Snapshots of Bangkok

It's been over a week since my arrival. I had two days of rest before starting to work and getting over the jetlag. My first aim was to visit the famous Wat Phra Keow, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, one of the most beautiful and sacred temples of Thailand, situated near the royal palace. 


A boat trip on the Chao Phraya, the main river, took me to the smaller klongs (canals), to discover the older parts of Bangkok. However, nowadays more and more high-rise buildings are being constructed along the river banks. Only the very rich can afford to buy such condominiums.

A city of many contrasts, between the shrines and the old wooden houses - small quiet islands in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the city - the old tightly packed concrete buildings of the mid-20th century and the new towers and air train, like all capital cities of the world, Bangkok is a fast expanding, smog affected "ant-hill". Well, to me, living in a small European city with a lot of old buildings and no sky-scrapper at all, it is rather impressive to see all these humongous towers.


The conference and our offices are located on the 22nd floor, which is of the size of a very big football

field. And we are literally freezing! A few of my colleagues are on antibiotics because of infected throats and bronchitis, can you imagine! We are not used to air conditioning. The temperature outside is around 90 F and very humid. It is a shock every time we step out of the building. We are wearing scarves and sweaters to avoid getting sick, how silly! And we strip as soon as we leave the building and walk back to the hotel. (To be continued)