Wat Arun

Lydia and I had a lazy day today, relaxing in our hotel room and visiting only one site, Wat Arun. To get to Wat Arun, which is directly opposite the Grand Palace and Wat Pho on the other side of the river, we took a water taxi (15 B/person) down the river and then a small ferry, which took us from one bank to the other (3 B/person). 

Wat Arun's grounds are dominated by a very large tower/temple, which has stairs that believers, or very brave tourists, may climb. However, today was just too hot, so I skipped the climb and opted instead to walk around the grounds at a more leisurely pace. Unlike Wat Pho or the wat that houses the Emerald Buddha, there were very few tourists milling about Wat Arun. The wat's construction was distinctly different, the decorations were less opulent than the other wats we have visited, but it was in no way less beautiful. 

"I'm too sexy for my armor...too sexy for my armor..."

An artist drawing Wat Arun.

We took the water taxi back up river to the hotel. As we motored along, we passed a couple dozen boats with rowers, rowing with coordinated movements, as they made their way down the river.

Tomorrow will be our last day in Thailand, our plane leaves at 11:45 p.m. to begin a very long journey home. 

Another Sarong Day

Lydia and I decided to take advantage of the hotel's complementary boat ride down the river to Wat Pho and the Grand Palace. Wat Pho, 100 Bat entrance fee, is the location of the reclining Buddha, which is so large that it takes up the interior of one of the temples. This Buddha is  magnificent in both its size and its intricate details, even the feet are decorated with pictures crafted in mother of pearl.

An idea of the size.

The reclining Buddha's feet with mother of pearl detail.

After walking around the Buddha, we wandered the grounds of the wat and took advantage of the free water to beat the heat.

After Wat Pho, we walked down the river towards the Grand Palace fending off tuk-tuk drivers, who claimed that it would be a thirty minute walk and that we should take their tuk-tuk to the palace, and salesmen, who tried to make me buy a sarong to cover the skin exposed by my capri pants. When we got close enough to the entrance, we were able to read the English sign letting visitors know that cover-up clothing was available in the palace FREE OF CHARGE.

I had dressed in capri pants because I thought that they were plenty long enough to pass muster. I was wrong. I was told by the guard that I could not go in until I was properly dressed. So, I joined the line along with girls whose pants were deemed too short or tight and men in shorts. Once I was attired in a green sarong over my capri pants. We headed to the ticket counter to get a ticket, only to learn later, after talking to Bekah, that the palace portion is free per a decree by the King, it is just not advertised, nor will the staff tell you even if directly asked. According to Bekah, if you want to just visit the palace and avoid the wat, you walk to the right and avoid being funneled into the line to buy the wat tickets

 The 400 Bat ticket, which we bought, did include entrance into Wat Phra Kaew, as well as entrance to the pavilion of Regalia, Royal decorations and Coins, the Teak Palace and the Arts of the Kingdom Exhibition in the Throne Room, the last two are valid for seven days after purchase. Wat Phra Kaew is known for the Emerald Buddha, a misnomer because the Buddha is actually made out of single piece of jade. While beautiful, it is small and not as impressive as it sounds and not worth the entrance cost. We walked around the wat grounds wilting under the sweltering heat, me especially in my double layer of clothing, before exiting to the grounds of the Grand Palace. We only were able to go into two sections of the palace, the throne room and the armory. Most everything else seemed to be closed to the public. Exhausted from the heat and unimpressed by the palace, we left the grounds, returned my sarong and caught a tuk-tuk, which drove like a bat out of Hell, back to the hotel. 

Cleaning the wat

My Sarong Day

The Grand Palace\

From Chiang Mai to Bangkok

We decided to stay in Chiang Mai through Sunday evening so that we could go to the night bazaar. We stayed in our hotel to the last possible moment before checking out. After check out, we walked around Chiang Mai and then found a café to people watch for a bit. The bazaar opened up at four and Lydia and I walked around the merchandise stalls. I ended up buying a bar of soap intricately carved into a flower and painted and a picture of a tiger and her cub painted in bright colors on a piece of black fabric. Once our wallets were considerably lighter (mine more than Lydia's), Lydia and I went to the food section of the market, where I bought yellow rice and chicken curry from an Indian woman. 

