After a short night of jet-lag inspired dreams, we rolled out of bed for our first day in the Thai capital. Following the breakfast buffet offered by the hotel, I left Dad to his work and stepped out into nearly palpable heat.......before 10 in the morning. Yeah, its pretty steamy, but I rather this than not being able to feel my fingers back home, where apparently there is a snow storm right now.
I first just got an idea of our surroundings. Our hotel is situated in east Bangkok, away from the major tourist zones but still in a bustling shopping area. The two major streets in the area are Phetchuburi and Phaya Thai, our hotel being located at the end of a soi (alleyway in Thai) off of Phetchuburi. The city's (somewhat) iconic sky-train rails run above the intersection of the two streets, not too far away from our digs. Anyway, it feels just like an Asian city should: endless drone of motor-bikes, non-stop traffic, oppressive heat, a nice dose of smog, and, of course, people everywhere. After moseying down Phetchuburi for a while, every-now-and-then having to dodge sidewalk riding-motorbikes and feral dogs (and what they leave behind occasionally), I eventually flagged down a taxi to take me to Bangkok's most famous tourist site: the Grand Palace, located west of our hotel along the banks of the Chao Praya River, which cuts through the city.
Taxis, like much else in the city, are cheap. This one was 150 baht (30 baht to 1 dollar, so just about 5 bucks). My cabbie was a pretty young guy, but his English was miserable. Now, in Beijing, the taxi driver's just don't speak English at all, so if you don't speak Chinese, its going to be a quiet ride. My guy was pretty keen on talking, but I couldn't really get a grasp on what the hell he wanted to say. He seemed to like saying "same-same", while putting his index fingers next to each-other while giving a "whatever" type of look on his face. Sure man, whatever you say.
At that hour, still before noon, traffic wasn't too bad, but from the cab I could tell its not a very pedestrian-friendly city. Wide streets and crazy drivers make crossing the street something of a game of Russian Roulette. The cab dropped me off at the entrance to the Grand Palace. From there we let the site-seeing begin.
I don't know if I should even bother trying to describe the place. I probably wouldn't do it much justice. The Palace is packed with ornate, finely-detailed stupas, gorgeous temples, and murals with so much going on in them you just want to give up. It is of course also packed with tourists from every corner of the globe, but it is something else. After 4 months in China, I thought I was templed-out, but the level of detail within the Palace was pretty impressive, and there was some pretty unique stuff. I was a fan of the Emerald Buddha, located in the main temple of the complex. When you go into the temple (or any of them, in fact), you first have to remove your shoes, and DON'T point your feet towards the Buddha. To Thais, the feet are the worst part of the body, so when you sit down on the temple rug, as we did, you have to sit mermaid-style. I could make a mile-long blog post about the Grand Palace, but will refrain from doing so, and let you make a quick Google search to give you an idea until I put up photos. As it were, I ended up spending nearly four hours exploring the grounds.
Next I wanted to see Wat Pho, another nearby temple complex known for its massive "leaning Buddha" statue. But first I needed to make a swing by the hotel and pick up Dad, done with his work for the day. We asked a guy loitering near the hotel to point us in the right direction. Instead of doing that, he insisted that his buddy, a tuk-tuk (three-wheeled motorbike with a covered seat for two or three in the back, they are all over the city) that was parked nearby, would take us to four different sites, including Wat Pho, for just 20 baht. Yep, 20 baht, for driving us to four different tourist sites and waiting for us at each one. Yeah buddy, and I have some land on the San Andreas Fault I would love to sell you. Dad, looking to save at every corner, was all for it. I insisted that it was some sort of scam and could only end in tears, but he insisted back, and with the shake of a head I joined him the back.......
How's that for a teaser? Its getting late here (for me at least), and I need my rest at the moment to catch up and get on a good schedule. I will finish off the story tomorrow.....
I first just got an idea of our surroundings. Our hotel is situated in east Bangkok, away from the major tourist zones but still in a bustling shopping area. The two major streets in the area are Phetchuburi and Phaya Thai, our hotel being located at the end of a soi (alleyway in Thai) off of Phetchuburi. The city's (somewhat) iconic sky-train rails run above the intersection of the two streets, not too far away from our digs. Anyway, it feels just like an Asian city should: endless drone of motor-bikes, non-stop traffic, oppressive heat, a nice dose of smog, and, of course, people everywhere. After moseying down Phetchuburi for a while, every-now-and-then having to dodge sidewalk riding-motorbikes and feral dogs (and what they leave behind occasionally), I eventually flagged down a taxi to take me to Bangkok's most famous tourist site: the Grand Palace, located west of our hotel along the banks of the Chao Praya River, which cuts through the city.
Taxis, like much else in the city, are cheap. This one was 150 baht (30 baht to 1 dollar, so just about 5 bucks). My cabbie was a pretty young guy, but his English was miserable. Now, in Beijing, the taxi driver's just don't speak English at all, so if you don't speak Chinese, its going to be a quiet ride. My guy was pretty keen on talking, but I couldn't really get a grasp on what the hell he wanted to say. He seemed to like saying "same-same", while putting his index fingers next to each-other while giving a "whatever" type of look on his face. Sure man, whatever you say.
At that hour, still before noon, traffic wasn't too bad, but from the cab I could tell its not a very pedestrian-friendly city. Wide streets and crazy drivers make crossing the street something of a game of Russian Roulette. The cab dropped me off at the entrance to the Grand Palace. From there we let the site-seeing begin.
I don't know if I should even bother trying to describe the place. I probably wouldn't do it much justice. The Palace is packed with ornate, finely-detailed stupas, gorgeous temples, and murals with so much going on in them you just want to give up. It is of course also packed with tourists from every corner of the globe, but it is something else. After 4 months in China, I thought I was templed-out, but the level of detail within the Palace was pretty impressive, and there was some pretty unique stuff. I was a fan of the Emerald Buddha, located in the main temple of the complex. When you go into the temple (or any of them, in fact), you first have to remove your shoes, and DON'T point your feet towards the Buddha. To Thais, the feet are the worst part of the body, so when you sit down on the temple rug, as we did, you have to sit mermaid-style. I could make a mile-long blog post about the Grand Palace, but will refrain from doing so, and let you make a quick Google search to give you an idea until I put up photos. As it were, I ended up spending nearly four hours exploring the grounds.
Next I wanted to see Wat Pho, another nearby temple complex known for its massive "leaning Buddha" statue. But first I needed to make a swing by the hotel and pick up Dad, done with his work for the day. We asked a guy loitering near the hotel to point us in the right direction. Instead of doing that, he insisted that his buddy, a tuk-tuk (three-wheeled motorbike with a covered seat for two or three in the back, they are all over the city) that was parked nearby, would take us to four different sites, including Wat Pho, for just 20 baht. Yep, 20 baht, for driving us to four different tourist sites and waiting for us at each one. Yeah buddy, and I have some land on the San Andreas Fault I would love to sell you. Dad, looking to save at every corner, was all for it. I insisted that it was some sort of scam and could only end in tears, but he insisted back, and with the shake of a head I joined him the back.......
How's that for a teaser? Its getting late here (for me at least), and I need my rest at the moment to catch up and get on a good schedule. I will finish off the story tomorrow.....
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