Despite the traffic jams, countless modern malls, bustling open markets that pop up within hours, and crowded side walks where vendor and pedestrians fight for space...it is possible to escape to a peaceful and tranquil WAT (Buddhist temple) in just minutes. If you open up a map of Bangkok (one with icons of tourist sites to visit), you'll notice countless WATs are sprinkled throughout the city; each infamous for something – their location, how fast they can grant your wish, or the type of Buddha (tallest, longest, etc.) that is housed in the temple.

In our attempt to be typical tourists in the city, Villy and I decided to visit a handful of Wats with the help of a local tuk-tuk driver. Although the experience is worth a try, I don't recommend using a tuk-tuk as your regular means of transportation – it is basically a small 3-wheeled vehicle that is a cross between a motobike and horse carriage. The cabin is open and would be considered a pleasant ride if we were in Napa Valley with light traffic and lots of fresh wine air; in Bangkok, this is quite the contrary since we share the road with many cars and exhaust fumes. But the ride is cheap and even cheaper during government subsidized days to promote tourism...our entire trip (4 Wat visits) was suppose to cost us 10 Bahts ($0.31 USD!!) as long as our tuk-tuk driver could take us to a gem factory to collect his free gas coupons. A deal worth paying and even tipping on (which is not a norm here). It's too bad our tuk-tuk driver abandoned us on our 3rd Wat stop...after the gem factory visit, of course. Those must have been some amazing gas coupons!!

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4 Wat-ings and a Factory