Bangkok and Beyond (Part 1): Blessings in Temples, Barks in Cafes

- November 15, 2025, Saturday. 

- Bangkok has been steadily growing on me, and any opportunity to go back just feels like going to another home. I was in Bangkok for a conference just last year, and now I'm back again for another conference! 

- My Cebu Pacific flight to Bangkok from Manila was really early in the morning, but the flight was delayed for a while so my first day was significantly cut short. The afternoon traffic in Bangkok didn't help either!

At least I won in the in-flight trivia game. This pouch was exactly what I needed for traveling!

- Upon checking in Diff Hostel I immediately went to Wat Saket which was a place I vowed to visit last year (closest metro station is Sam Yot MRT Station). This golden temple on a mad-made hill was built in the 1880s by King Nangklao (King Rama III). When I visited last year, the main stupa was under renovation, so I thought of visiting it again when renovations are done. This year, it looks nice and golden once more without all the scaffolding I saw last year!

Wat Saket!

The best spot to have a photo of Wat Saket, including a bit of Loha Prasat (Wat Ratchanardaram), another royal temple built during King Rama III's time. (I think I need to explore Loha Prasat a bit more in my next visit!)

- The temple is also known for attracting vultures in the past. The temple was located outside the former city walls, and so people would often bring the dead to be cremated here. However, during several cholera outbreaks int he 1800s, the number of corpses brought to the temple overwhelmed the crematorium, attracting many vultures and birds of prey to eat the corpses. Fortunately, this isn't the case anymore. 

Giant gong.

Main stupa.

A reminder of Wat Saket's dark past (with the vultures).

A golden Buddha towards the base.

- From Wat Saket, I ventured in the far western side of Bangkok, in the Thawi Watthana district (near the borders that Bangkok shares with Nakhon Pathom and Nonthaburi) to visit Dog Country Cafe. Thank goodness for Grab, because this cafe would be incredibly hard to access without a private car! (Closest station is the Taling Chan Railway Station). Dog Country Cafe prides in being Asia's largest pet cafe, with hundreds of dogs in various sizes, cats, rabbits, and some farm animals like pigs and goats! Although I'm not too much of a pet person, I do enjoy the company of some nice animals! Dog Country Cafe has some branches across Bangkok, but with the amount of animals they have in their original branch, I knew I had to go to this particular one instead of the closer branches! This one had the best reviews too. (Bangkok's city proper has other dog cafes too, but with the limited time I had, I just had to go straight to the best!)

Here I am!

Can I take you home pleaseeeee.

Can I take ALL OF THEM HOME pleaseeeee??

I love you toooo. (Please don't eat me.)

If I were to give this guy a name, it would be "Nugget" haha.

PLEASE THEY'RE SO ADORABLE.

- With just a 350THB entrance fee, and this is the premium package (there are cheaper packages, but I wanted the whole experience!), I didn't only get to play with the dogs there, but I got a free drink, and access to the cats and rabbits (not all packages allow entrance to the cat and rabbit quarters). Some animal feeds are available for sale, and I took the chance to feed some of the animals there. The reason why I went to this particular branch was because guests can clearly see how well they're taken care of, and how free and active the animals seem to be. (They seem happy, at least I think so?)

Room for tiny dogs.

Medium sized dogs!

At the cat room. I'm more of a dog person than a cat person, but I liked the cats here (until they started scratching my pants to ask for food hahahaha.)

Fluffy cats!!

At the rabbit room. They were in cages, but I don't know how difficult it would be to have them out and about the whole time.

At least I have this fluffy bunny to pet for a few moments!

GIANT FARM ANIMALS (they were in the same place the big dogs, although I wasn't able to take photos of the big dogs as there were too many people playing with the dogs at that time.)

- That evening I had a brief visit to Platinum Mall (close to Siam or Ratchathewi BTS Stations), my absolute favorite shopping place in Bangkok, but mainly to have dinner rather than shop. I enjoy the outdoor no-fuss dining experience!

Had Tom Yum rice and fresh coconut juice. I always love Thailand's coconut juice.

- My first day in Bangkok was more eventful than I imagined because of my flight delay. Bangkok also welcomed me with a chilly evening, which I didn't expect since Manila was still a bit hot even this time of the year (and Bangkok and Manila often have the same kind of weather). Truly, Bangkok knows how to make me feel "at home"!!

** Check out my other adventures in Thailand and Laos here!

THAILAND:

Part 2: Kanchanaburi - here

Part 3: Maeklong Railway Market, Damnoen Saduak Floating Market - here

Part 4: Phetchaburi and Hua Hin - here

Part 5: Wat Paknam, Capybara Cafe, B Story Cafe, Madame Tussauds - here

Part 6: Chulalongkorn University - here

LAOS:   

Part 1 (Vientiane): Patuxai, Buddha Park, and Vientiane's Temples - here

Part 2 (Vientiane): Pha That Luang, Lao Art Museum - here

Part 3 (Luang Prabang): Royal Palace, Phousi Hill, Night Market - here 

Part 4 (Luang Prabang): Kuang Si Waterfalls, Pak Ou caves - here 

Part 5 (Luang Prabang): Sai Bat, Wat Xieng Thong, and Other Temples - here

Part 6 (Luang Prabang / Bangkok): Sai Bat Again, Some Temples, Bangkok Jodd Fairs - here  

"Thai" Will Always Love You (Part 4): Bangkok's Chinatown and Other Temples

- July 21, 2024, Monday.

