Indochina Encompassed Begins!

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My GAP trip officially begins today with the first meeting at 6pm in the hotel. We'll do introductions and paperwork and then head out to dinner. I do have a roommate, but I have not met her yet. When I checked back into the hotel last night, they put me in a double so I wouldn't have to move today. Our tour leader's name is Trisha and I recently heard from Catherine, my China-Tibet-Nepal leader that she's not traveling in Asia for the next month so I won't see her again. I'm looking forward to meeting the group!

I slept in a bit today and then headed out to see more of Bangkok. I first walked to Wat Skaret, the Golden Mount. After a long climb to the top (which isn't really very long at only 262 feet high, but it was already hot and humid at 10am), you get a great view of the city. Inside the pagoda is a relic of the Buddha that was give to the Thais by British (who took it from the the Indians). It appears very old with faded inscriptions.

I then went to see the Giant Swing from which men used to swing and try and grab bags of silver coins with their teeth. Due to the number of deaths and injuries, the game was discontinued.

I next walked to Wat Suthat, The Temple of Immeasureable Charm and the "only temple in Thailand where you can wnjoy your visit happily in a nice peaceful atmosphere" (per the ticket). This is one of the oldest and largest temples in Bangkok and it houses a large 14th ecntury Buddha. It was quite there and there were some shady spots available for a short rest. They had many statues of horses which I have never seen at a Buddhist Temple before. I couldn't find any info on the significance.

I next headed to the Chao Phraya River and hopped on a tourist boat. For 13 bhat (~35 cents) you can ride from one end of the line to the other. It's relaxing and a nice break from walking in the heat. I did ride from one end to the other and enjoyed the scenery along the way. After alomst two hours, I hopped off and head to the Khao San area. I ate a lunch of fried pork with fresh basil, garlic, and chillis at a roadside cafe. It was delicious and only got too hot with the last two bites. I picked out the big peppers, but there were also chopped peppers that were harder to find.

I'm catching up on email and then heading back to the hotel to freshen up before tonight's meeting.

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Photos

The Democracy Monument
Many anti-government and/or pro-democracy demonstrations have taken place here, some peacful and some with casualties.

Everyone rides the tourist boats!
There are special sections on the boats reserved for monks (in the orange robes) and they do not have to buy tickets to ride.