Bangkok: Round 2

After relaxing and soaking in our last couple sights in Chiang Mai, we arrived in Bangkok on Saturday for Round 2.  Our first night in Bangkok, we were feeling ambitious so we decided to try our hand at the Escape Hunt which is one of Bangkok’s newest and most popular attractions (according to Trip Advisor it’s #1 thing to do in Bangkok!).  The Escape Hunt is a live mystery-solving game where you are the detectives trying to collect clues and solve the mystery in under 60 minutes – you must solve the mystery before the clock runs out in order to escape from the room.  It was definitely a fun activity and made for a unique night out!  By the way.. we DID manage to escape the room in the last (stressful) minute 🙂  Afterwards we went to the movies to see The Conjuring which turned out to be the best and scariest scary movie we have seen in a long time!

On Sunday, we went sightseeing and managed to explore the Grand Palace and Wat Pho before retiring back to our end of town and discovering our new favourite bar, Check Inn 99.  Every night there is an amazingly talented band that can sing and perform almost any song on request!  They are very interactive which makes for a really fun and inviting atmosphere – after visiting two nights in a row, the band now knows us by name! 🙂

Last night we met up with Justin & friends for a cultural night out at the LadyBoy Cabaret at the Calypso Theatre.  It was an entertaining show full of mediocre lip-syncing and dazzling costumes!

Wat Chedi Luang

An impressive ruined temple in the center of Chiang Mai that once housed the Emerald Buddha, considered to be the holiest religious object in Thailand. A severe earthquake in 1545 toppled the pagoda.

An impressive ruined temple in the center of Chiang Mai that once housed the Emerald Buddha, considered to be the holiest religious object in Thailand. A severe earthquake in 1545 toppled the pagoda.

Escape Hunt

We decided to take on the challenge of the number 1 rated attraction (according to Trip Advisor) in Bangkok, Escape Hunt. Escape Hunt transports you back 100 years to solve a murder mystery, the only way to escape from the murder room is to find all the clues and solve all the puzzles before the clock stops after 60 minutes. We were able to solve the mystery and made it out of the room (with lots of hints from our Game-Master) in the final minute. To celebrate our success we put on their silly costumes for a photo.

Grand Palace & Wat Pho

Impressive structures next to Wat Phra Kaew in the Grand Palace grounds.

Impressive detail on the buildings at the Grand Palace Grounds.

Emerald Buddha in Wat Phra Kaew, considered the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. Emerald Buddha is actually made of jade, and has a long storied past that according to the legend starts in India in 43 BC. The Emerald Buddha has been at Wat Phra Kaew since 1782. Only the Thai King, is allowed to touch the statue. The King changes the gold cloak around the statue three times a year, corresponding to the summer, winter, and rainy seasons, an important ritual performed to usher good fortune to the country during each season.

Wat Pho A.K.A. Temple of the Reclining Buddha houses a 15m high and 43m long reclining buddha

The reclining buddha is 15m high and 43m long.

Bangkok Nightlife

Our new favourite bar in Bangkok has a very talented and entertaining house band from 8:30pm to 1:30am every night!

Enjoying some drinks at Chek Inn 99 before the Calypso Cabaret.

Packed into a tuk tuk like sardines on our way to the Calypso Cabaret.

Amanda & Adam