This morning we slept through our 8:00am alarm and rushed to get ready for the Temples/Palace before it was too hot. We tried to catch a Tuk Tuk down the road and encountered our first Bangkok scam artist; a driver who enthusiastically (and convincingly) told us that the monks were using the Palace until 11am so he recommended taking us to some other attractions for only 10 baht until the palace re-opened to the public.
Upon further inquiry he told us that he would have to stop at the tourist info so he could get reimbursed for gasoline as well as stop at a gem shop for us to have a look. My brain finally woke up and I whispered to Ty that we either had to get out of the Tuk Tuk or haggle harder, that is exactly what "Lonely Planet Thailand" had warned of. Ty managed to get us a ride to the palace for 80 baht ($3.50USD) and when we got there the Palace was definitely NOT closed to the public.
We paid our entrance fee and melted around the grounds in our "temple outfits", for me black jeans and a sweater over my tanktop and for Ty jeans and a T-shirt.
| Phimanchaisri Gate is the entrance to the Grand Palace...which has been the residence of Kings in Thailand since 1782! |
Me and Phra Si Ratana Chedi, a 19th-century stupa built in Sri Lankan style enshrining ashes of the Buddha
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| the back side of the Temple of Emerald Buddha |
Ornate detail on the walls of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha
| Five-headed dragon foot at the entrance! |
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| Confucius Statue |
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| I can only imagine these are the shoes of Palace workers...but why only two colors? |
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Hidden garden that's under construction
We were dying in the 95 degree weather and so were thrilled to get into the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles, which had air-conditioning and a very interesting visual display on how to make silk from worms!
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| Ministry of Defense |
Patrol
After getting lost trying to get to another set of temples (or Wat's) we got hot-hungry grouchy and grabbed a snack at 7-11 so we could start the walk back towards our hotel in better spirits. We found lunch at a place called Mango and were surprised to find it was only noon...we had to have beer with our Thai food/breakfast/lunch, we were that drained!
Back at the hotel we showered and pumped the air conditioning, promising ourselves we would have to find better temple outfits at the market later!
Instead of going the market we decided we hadn't quite got enough of the Wat's...we walked down to the river and hopped on a series of ferry boats to get across to Wat Arun, all light up but closed for the night. There were at least 12 cats wandering the premises and there was a big school of fish chumming right beside the dock.
Wat Arun, named after the Indian god of dawn (Aruna)
The things that people choose to photograph and what they choose to post tell a lot about their priorities in their lives and in their travels. I'll just say : I want you guys as travel buddies!
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