All posts tagged: Bangkok

One Day in Bangkok – 3 Wat Benchamabophit

November 18, 2025
by James Geier
2026 Thailand

Saturday, November 5, 2025 Wat Benchamabophit, The Marble Temple Wat Benchamabophit, formally known as Wat Benchamabophit Dusitvanaram, is one of the best-known and renowned religious landmarks in Bangkok. And it is a major tourist attraction. The temple is known for its refined architectural composition in the ornate style associated with temples of Bangkok. The central-Thailand style includes high gables, multi-tiered roofs, and elaborate finials. The Marble Temple combines traditional Thai aesthetics with European influences introduced […]

One Day in Bangkok – 2 Wat Ratchanatdaram

November 18, 2025
by James Geier
2026 Thailand

Saturday 15 November 2025 Wat Ratchanatdaram, The Iron Temple After visiting Wat Pho, I negotiated with a tuk-tuk driver to take me to the Iron Temple, wait, then take me to the Marble Temple, wait, and finally take me to the nearest BTS Skytrain stop. Traffic in this part of Bangkok is dense and slow. We finally arrived at Wat Ratchanatdaram, the Iron Temple. Wat Ratchanatdaram The name Ratchanatdaram means Temple of the Royal Niece. […]

One Day in Bangkok – 1 Wat Pho

November 17, 2025
by James Geier
2026 Thailand

Saturday, November 15, 2025 A full day in Bangkok – Wat Pho Breakfast Before I head out to see temples in Bangkok, it’s time for breakfast at the hotel. The hotel in which I am staying used to be the Novotel Phloen Chit (the Novotel Hotel in the Phloen Chit district of Bangkok). I had come to like this hotel because it is very affordable for a 4 or 5-star hotel, and it is right […]

Traveling to Thailand

November 15, 2025
by James Geier
2026 Thailand

Thursday, November 12, 2025 The Long Journey: Home to Bangkok via Los Angeles and Incheon (Seoul) Travel day is finally here. I am traveling to Thailand for my 13th yoga-focused winter in Chiang Mai. The trip is lengthy: home to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX); LAX to Incheon (Seoul’s airport); Incheon to Suvarnabhumi (Bangkok’s main airport); and finally to my hotel. In many previous years, I walked to a neighborhood Avis location, picked up a […]

Long Walk to Wat Suan Dok

December 6, 2024
by James Geier
2025 Thailand

Saturday 30 November 2024 Returning to Wat Suan Dok a familiar and favorite temple It is the end of November. And November was a very eventful month for me: long travel from Southern California to Bangkok, exploring temples in Bangkok, overnight in a hospital in Bangkok, returning to Chiang Mai, and easing into an exercise routine of exploratory walks, strength training at the gym, and [next week] adding frequent yoga sessions at Wild Rose Yoga. […]

Klong Mae Kha

December 2, 2024
by James Geier
2025 Thailand

Friday 29 November 2024 Revisiting the Klong Mae Kha One of my continual fascinations is with the Kamphaengdin, the second wall around the eastern and southern parts of the original Chiang Mai walled city. As Chiang Mai grew and expanded outside what we now call “the old city,” to protect the expanded part of the city from flooding, an earth, brick, and clay wall (the Kamphaengdin) was built along the inside of an existing klong, […]

Walk Along the Ping River

December 1, 2024
by James Geier
2025 Thailand

Wednesday 27 November 2024 Walking along the Ping River I wanted to walk along the Ping River to see evidence of the recent floods in Chiang Mai. The floods resulting from heavy storms in late September and early October were the worst in at least 50 years and affected 30 provinces in northern Thailand. As the flood waters receded, the national, provincial, and local governments launched massive cleanup efforts. By October 22, the mayor of […]

Full Day in Bangkok 5 – Phed Mark and an Adventure

November 24, 2024
by James Geier
2025 Thailand

Tuesday 19 November 2024 Full Day in Bangkok 5 – Phed Mark and an Adventure This will be a longer post as the “Adventure” requires a longer narrative. Phed Mark A very common dish eaten by Thais is Pad Kaprow (often, including by me, misspelled Pad Krapow with the “r” in the wrong place). Having learned of and coming to like Pad Kaprow over the last couple of years, I thought I would have a […]

Full Day in Bangkok 4 – Wat Saket

November 23, 2024
by James Geier
2025 Thailand

Tuesday 19 November 2024 Full Day in Bangkok 4 – Wat Saket Wat Saket the Golden Mount Temple I have been to Wat Saket on one of my first winters in Thailand (about 11 or 12 years ago). I remember well not feeling a strong connection when I visited then. It is a Royal Temple of the Second Class, so considered rather important in the Buddhist Religion in Thailand. Being a 15-minute walk from Wat […]

Full Day in Bangkok 3 – Wat Suthat

November 22, 2024
by James Geier
2025 Thailand

Tuesday 19 November 2024 One Full Day in Bangkok Part 3 – Wat Suthep Wat Suthep When looking at the list of Thai royal temples of the first class in Bangkok (a short list of ten), I noticed Wat Suthat and realized (1) I had never been there, and (2) it was not terribly far from Wat Pho. Being a Royal Temple of the First Class, my interest was peaked. I learned that the construction […]

Full Day in Bangkok 2 – Wat Pho

November 22, 2024
by James Geier
2025 Thailand

Tuesday 19 November 2024 One Full Day in Bangkok Part 2 – Wat Pho Wat Pho Wat Pho is known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, and its official name is Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm Rajwaramahaviharn. Wat Pho is first on the list of ten temples in Thailand classed as royal temples of the first class. Wat Pho was built under the reign of King Rama I in the early 1800s. The most significant […]

Full Day in Bangkok 1 – Wat Arun

November 21, 2024
by James Geier
2025 Thailand

Tuesday 19 November 2024One Full Day in Bangkok Part 1 – Wat Arun My plans for today will be very similar to my one full day in Bangkok last year, so this post will be quite similar to that from last year and years past when I was only in Bangkok for one full day. Bangkok is a large city, about the size of Los Angeles with twice as many people. It has a frenetic […]