Kitty in the Bookstore, Chiang Mai

A Wat in Chiang Mai

A teak tea house. The architecture was beautiful. The foot and drinks were overpriced.

Oh, I got my hair cut too. Surprise!!!

Its a bob now. Not a severe one. 

Our bus left at 9:15 p.m. After collecting our luggage from the hotel storeroom, we caught a taxi to the bus station. Unfortunately, he dropped us off at the wrong terminal, which led to a frantic rush across the bus terminals until we found the proper one. Once again, the bus was less comfortable than we had hoped. However, the seats did recline to a near horizontal position.

We arrived into Bangkok just after 6:00 a.m., an hour earlier than expected. Still dazed from lack of sleep, Lydia and I had to ward off swarming taxi drivers who acted as if they did not know the word “meter.” We found a taxi line but half a dozen or so taxi drivers, with cars that read “meter taxi,” refused to take us on the meter. Finally, one driver did and we got in. We ended up at the wrong hotel, which was entirely our fault because our hotel was off the map. Thankfully, the staff of the Royal Hotel were very kind and helpful and called us another taxi to drive us to the correct hotel.

When we arrived at the Royal River Hotel and tried to check in, the girl at the front desk said that our reservation was incorrect and that we were scheduled in for Tuesday instead of Monday. Additionally, the only room that they could offer us for Monday was a room that cost twice as much as the room we had booked. Lydia called Bekah, who had made the reservation, and then handed the phone over to the manager. Bekah, who speaks Thai, made her displeasure well known and the manager quickly handed the phone back to Lydia and studiously avoided Lydia, the phone and the poor trainee for the rest of the conversation. Magically, after telling us that they didn’t have a studio room for Monday, they managed to find us one. The studio rooms at this hotel are the hotels secrets and cannot be booked on the internet, they are considerably cheaper than the other rooms because they are located down the center of the hall and don’t have a window.  We got into our room and promptly took a nap…for five hours.

Today, after breakfast, we headed out to go see the Teak Palace. This residence once belonged to the King and Queen but was gifted to the Thai people; it is now a museum with photos and furnishings. We caught a tuk-tuk on the main road outside our hotel. While our driver seemed to have understood the word “palace”, he missed the word “teak” and ended up driving us to the Grand Palace. This would not have been so bad, except there is a dress code at the Grand Palace and we were not dressed to visit it. We wandered around aimlessly for a bit because we had no idea where he had dropped us off. Finally, we realized the mistake and headed in the direction of the Grand Palace. I wanted to get close to the entrance to see what they said about the dress clothes, but before we even made it on the side of the road with the palace, merchants harassing us about Lydia’s shorts trying to get her to buy a sarong to enter the palace. One even poked Lydia in the side before showing her a picture and pointing to his stall. We turned around and left the merchants to harass other tourists and found a tuk-tuk to take us to the Teak Palace.

The look of resignation.

This tuk-tuk driver drove us around the back alleys of Bangkok and through quaint streets, avoiding most of the traffic. When we arrived at the palace, he directed us to the entrance. Inside, Lydia let out some colorful language. The Teak Palace also required a certain dress code and Lydia resigned herself to buying a sarong. In addition to covered knees and shoulders, we were also required to walk the palace barefoot, though, by now, I am use to it.

Inside, the furnishings and décor gave the palace a very English feel. There were even two portraits of Queen Victoria in one of the rooms. Some of the rooms, such as the dining room, were very formal. Others, a TV room from the 1950s, were very informal and family like. We got into the palace at just the right time, as we were leaving school tours were beginning and at least a hundred kids were walking into the palace. 

After walking around the palace.

The Teak Palace Complex