!

Wat Yai Chai Mongkon

Wat Ratchaburana 


Getting there:
By Minivan
From Khao San Road (if you are staying there) ask the tuk-tuk drivers to bring you to Ratchdamnoen road or Khok Wua intersection. Also this is just a walking distance from Khao San. Then ride bus 171 which is Victory Monument bound. Or if your are in a group, getting a taxi is more convenient. From Victory Monument, there are Ayutthaya bound minivans parked along the skytrain. Fare should be 60 THB. Minivans here leaved every 30 minutes and the earliest trip is 5:00 in the morning and the last trip is at 8:00 PM.

By Train
Train to Ayuthaya leave Hualamphong station in Bangkok almost hourly between 6AM and 10PM, usually stopping at Don Mueang Airport. From Ayutthaya's train station, the quickest way to react the old city is to walk west to the river, where you can take a ferry across.

By Bus
Ayuthaya-bound buses leave Mo Chit bus station throughout the day, and travel time is approximately 2 hours.

Going Back to Bangkok:
Just near the main bus station in Th Naresuan, there are minivans (60THB, 2 hrs) which depart every 20 minutes between 5AM and 5PM. Passengers are dropped off  at Bangkok'g Victory Monument.

I always live a sedentary lifestyle before until a friend of mine introduced me to the world of running. A 10K run of last January 2011 baptized me. After my first run, I said to myself that i ain't gonna run again because of the injuries I sustained. Then the next time I knew, I've invested my first running shoes and found myself running almost every running event here in Cebu. I do not want to say that I became obsessed with running, I just love the feeling of crossing the finish line.

Running a full marathon is every runner's dream, and so is mine. I can't wait to be part of the minority who has the bragging rights of shouting, "I am a marathoner." FYI: only 1% of the worlds population ran a full marathon, and being part of that 1% is something i can be proud of.

Then here comes the opportunity for me to realized this dream - the Kawasan 360 Marathon. At first I am hesitant of signing up because the longest run I had so far was 21K and due to limited time for training. I tried to wake up every morning to run as far as I can but my laziness in getting up takes its toll on me. The actual serious training if I could remember is the last two weeks before the marathon. Two weeks of actual training for a marathon? This is "suicide."

Then I pass by ROX in Ayala Center Cebu to buy some energy bars but I noticed this workout cream labeled "BODIVANCE" with a caption "Thermogenic Accelerator for Advance Body Performance. I'm not the kind of person who easily believes the marketing or sales talk about a particular product unless someone or somebody whom I personally know has already testified about it. I tried to read the back portion of the sachet and then I learned that this product help increased blood circulation thus dissipating lactic acid build up. FYI: lactic acids formed during extreme exertions of muscles or strenuous activities. Remedy for this is rest and it would take a couple of minutes before your numbing and tender legs to recover therefore slowing down your performance. So I give it a try and see for myself if it really works.

Then here comes the event, the night prior, I only have less than 4 hours of sleep probably due to excitement or nervous that i might end up not finishing the race because I know I lacked preparation and training for this race. Added to that is my sore right knee.

I gently applied BODIVANCE on my legs, thighs, knees and calves before warming up. During warm ups, I do not really exert much effort because it is tiring and to save my energy for the run. But that time, I did short warm-up jogs and stretching and then I noticed some beads of sweat on forming my legs. Then I realized that this must be the effect of BODIVANCE, "thermogenic accelerator." I did not feel any unusual things like hotness on the applied body surface. So need not to worry about body reaction - the product is totally safe. The product also has a good smell. Usually at 5KM marked, my plantar pain started to occur but I was surprised that none of my running injury occurred during the race. Except at 30KM marked where i felt tightness on my thighs and legs probably due to prolong used of the muscles on that area. So i rested for a bit and do some stretching to relax the muscles, also i reapplied BODIVANCE on the affected area. I was again surprised of the speed of recovery...it was remarkable! After that point, I am confident that I could finish this race that I have started. BODIVANCE is really the best!

I clocked in past 5 hours an hour before the cut off time. Not bad for my first time marathon. Now I can proudly say that I am a Marathoner. Can't wait for my ultra-marathon of course BODIVANCE will still be with me during this race.

You may visit bodivance's website http://www.bodivance.com/ to know more about the details of the product.