Jet Lag and a Full Day In Bangkok

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~~~~PHOTOS UP! Note: I posted all the pictures of Zach and I at the Grand Palace to prove I was not lying when our tour guide wanted to take 8 billion photos. She is the cute one in the floppy flower hat by the way 😊 ~~~~Apologies in advance. No pictures (yet) because I forgot to grab my camera from upstairs in our room. It is 3 stories up with no elevator, and by the time I hit the second level I need a breather. SO! I will post them tomorrow when we are in Chiang Mai.

We woke up refreshed and lively at 4 a.m. Jet lag is still kicking my butt, though Zach insists he is just fine. We ate an overpriced breakfast at a restaurant for 300 baht ($9... yeah, yeah I'll stop complaining). I had a pineapple pancake with honey (I realized I don't really like honey) and Zach ate a pancake and rice soup with shrimp: breakfast of champions. The soup was amazing, so I think I will stick to Thai breakfasts for a while. We also each had OJ but it was not fresh squeezed (the fresh squeezed stuff on the streets is AMAZING and costs about 60 cents for a big bottle). Beware: make sure it is salt-free. Salt you ask? Yes, this morning we got a second bottle of OJ from a different vendor and got a lovely, salty, not-so-delicious surprise.

Next stop on Natasha's itinerary was Grand Palace, Wat Pho, and Wat Arun. We went to take the ferry, walked the wrong direction, got lost, backtracked, got harassed by someone who kept trying to put a hat on my head, and found the ferry! 14 baht (about 30 cents or so) each for a one way ticket to Tha Chang pier from Phra Athip pier. Got off the ferry and followed the crowd through a restauranty type place (??) and a dozen food vendors before reaching the giant white walls of the grand palace. The touts were outside wanting us to go the opposite direction of the main entrance. If you get off the Tha Chang pier, the main entrance is straight ahead. You cross the street and keep going until you see the masses of people walking in.

We got a tour guide when we entered. She had her badge on so we knew she was legit. Might have gotten ripped off on the price. Not sure and not too worried. 500 baht ($15) for the two of us for a private tour and 700 baht ($21) for our two tickets. Our guide was as cute as a button (I'll post her pic probably later today or tomorrow): she had a huge floppy hat, an umbrella, fingerless winter gloves, long shirt, long pants, about 4 foot 7 inches, and spunky! She kept wanting to take our picture so you will notice when I post we have about 20 pictures of Zach and I standing in front of various things. We got such a kick out of it.

The Grand Palace is enormous (we know for a fact because we got lost going back to the ferry and walked around the perimeter like twice). It is probably one of the most beautiful places I have been. The Emerald Buddha was closed off since there will be a celebration, but we got to see it from afar. The prince was coming that afternoon and the palace was closing at noon that day. I was skeptical at first but saw the signs on the Grand Palace doors. We got there early so no worries for us! The highlights (after the beautiful temples of course) was when our guide sprinkled us with holy water and we saw a bunch of Russian tourists with gold leaf on their foreheads. The gold leaf is supposed to be rubbed on the little Buddha statues but she said that Russian tourists feel it is lucky to rub it on their own heads. Also, if you go to the Grand Palace dressed inappropriate, you WILL be loaned hideous attire. I will post pictures of this one guy. I really truly hope it was the outfit they loaned out and not a personal fashion statement, though the guy did have a cowboy hat on and I'm almost sure the palace does not give those out...

We stayed there for about an hour and headed to Wat Pho which is right behind the Grand Palace (we of course took the long way there. See above where I mention the Grand Palace is enormous). We got to Wat Pho which is a known not only for the massively huge reclining Buddha but for the massage, so one guess to where we went first... We got our first Thai massage at Wat Pho, which seemed fitting to me. I chose the traditional Thai massage and Zach got a foot rub. It was more expensive than what you get on the street: 360 baht or so for each of us--$24 or so total (again, stop complaining right??) Zach described his experience as heaven on earth. He was tempted to get another one. I will describe my experience below:

I was tortured by a small guy with powerful fingers. I was beaten, squeezed, pummeled, cracked, contorted, and stretched. I yelped in pain at least twice and clawed my mattress during certain points. Thai massage is NOT for someone with low pain tolerance. He found the spots that were the most tender and dug right in. He apologized to me twice but kept right on going. Now don't let me discourage you from a Thai massage because afterwards, I felt like a new person. Here is my theory: you know when you are in a lot of pain and the pain just disappears? You remember how good you feel without the pain? That is my theory on Thai massage. They brutalize you so that when the pain disappears, you feel great. Needless to say, there was some great moments where it was not pain but pure pleasure. I probably will do another Thai massage... maybe... I'll think about it. But they do Swedish and oil massages here too so maybe I will give them a try before going back to the Thia massage.

Wat Pho is the most peaceful and pleasant temple I have been to. The crowds stick to the reclining Buddha area so the rest of the grounds are pretty vacant. We walked into one room and heard a lady chanting. Her voice echoed off the walls, and it was just beautiful. Tips: Take off your shoes, take off your hats, don't step on the gold door stoop (step over it), and never point your feet at the Buddha. Sit on your knees.

Our next stop was Wat Arun which we saw on the boat ride over, but at this time we were hot, crabby, exhausted, and just wanting to go back. Couldn't figure out how to get back on the ferry, tried getting a cab, cabs kept trying to rip us off and refused to put on the meter, gave up and hoofed it back. The smell of Bangkok was getting to me. I am sorry but I just don't like it. It stinks terribly. I don't know what it is but I was gagging and soooo not hungry. We went back to the air conditioned room and rested... and proceeded to fall asleep!!! Ooops, not a good idea. We woke up and it was dark out. I missed meeting up with my pen pal from years before Toy. Bah! Damn jet lag!

We went out to eat something. Wasn't the best meal, probably because I was feeling so ooky. Decided to then go sit on the street and drink some beers. We downed some Singhas, which I really love!! Delicious beer and really filling. We watched all the people walk the streets of Soi Rambutri (I love this street so much!). Definitely a must to do this because then you can check out the terrible outfits people wear.

I scoped out what I wanted to buy tomorrow, and we headed to bed... Oh but wait, I did find a magical stand that sold the best item in the world: banana chocolate pancakes. New favorite food!!!!

Today we are off to MBK to buy a Nintendo DS charger, then we hit the night train up to Chiang Mai. I'll post pics and more bloggy stuff tomorrow!!!!

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Comments

[betty lemler]

trip
i really enjoy your blog. it's like being there with you but without all the walking. my kind of trip. love mom