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After arriving in Bangkok, we hot-footed over to the Grand Palace. People had to get what they were wearing checked out by officials to see if it was appropriate. No shorts, no tank tops, no major skin showing. It is a holy place after all. If what you were wearing was not appropriate, you could rent sarongs and such. We knew this ahead of time and dressed correctly. : ) We started by entering this hall that was covered with paintings and gold leaf of palaces and battles and the history of Thailand. The hall/wall runs all around the compound of the temple of the emerald buddha and the entire inside is one continuous mural that runs for about a quarter mile! After being blown away by that we stepped out of the hall and WOW! The pics don't do this place justice. We then went to the most famous building here, the temple of the emerald buddha. Sorry, can't take pics inside but you have never seen such elaborate gold work all over the place. And on top of this about 30 feet in the air was the emerald buddha himself in his gold rainy season robes. Seriously, can't describe it. Everything is painted, decorated or covered in gold. We then visited the rest of the buildings. Check the pics, pretty amazing stuff. They even had a model of Angkor Wat in Cambodia which we will see the real thing in a couple of days. After touring the grounds we saw the Thai royalty's crown jewels. Again, sorry no pics allowed. Its good to be the king! Lots and lots of very elaborately carved gold with jems. Needed a nap afterword. Whew! Off to Cambodia and Angkor Wat...

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