Well, it was going to be a full day in Bangkok before heading to Phuket to meet our liveaboard, but that pesky International Date Line got the better of us.
We had until 1pm to do our brisk tour of Bangkok. The jetlag helped - we were up before 7 without issue and had our free, minimalist breakfast before an inaugural tuktuk ride to Wat Pho.
The "trouble" with tuktuks (besides holding your life in their three-wheeled hands) is that there are no meters. But, the price he gave was less than we were planning to offer anyway, so it was an easy conversation. The tuktuk was a thrilling way to get around, and our driver dropped us right by the entrance, right as it opened at 8.
It was very peaceful as we wandered the grounds. Wat Pho has the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand at over 300. The Rama kings (at least the first four) each have an intricate temple-like building commemorating them, with Rama IV buried in the middle compound.
Every room containing a Buddha is sacred and we had to take our shoes off, but hardly any of them are connected, so it was off and on many times before we got to the most well-known Buddha - the largest reclining Buddha statue. By that point, the crowds had filled in behind us, we were accidentally photo-bombing pictures left and right.
The big guy was pretty awe-striking. The temple surrounding him didn't give him much room to breathe, so that might have added to his perception of greatness. Even with his giant presence, I liked a tucked away garden with a foundation and an island better.
The lushness was beautiful. There was a bird that sounded like the same note on a wooden xylophone being hit over and over - we assumed it was a car alarm until we traced it to a colorful singer on top of a flagpole.
There were also these Chinese-looking statues guarding the doors called "Yak Wat Pho." Where Buddha always looks serene and it is disrespectful to include yourself in pictures of his statues, these guys looked like they had a trick up their sleeve and were willing to get posed with.
We walked along the giant fence surrounding Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace to the entrance on the far side. The compound had a religious area in one quadrant, but every single giant tour group was right by the main temple with the Emerald Buddha. We knew we had to dress conservative, but apparently our scarves weren't trusted to cover our shoulders, so we got pastel collared shirts to don as well.
We got swept along with the crowds (or perhaps more like shoved along; with so many people, manners aren't rewarded, but persistence is.) The Emerald Buddha was dwarfed by his massive, multi-level platform and the pushy crowd around us. He did look nice in his gold robes. Apparently they are seasonal (hot, cool, and rainy being the "seasons") and switched by the king himself.
As we wandered the rest of the grounds, we escaped the crushing crowds but just for bustling crowds. There was a group of at least a hundred school children that we intersected with a few times.
The Grand Palace only had a couple buildings to explore, so we checked out the welcoming hall, the facade of the British-built coronation building, and the building where the do viewings when important people die.
On our way out, dropping off our now beautiful and beautiful-smelling shirts, we grabbed a mulberry smoothie that we sucked on while walking back toward our hostel to pick up our bags. The Sanam Luang - a giant grassy area that doesn't really seem to serve a purpose - was our guiding
A general travel tip from the day: if you have wifi, you can pre-load Google Maps images of the areas you'll be in. When you aren't connected to wifi, the GPS signal still works, and you can follow your location along the cached maps. This was pretty helpful for the odd circling streets between Sanam Luang and Th Khao San, the market road where we browsed and had lunch.
Lunch! Our first real Thai food! The restaurant was recommended by our out-dated (but free! - thanks Kelly) guidebook, so it has probably moved away from the authenticity. It was only foreigners while we were eating.
But still. It was delicious Thai food - curries, noodles, rice, spring rolls with peanut sauce. And I got the pumpkin hummus - it doesn't feel like fall at all in the 90 degree shade, but in my heart I know it is.
Taxi was easy, though because there are two airports, we had to trust we communicated enough to get to the right one.
And since we are here, we must have figured it out. Though he asked where we were from, then said Rottweiler a couple times. His favorite English word? We'll never know...
It's off to Phuket to get picked up by Khaolak Scuba Adventures for three full days of diving! We have our seasick patches on, and our nerves are starting to kick in - time to test that scuba training in the ocean!
No comments:
Post a Comment