Bangkok and Beyond (Part 5): Bangkok Temple Run, Shopping Run, Cafe Run, Celebrity Run!

- November 19, 2025, Wednesday.

- I will never run out of things to do in Bangkok, I swear. Even when I thought I had seen and done everything, I'll always realize that there is always "more"! 

- One temple that has been in my radar for a while now is called Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen ("Wat Paknam" for short) (closest metro station is the Bang Phai Metro Station). It is known for its giant stupa and giant bronze Buddha in the middle of the city. Unlike most big Buddhas in the city, this one can be seen out in the open, and not inside some sort of building. The temple itself was built in the 1600s, but the bronze Buddha in 2021.  

Bronze Buddha.

There was a museum inside.

Inside Phrarathchamongkhon Stupa.

The animals are not real.

Other Buddhists relics.

Phrarathchamongkhon Stupa.

- I now realize why there are few photos of the Buddha with the stupa there is no space to do that! For those who want to get a somewhat decent photo of the Buddha with the stupa, there is a table at the temple where visitors can hire boatmen who can go around the canals surrounding the temple and take nice photos. 

On another boat.

Even at the canal the view of the stupa with the Buddha was difficult to photograph because the roof of the temple's halls were blocking the view.

It does look nice, still.

Some of the prayer halls.

I also realized that there were also some electric cables, here and there, adding difficulty to the photography situation.

My boatman made me stand here haha.

This was a candid shot, I was just looking where the Buddha statue was, but this became one of my favorite photos from the set!

I actually wanted to face the Buddha, like this.

The easiest way to get both the stupa and the bronze Buddha is to take a photo from the back. Less than ideal though.

From the back.

I passed by this Buddhist monk cleaning windows.

- From the temple, I rode a Grab motor to Wat Prayurawongsawas Worahiran ("Wat Prayun" for short) (closest to Itsaraphap Metro Station). This temple, built in the 1800s, is located near the Chao Phraya River. It is not only known for its white color, but also because it is one of the rare stupas that allow people to see the Buddhist artifacts inside the stupa itself. I visited this last year actually, but I had to visit it again because I forgot to visit the interior of the stupa - which was supposed to be the main point of visiting the stupa in the first place. Well, I didn't forget about it this time. But I realized why it probably slipped my mind last year: the entrance to the stupa was through the temple museum. Both the temple museum and the entrance to the stupa did not look too obvious. But hey, at least I found it and I was finally able to see what I wanted to see!

I'm back!

Many Buddhist relics.

The museum.

Inside the inner walls of the stupa. As nice as this spot is, I didn't take a photo here because I realized that the walls inside those arches are the remains of the Bunnag family, who donated their land to this temple.

Inside the stupa.

When I say I have the body of a god, I meant this.

- That afternoon I changed hotels since I was moving to the hotel my conference provided for us (my trip to Bangkok was actually for work!). After settling in my room, I went to Sampheng Market and India Emporium (both are walking distance from each other; Sampheng Market is closest to Wat Mangkon Metro Station, but India Emporium might be closet to Sam Yot Metro Station). Sampheng Market is a wholesale market, and its rows of stores sell fabric, clothes, accessories, some may sell souvenirs but it usually isn't the kind of market for that. (I was there for accessories heehee.) Meanwhile, in India Emporium, I was there for my Indian clothes.

Sampheng Market.

India Emporium.

- With more time to spare, I dropped by Capybara Coffee in Silom (near Surasak BTS Station) to have a drink and pet some capybaras. There were some meercats and ducks too! The cafe has around 4 capybaras that were usually not shy to play with the visitors. I spent maybe an hour playing with all the animals there before more people came. I never thought I'd love playing and feeding capybaras that much!  

They seem to love watermelon so much.

Meerkats.

I'm not really sure if they're friends of otherwise. The capybaras sometimes love invading the meerkats' spaces haha.

Meerkat.

Feeding ducks.

The capybara is the world's biggest rodent. That also means....they're related to rats.

The cafe area. (The animals are outside.)

The cafe.

- I also tried to fit in another cafe in my agenda for the day. This time, at B Story Cafe (right outside Ratchathewi BTS Station. I knew about this cafe after randomly seeing a content creator feature this cafe on Instagram. It is said to be one of the prettiest cafes in Bangkok, and has a rustic western look. They serve both Thai and western food. I'm glad to say that they're food tastes as good as the cafe looks!!

It looks stunning even from the outside.

Interior.

Every corner is IG-worthy.

One of my favorite spots.

I mean....even the stairs.

Too cute to drink!

It was my lunch/dinner.

- Finally, I had a nice stroll all the ay to Siam Discovery Centre (near Siam BTS Station) to check out Bangkok's Madame Tussauds. Bangkok's Madame Tussauds opened in 2010, making it the third Madame Tussauds in Asia after Hong Kong (2000) and Shanghai (2006).

With Gandhiji.

I'm so glad I decided to wear this western-ambiguous look. It matches so many wax sculptures, just like Princess Diana's attire!

With President Xi Jin Ping.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Please grant me visa-for-life for India huhu.)

With the late Queen Elizabeth. I also like how I positioned my head, it looks like I have a crown too!

With the Obamas.

Ludwig Van Beethoven.

Too tired to do situps!

Thrillerrrrrr!!

Lady. Ga.Ga.

You should've put a ring on it!

Ranbir Kapoor!! I also love how there was a sherwani to wear at the Bollywood section -- AND IT WAS MY SIZE!! (Indian sizes often do not fit me perfectly.)

With the Kinggggg himself, Amitabh Bachchan!!

Another Bollywood kingggg, Shahrukh Khan!!

With Madam Morrible herself, Michelle Yeoh!!

Stole Selena Gomez's shawl. (Lol just kidding, it was also for visitors to put on.)

Madame Tussauds herself, the artistic genius who started it all!

- I had such an eventful day - borderline chaotic, actually. But what is a trip to Bangkok without overstimulating the senses? I'm glad I was able to fit everything in a day, but I would actually like to spend more time in some of the cafes and attractions if time permitted. But whatever happens, Bangkok will always find ways to surprise me (in good ways, always, I hope)!