sites to visit in bangkok

my colleague kindly gave me 2 maps of bangkok which he got from his visits there. very detailed very colourful very big very good. haha. will bring it along next time we meet.
i think since we're there, we should visit what bangkok is famous for (besides shopping) - the temples (or Wat in Thai).

Some temples to visit:
Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) located on west bank on Chao Phraya River (it's the river that cuts across Thailand in case u didn't know. so we gotta take a ferry/boat there!). It's impressive 280ft pagoda is decoratd with multi coloured Chinese porcelain. Has a magnificent view at sunset from the east of the river (so we can take nice pictures of it!)
Wat Phra Kaew the grandest temple of intricate design houses the Emerald Buddha (among other things).
Wat Phra Chetuphon (Wat Pho) this royal temple, known for the huge Reclining Buddha image, is regarded as Thailand's 1st university where traditional Thai Massage originated and is still taught. (maybe we can pop by for some quality thai massage! that's if they have it tho.)
City Pillar Shrine (San Lak Muang) watch colourful worshippers perform. (8.30-15.30)
National Museum for the cultural/historical educational visit.

i also came across this place called Ko Kret, which is an island on the Chao Phraya river itself. takes a while to travel there from bangkok, but i'll find out more. meanwhile, check out these sites:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Ko_Kret
http://www.thai-blogs.com/index.php?blog=23&p=851&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 (check out the map on page 2)
sounds like a nice rustic and relaxing place to visit. it's famous for some temples, earthernware and traditional thai desserts!i suggest we could make a day trip there (maybe on the sunday). but i havent figured out where EXACTLY it is cos it's not shown in the maps i've got. what do u guys think? i'm on the verge of planning a detailed itinery for visiting ko kret itself cos it sounds so nice! can we go there, please?

anusha: u could ignore him TOTALLY, or just tell him straight "i really don't like u and what you're doing now really bothers me. please give me some space and peace. sorry and thanx." BUT that's mean lah hor. haha i don't think i can say that either but if it really bothers u then u should just TELL HIM. otherwise i think the 1st one should work.

btw qing when does ur mid terms start?

Edit 2:
ok i finally found out where it is. it's up north from bangkok..and it seems like quite a distance actually. http://bangkok.sawadee.com/expressboat.htm (it's the semi-oval shaped thing with Wat Poramai.) how to get there:
1) Take a Chao Phraya express boat (4-9bht) from (Tha Chang) Pier to Pak Kret (or Nonthaburi?) pier at Wat Sanam Nua.
2) A river ferry leaves Wat Sanam Nua to Ko Kret (2bht). Whole trip (one-way) takes abt an hour.
3) Returning to Pak Kret, visitors are able to catch a small long-tail boat at any pier around the island (5 Baht), or a river taxi (~500bht) as mentioned in the wikitravel site.

ok that's all folks!

Posted by joce! at Thursday, May 18, 2006