The Grand Palace & Wat Po in Bangkok

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Just as we were finally getting to sleep (after the loud music had stopped & the noisy cleaning staff had finished) the alarm went off at 9am. We grabbed a Kiwi shake and walked through the Thai market to the Temples. We passed a man begging, he had black swollen legs covered in white dry skin. I think it could have been Gangreen and looked really painful.
The entrance fee for the Grand Palace (59 acres with more than 100 mansions, halls and temples) was more than we'd expected and as we're on a shoestring budget, we decided only to walk around the grounds. Their souveneer shop was fantastic, more like a museum selling hand crafted items made by people in the Hill-Tribes.
Next we walked to Wat Po to see the longest reclining Buddha which is 46 metres long and covered in Gold Leaf. It was so cool. The walls of the building were wallpapered with a Tapestry print, and the bottom of his massive feet had pictures carved in to Mother of Pearl. It was so detailed. Outside this building there were lots of other beautiful temples decorated with pretty colours and shiny glass.
Had a late lunch back at Khao San Road then bought supplies for the overnight coach journey to Chiang Mai. We'd paid 500THB and had been told it was First Class but we were quite disappointed that it was nothing like the coach we had the other day. They even turned the lights off so we couldn't read after dark (another occasion I was kicking myself for not buying a tourch when Ant had suggested it). It was really boring and we had hours ahead, I would have done anything to watch those awful horror films on our other coach the other day!
We stopped at a service station and chatted to a lad called Alan from Newcastle who's been travelling for 2 years. He was telling us about the spiders in Oz, some as big as his hands and others in Sydney that bloody run at you and kill babies! For the entire conversation Ellie and I sat with our knees pulled in to our chest, feet off the floor. I felt so itchy back on the boring coach and spent the whole night listening to my iPod trying not to think of Incy Wincy's.

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