- My Monday was a decompression day after so many things that happened to me in Bangkok since the day I arrived days prior. I had a loose agenda for the day, and it also gave me more time to do some work at the hostel.

- I started my day by visiting Wat Traimit (Hua Lamphong MRT station). Originally built in the 1800s, its current incarnation was built in the 1940s. It is a Chinese-Thai style Buddhist temple, and also regarded as a royal temple. 

Wat Traimit.

So lucky to have this nice photo since the temple was a bit crowded.

With the photo of King Vajiralongkorn (King Rama X).

Golden Buddha inside the temple. The buddha itself is historic and miraculous. It is said to have been created in the 13-14th centuries, and due to many wars and other historical events, the Buddha was placed inside a plaster casing to make it look less valuable. In 1955 when it was about to be placed inside Wat Traimit, the ropes transporting the Buddha broke, dropping the statue and chipping the plaster. It was only then they discovered the real golden Buddha inside. It is also said that this is the largest golden Buddha statue in the world. 

- Across Wait Traimit is the Chinatown arch. I just took photos of it before riding a tuktuk to Wat Mangkon (Wat Mangkon MRT). It is a Chinese temple built in the 1870s, Not only did I appreciate the temple's historical value, but I appreciated it more because it was airconditioned and had clean toilets! (It so happened that I really really had to go potty while I was at the temple.)

Just to let you know that this is Chinatown Bangkok: the Chinese gate with some tuktuks.

Close up of the arch/gate.

Honestly, this is my first officia ltuktuk ride in Thailand - and yes, only during my third visit. I avoided tuktuks like the plague because I didn't want to get ripped off. I think I still got ripped off but it wasn't that bad if ever.

Inside Wat Mangkon. I couldn't take a photo of the temple's facade as there were renovations going on.

Temple guardians. (They were HUGE.)

- I later visited Sampeng Market, which is a narrow street market spanning several blocks in Chinatown. Honestly, I should have known about this market earlier because this is the BEST PLACE TO SHOP in Bangkok. As it is a wholesale market, its prices are a lot cheaper even compared to neighboring Phahurat standards. (Sellers actually come to Sampeng Market to look for things to sell in their own stores.) I did get a few things, but had I known about this market, I would have bought all my necklaces and bracelets here HAHA. However, Thai costumes are still a bit hard to find here, and most of them are in Phahurat (which, again, it just within the area).

Sampeng Market.

- I spent the rest of the morning back at the hostel trying to do some work and fixing some of my things. That afternoon, I finally decided to visit Wat Saket (Golden Mount). In previous trips to Bangkok, I passed on Wat Saket in favor of other "more interesting" places in Bangkok. I think it had its revenge on me because now that I decided to visit it, the main tower was being renovated. (So, maybe, I'll just return next time, if I could.) Wat Saket was a lot more interesting than I thought. The artificial hill was built in the early 1800s during King Rama III's reign (King Nangklao), while the main temple that stands was built decades later by King Rama V (King Chulalongkorn). Today, the temple grounds not only has the temple on the hill, but also some museums. But because the main temple was under renovation, I didn't explore too much since I'd rather pay my entrance ticket when everything's nice and renovated. I had lunch at a food stall in the temple grounds and left not long after.

Giant peacock.

I lost all willpower to explore the area when I saw the renovations. I still looks nice, but it'd be nicer without the scaffolding.

It does look majestic! (I want to see its full glory!)

- Near the Golden Mount is the giant swing, built in the 1700s for a Brahmin ceremony. They halted these ceremonies since the giant swing had signs of use and many fatal accidents happened as well.

Giant Swing with tuktuk.

Giant Swing without tuktuk.

- I later passed by the Dev Mandir Hindu Temple, close to the Giant Swing. The Dev Mandir is one of the oldest Hindu temples in Bangkok (though not the oldest,) as it was inaugurated in 1969. Its roots go decades prior, spearheaded by Pandit Raghunath Sharma, a Sanskrit specialist. The trip to the temple was a nice surprise because it wasn't part of my plan, but I was happy to see at least one contemporary Hindu temple in Bangkok. I was also happy to know that the temple is also supporting a school called "Bharat Vidhalaya", a basic education school located within the temple grounds.

Dev Mandir.

It reminds me of the many Sindhi-Hindu temples I visited, including the one here in Manila. 

Even the way the deities are placed and dressed appear similar.

The Hindu organization governing the temple and school.

- That evening I once again headed to Platinum to eat some nice seafood. I strolled for a bit before toiling the night away back at the hostel. It was a nice "relaxed" day despite balancing my time between sightseeing and touring, as with most days.

I loved the seasnails (middle), and the Thai coconut juice that I had almost daily because I love coconuts so much.

- My trip to Bangkok isn't over yet because I had more to see and do for my last full day in the city! There's just so many nice things to see and to in this city!

- Check out my other adventures for this Thailand trip!

Part 1 (Phahurat and Mahidol University): here

Part 2 (Nakhon Pathom): here

Part 3 (Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun, Kudeejeen): here

Part 5 (Ancient City, Erawan Museum, Terminal 21): here