After my horrific bus ride, that evening Dustin, a couple people he'd met at the hostel and I headed to Siam Paragon, a large shopping area nearby. We went to the food court, which was much higher quality than American malls' food courts and also very cheap. I got Tom Yum Soup, which was delicious.
My first day in Bangkok, Dustin and I got breakfast (delicious as usual) then we headed to to the Royal Palace. In order to get there, we had to take the subway and then transfer to a boat, which dropped us off in front of the palace.
The boat ride there was fun! The way back was a bit more crowded, but it was a nice mid-morning ride.
I climbed that tower. It was terrifying. But that will be the next blog.
Long live the King!
Here was a small tugboat.
It was tugging a large boat.
There was a small market as you got off the boat. I am sure it was there for tourists to buy things.
When we arrived at the palace, there was a mass exodus occurring. Apparently, we got there just as the prince was arriving, so everyone had to leave the palace.
The picture to the left is the only picture I was able to take. It would have been a great thing to see, but unfortunately, I did not make it back there!
The walls of the Royal Palace. The Royal Palace, or Grand Palace, has been the official residence of the King of Thailand/Siam since 1782.
The King of Thailand
Since the palace was closed, we headed to Wat Pho instead, along with what felt like the entire population of Bangkok.
Wat Pho is a Buddhist temple. It's actually called Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm Rajwaramahaviharn, but it's shortened to Wat Pho. This is a good thing for me because calling it Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm Rajwaramahaviharn would have been a problem.
It was built in the 16th century and then re-established in the late 1700s. It's one of the oldest and largest wats in Bangkok.
One of the main things to see is the Reclining Buddha. It's 50 feet high and 150 feet long, which, as you can see by the tiny heads, is extremely large. Its feet are 10 feet high and 15 feet long and contain mother-of-pearl images of flowers, elephants, dancers etc. The toes are gigantic!
Here is the Buddha's head.
It's a very nicely decorated palace.
Here is a miniature reclining Buddha.
Here is another small Buddha.
Here are the feet! Look at those toes!
The Buddha reclining.
Toes! They were decorated quite successfully to look like toes.
Here are the panels with the mother-of-pearl decorations and scenes.
The back of the reclining Buddha.
The Buddha's hair. It's curly. The pillow is made of glass mosaics.
We wandered around the grounds, which were quite extensive and beautiful!!
Also, Dustin found ants swarming inside his camera which was horrifying.
I am not sure what this is but it's scary.
This is a Chinese guardian figure.
It's so beautiful!
Bats. Are. The. Worst.
These contain relics of Buddha and the ashes of royal family members.
This is the Ordination Hall at Wat Pho.
The various statues were so large!
I saw a monk taking a nap.
And a monk being quite pensive and looking out the window.
I love this picture so much.
It looks like a painting!
The monks were having a service while we were there, which was interesting to witness!
A cat lounging around the temple.
The temple was beautiful!
This is the Ordination Hall at Wat Pho.
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