One more day in Bangkok

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Our last full day in Thailand.

We got up and left for our COVID tests, a 20 minute walk away. We found it quite easily and since we reserved a time for our tests we didn't wait in line. Results expected this evening. Now we're off to see a couple things we missed in the city last time. Seems so long ago, yet it was only a couple weeks. We got a taxi to the Pak Khlong Talat flower market.

Another hint for travelling in Bangkok (along with DON'T DRIVE) - take a taxi, not a tuktuk (motor-tricycle thingy). As opposed to a tuktuk, a taxi is closed, quiet and air conditioned. It has seat belts and a meter, the driver won't try to cheat you and it comes out cheaper. Take a tuktuk once, for the experience (haggle for a better price before you get in!) and you'll see what I mean.

Our taxi took us right to the middle of the market. It's a huge complex, partly along the streets but mostly inside a very large, roofed area. Hundreds of stalls covered with sacks of marigolds, orchids and other flowers, banana leaves and decorations, and they're all making offerings for the temples. All of them! Those few that weren't making the temple offerings were selling the strings and other paraphernalia required to make them. You'd be hard set finding a simple flower arrangement for your girlfriend!

Another, smaller part of the market had all sorts of vegetables for sale (not as interesting 'cause we've seen plenty of those). so we went to find Chinatown and see what it had to offer. I think we found it before we realized. We found ourselves navigating down a narrow, extremely crowded alley with shops on either side selling cloth, beads, buttons and the like. And nothing else! And then another alley with the same. And another. Until Google Maps said we arrived in Chinatown, bit I think we'd been in it for a while. It took us some time just to escape!

We sat in a restaurant and had something to eat before getting a taxi to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and the Grand Palace complex. We had to sign in to the complex, then we had to buy (not rent - buy!) baggy pants for 200 THB (about 20 NIS) each, because we were wearing shorts, then the entrance tickets cost 500 THB apiece! By far the most expensive site we'd visited on our trip! It had better be worth it!

As we came in, a convoy of busses arrived, and emptied a couple hundred soldiers from them. All young, all in their Sunday best, shoes polished to a glaring shine, and no ranks (well, a few had officer ranks). So we guessed that they're getting a day trip during basic training, or maybe a visit to the complex is part of their graduation ceremony.

Once we were in, I signed us up to a free tour in English in another half hour or so and we wandered around. All the buildings are very colorful, in different styles, lots of very colorful guardian demons, stupas and wall paintings, and all very beautiful. But the main building held the main hall, and the main event - the Emerald Buddha. The most important statue of the Buddha in Thailand. It sits atop a tall, golden platform, surrounded by golden guardian demons and buddhas. Strict rules say not to sit with your feet towards the statue, and not to take pictures inside, though you can take them from outside through the open doors. It's just disrespectful to take out your camera inside the holy place.

The Emerald Buddha itself is actually carved from a large block of jasper. It measures 66 cm tall, and is dressed in gold. Real gold. Three times a year, at the start of each season (Summer, Rainy season, and Winter) the king (and only the king) goes up and changes the clothes on the statue. Nobody else is allowed to touch it. Guess what - it's sweltering hot outside, has been since we arrived in Thailand, and this is considered winter! The Buddha is all wrapped up in his golden robe against the chill.

After looking around we went to meet our tour guide. He gathered us together and started his spiel. I had a hard time understanding him at all. His English, how shall I say it, just wasn't. Still, we did manage to understand some of his explanations. He took us around the temple complex, and then to the Grand Palace. The entire complex is made of three areas - the first, the temple area, then the open royal palace, then the inner palace. Visitors can't go into the inner area. And we couldn't enter any of the buildings in the outer area either, just see them from the outside. Makes me feel the ticket was pretty expensive just to see everything from the outside and to hear who built it and what architectural styles were used. Still, I do have to admit the place is very impressive.

By the time we got out we were hot, tired and hungry. We walked to Khao San street towards where we saw interesting shops two weeks ago. Khao San street was much livelier than last time, though a lot of it was still closed. We did find a shop we remembered from before with lots of really strange looking things (less strange for us now) and got a few things like durian snacks, banana chips and tea. Then we wandered down a side street looking for a restaurant and found a street restaurant. Basically a family run place that set up some tin tables and plastic stools, some gas burners, some improvised shade and voila! A restaurant! They even had a menu with pictures.

We sat and ordered a dish of stir-fried (everything is stir-fried) morning glory with crispy pork, and another of coconut shoot (stir-fried, of course), because we hadn't seen that before. We actually had no idea it was used for anything. We worried a bit that it would be too coconut-flavored, but it was actually delicious! More akin to bamboo shoot but even nicer.

We were satisfied, yet tired, so we got a taxi back to the hotel. I quickly noticed our driver didn't know were it was (it's not like it's a main tourist attraction), so I set a route on my phone and he used it instead of his own. We had a little laugh about that.

We made it back to our room, and went up to have a look at the hotel pool before it closes (at 7). Yes, I said we went up. It's on the roof, the 29th floor, and it's one of those 'infinity' pools where the water drizzles over the edge, so it looks like the water pours over the edge of the building. Gilat was a bit nervous getting in! But we had a relaxing swim, showered and crossed the street to a different mall. We thought yesterday's mall was posh! This one didn't have anything less than Yves Saint Laurent!

We got dinner at a Japanese restaurant (not in the mall) and went back to our room.

Tomorrow we'll do a little more sight seeing and shopping, then it's off to the airport!

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Photos

Hot pepper stand
Several different types of hot pepper

A stupa in the temple complex
This one was built by King Rama IV

Demons and Monkeys
Demons and monkeys guard this stupa. You can tell them apart by their feet - the demons wear shoes, the monkeys are barefoot

The Grand Palace
Built by King Rama V, the one from "The King and I"