The Baiyoke Sky Bangkok Hotel is Thailand tallest hotel rising 88 stories and represents the country's landmark. It has an observation deck on the 77th floor with the best view of Bangkok and the metropolis to the Gulf of Thailand and offers Thailand's only Sky Walk on the 84th floor with a challenging, open-air, 360 degrees revolving roof deck.

Accommodation at the Baiyoke Sky Bangkok Hotel

Wat Indrawiharn  ( Temple in Bangkok, Thailand )
        The 32-meter (100-foot) tall standing Buddha of Wat Indrawiharn used to be visible from just about any high vantage point around the old city. Now its hidden behind the new buildings from Thailand's boom years. Not that its any great loss. The giant Buddha statue is a rare example of Thai religious art failing to live up the the graceful lines its known for. The statue is flattened and thus very unrealistic. Its still an impressive work, and popular as a place of homage for some Thais.

        Although the statue may fail to completely impress, the ubosot is beautifully decorated. Of particular interest are the intricately carved pink sema stones. Also of note is the wall enclosing the ubosot on three sides. The inside of the wall is lined with glass-fronted shelves holding benjarong funerary urns.

        The interior of the ubosot has some beautiful Buddha images as well as some interesting, if a bit cartoonish, murals. Note also the gilded shutters on the windows. The temple was founded by King Rama IV in the mid-19th century. The giant statue was built to house relics from Sri Lanka. The stairway up the side of the supporting structure is sometimes open, so that you can ascend to the Buddha's shoulders to get an interesting view of this somewhat sleepy part of Bangkok. Wat Indrawiharn is the site of an annual temple fair which is usually held during the first 10 days of March.

The Jim Thompson Thai House in Bangkok, Thailand
        The Thai houses that Jim Thompson collected in the 1960's get mentioned prominently in most guide books, but the museum doesn't get many visitors. It is rather off the beaten track, but still worth a visit. Jim Thompson was an American who first came to Thailand as part of the OSS (the soldiery precursor of the CIA) towards the end of World War II. After the war and upon leaving the service, he decided to return to Thailand. He saw the international potential of the almost forgotten cottage industry of silk weaving, and is largely credited with reviving the lost art.
     Thompson's appreciation of things Thai extended to all of the arts and architecture. Once he had made his "fortune" he began the construction of his house. The collection of six buildings represent some of the best of traditional Thai architecture. Many of the houses were at least two centuries old. While this would be an outrageously expensive exercise today, we have to remember that this was the 1950's, when old was definitely out of fashion and everybody wanted something modern. People were probably more than happy to have this silly American pay them to cart of what they may have thought of as "junk" at the time.
        The houses are reconstructed and put together in a very traditional fashion, although most of the modern conveniences such as electricity and indoor plumbing have been united. The house quickly became known around town, and was ultimately opened to the public even before Thompson's "mysterious" disappearance while visiting friends in the Malaysian Cameron Highlands. Although open to the public, the house is not open to tour groups, which is one of the reasons more people don't visit. The house is also at the end of a longish alley and so not well know by taxi drivers either. Fortunately, the new Skytrain system may make it easier for more people to enjoy this little gem. Alighting at the "National Stadium" station will put you right at the mouth of the soi leading to the house. Whilst you can wander through the gardens for free, tours of the house itself are guided only and cost 100 Baht.