Day 4 - Getting Out of Bangkok

---

So I spent yesterday afternoon touring around Bangkok. I first made my way down to the Wat Phra Kaew and it was actually quite fascinating. It was a whole bunch of elaborately decorated temples with all sorts of different statues of animals and people. I don't know alot about Buddhism so I couldn't really understand the significant of a lot of the buildings and statues but it was still a neat experience to see it all. The main attraction of the Wat Phra Kaew was the emerald Buddha, this Buddha sat on this 25 foot tall throne elaborately decorated with all different statues and colors. From what I understand Buddhist come from all over the world to see the emerald Buddha.

I then went to the Grand Palace. Your not aloud to wear shorts in the palace so they force you to borrow some pretty funky pants. I toured around the palace for and hour or so, again a lot of really neat buildings with crazy architecture. The Thai people love their king, his picture is on all the bills and coins, as well as all over the city. So I saw his throne where he once sat, and a mirror which he once looked at himself in. The palace was guarded with little Thai soldiers with huge machine guns. One of the coolest parts of the grand palace was a museum of weapons. They had all sorts of crazy weapons used by the thai fighting in different wars over the years.

After the grand palace I walked down to the Wat Pho. This is again was another really big Buddhist temple. They had hundreds and hundreds of statues of Buddha in different positions. The main attraction at the Wat Pho was a 43 m long lying down Buddha. The thing is monstrous, it's made of brick and coated with wood which is then coated with gold. At the far end of the Wat Pho is the Thai International Message school. The word on the street is that they give some of the best messages in the world. I didn't have enough money with me to get one but I think I might head back there today. It's an expensive message for Thai standards but is ridiculously cheap compared to Cdn standards. A 1 hour traditional thai message is about ten dollars Cdn.

Well I have had enough of Bangkok for now, it has been nothing like what I expected, and really no words describing it would do it justice. It's been a rough few days getting used to the new culture, and i am sure when I come back to the city near the end of my trip I will be able to enjoy it on a much different level. I was originally planning on heading north, but have now decided to head south and hang out on one of the islands before the raining season kicks in. So I have a 12 hour overnight bus ride south to Ko Pha-Ngan and am going to do some swimming and relaxing on the beach.

---

Comments

[Joep Diening]

Right On, Jos
Have a great time on the beaches, Jos. Watch your suntan! HVL, Dad

[Heather]

Wow, I'm really impressed at how much you've kept up with this journal so far. It's nice to hear about your hillarious adventures...just makes me more anxious leave for my travels. You've certainly thrown yourself into an intense culture with minimal opportunity to adjust, let alone time to get used to just the traveling part. What you're doing is very inspiring, not only to me but I'm sure many people reading this blog. Good luck and keep writing!

[Sean]

Jos, Sounds like you are settling in and starting to get into the groove of the trip a bit. I think heading out of the city for some relaxation is just what you need. Recharge your batteries before doing your big tour of the place. Keep the blog going, its great to read. Take care man, Sean

[Dianna]

Wow, I hope some day that people consider it an attraction to see a chair that I 'once' sat in, or the mirrow I 'once' looked in. Also I would love to see these funky pants, hopefully there are pictures. It is great to hear what you are up too, have a safe trip south, enjoy the sunshine!

[Alana]

----THAI MASSAGE ----=
Jos! Tell me about your Thai massage ... I'm reading a book on it right now ... it's like a mix of massage techniques and someone doing sivananda yoga to you !! I might end up at that school for a bit one day!