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Published: June 29th 2008
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Wat Pho
Home of the giant reclining Buddha ...the kind of heat that makes you sweat through your shirt within minutes of walking outside. Or maybe that's just me.
For our second day in Bangkok (our first day after getting actual sleep), we toured Wat Pho and the Grand Palace/Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha). Lonely Planets lists these as must see places, even for those not inclined to tour temples and the like. I won't disagree although one day was enough to make me appreciate that I don't do it everyday (one of my only gripes about many countries in Europe-my opinon, not Christine's-too many churches). Did I mention the heat yet? It might have played a role as well. Very ornate buldings, though, well worth seeing. We spent about an hour at Wat Pho before walking towards the Grand Palace. Enroute we had our first encounter with a classic tuk-tuk driver ploy which played out as follows: the Grand Palace was already closed for the day (sort of true here b/c it did close soon) and, regardless, we weren't wearing the right clothes to enter the temple. The tuk tuk driver, naturally, would be more than happy to take us elsewhere to see something
Reclining Buddha (and a sweaty shirt)
Although I can never remember exactly what each position indicates...
equally magnificent. Temples do have dress codes, generally shirts to the elbow and pants (or sometimes shorts that cover the knees). However, the more popular temples also have free coverups available. Anyways, we walked onward to our destination with another travel experience under our belt, perhaps as memorable as the very wat to which we were walking. The Grand Palace "complex" has many different building to see, including the aforementioned Emerald Buddha, and a variety of other mini museums (weapons, regalia, coins). The buildings close at 4:00 so we only had about an hour, which was ok, because the heat was starting to get to us.
There are certain advantages to staying in the lap of luxury, one of them being a swimming pool. We availed ourselves of this amenity immediately upon our return to the hotel. After a few glasses of red wine (which Christine had been craving for weeks now), we walked to a cool bar/restaurant (Be My Guest) a few doors down from the hotel. Enjoyed some great smoked chicken and fried rice (and a few beers of course) before calling it a night.
Day 3 afforded us the opportunity, thanks to Professor Gupta, to
tour the city with some locals. When Dr. Gupta heard that I would be travelling in Southeast Asia this summer, he suggested that I contact the Thai and Malay Student Associations at SIU. I followed his advice and met Worravit and Maggie, both of whom have been quite helpful in planning the Thailand portion of our trip. Worravit is still in Carbondale but Maggie, fortunately for us, returned to her home in Bangkok. She graciously offered to take us around Bangkok for the day (really her whole family got involved, looking up information and anything else they could do to maximize our experience). Maggie and her sister Mako met us at our hotel with a list of potential activities from which we could pick. After our brief planning session, we took a taxi tour by numerous monuments before disembarking at Vimanmek Mansion. 30 of the 72 rooms our open to tourists and some of the rooms are still used for entertaining by the current royal family. A tour even I enjoyed...
After Vimanmek we went to a huge weekend market whose name eludes me for lunch and shopping. Maggie, Christine, and Mako bonded over dresses, shirts, and skirts. I
Couldn't resist...
I have no idea how they stand, unflinching, in the heat. did find two knockoff Lacoste shirts (that's right Meng) and a tie. Maggie and Mako made sure that we tried all kinds of street food as we shopped. The coconut ice cream was a necessary treat as it was the only thing that made the heat bearable.
We briefly retreated to the hotel before meeting the rest of Maggie and Mako's family for dinner in Chinatown. As we walked the streets, we sampled various Chinese pastries, fruits, nuts, an herbal drink and other things I never would have tried on my own. Some took a little getting used to but most were quite good. After treating us to an incredible Chinese dinner, we packed down a few Chinese donuts before hopping into a tuk tuk to Lumphini Stadium for a muay thai (Thai boxing) match.
We settled into our ringside seats at 8:30 and the fights, which consisted of five rounds, 4 minutes each, started soon after. Foreigners pay 2 or 3 times more than Thai people to see the fights and foreigners are the only ones who sit ringside. It's just one of those things... We wanted to sit in the stands but since there wasn't much
Neither could I...
Uh, yeah, that might be sweat. difference in price, figured we'd take the better seats. The fighters in the first match couldn't have been older than 12 or 13 and weighed in at a whopping 100 pounds. The heaviest fighters weighed in at only 124 pounds...this was no Tyson-Holyfield. Lots of action, though, including one fighter who was removed on a stretcher. 7 matches and 3.5 hours later, I had the chance to use one of my favorite sayings. Good fight, good night.
Time to figure out where we're going later today. Probably leaving Bangkok for either Kanchanaburi or Chiang Mai.
One month to go.
Adam
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Cindy
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wow!
Hi, guys! I'm so enjoying following your trip. Chrissy -- are you really eating some of those things? I find this a real stretch to believe -- my fussy niece???? lol Can't believe that it's been a month already -- wow! I told your dad today that it's hard to fathom this trip -- places that I've never even heard of -- or barely heard about! It's fascinating! Thanks for sharing them with us! Love you! A. Cindy