Dusit Palace, Ferry Rides, and Other Adventures

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After the past fews days, I was thrilled to awake and be feeling like myself. Finally, I could go sightseeing! I took the skytrain to the pier, with the plan to buy a ticket and go upriver.

I wanted to buy a train on a non-tourist boat and had been told that it would be easy to get. However, it seems that they can only sell me a tourist ticket for 25B. The tourist ticket only takes us up a 13 piers and I wanted to go further. Also, the tourist boat is packed full of people yelling questions to a guide answering them with a megaphone; when people had no questions, the guide yammered away about what we were seeing on both sides of the boat but without enough detail to make any of it interesting. I was lucky enough to sneak up to the front of the boat (and outside) which gave me excellent picture taking opportunities and dulled all the voices.

At pier 13 I got off the boat and waited to switch to a non-tourist boat. The non-tourist boat would take me up 3 more piers. While I waited, a Thai woman and a man with a video camera approached me. At first I wanted to avoid them (perhaps I've been in China too long, since I assumed they just wanted to take a photo with me). Actually, though, they wanted to interview me for Thai TV! They were curious what kinds of things tourists want to know about Thailand and then they answer them on their morning news show. I had such a hard time thinking of anything I really wanted to know--I guess I've read too many guidebooks and blogs. I finally did come up with one question: Tourists come to Thailand and all talk about how wonderful Pad Thai and spring rolls are--but are they foods that Thais eat, or just something created for the tourists? It turns out they are traditional foods, but my interviewer thought spring rolls were more Chinese--I assured her that they actually aren't a traditional Chinese food. I guess we both learned something. She said she'd email me a link when they air my interview.

The walk from the pier to Dusit Palace was much further than I anticipated; the map from the hotel made it look like only a few blocks. By the time I arrived I was sweaty and thirsty and hoping it was worth the trek. The palace complex was full of lots of buildings, al housing different royal objects: photography, clocks, textiles, traditional clothes, histories of ceremonies, cars, etc. The most famous building is the Teakwood Palace, the largest teakwood house in the world. Until recently, the royal family actually lived there! Both inside and out, the house is beautiful, comfortable, and peaceful. Too bad photography wasn't allowed.

I left the palace around 2pm and walked by the zoo and was going to wander through what the map shows as a park. But, the park is surrounded by a high wall, moat, and armed guards. Sensing this was an actual sightseeing stop (or something else!) and not just a casual park, I skipped it, feeling hungry and not wanting to spend the money.

I kept walking south hoping to connect with another road that would take me back to the pier at dock 15. First I walked by a very busy wat and then I remembered that just up ahead was the Government House. Excellent, something new to see. In front of me was a road block. Thinking there might be a festival going on or a special event, I asked the armed police if I could proceed through. I'd been seeing a lot of police all over the city lately, so this didn't register as something significant. They looked at me quizzically, asking why I wanted to walk down this particular street. I politely explained that, according to my map, the road would connect me with the one I wanted to get to, then I'd turn west and head toward the pier. After looking at each other, I was given the okay to proceed.

As I walked down the shaded street, I couldn't help thinking how strange their behavior was! There was no festival but there were a lot of vans and I didn't see any people. A car wanted through, so I moved over to walk on the sidewalk, but the sidewalk was covered in cots and hammocks; the cots and hammocks were filled with resting and sleeping policemen! I got back on the street, still confused, and passed a fruit vendor, a BBQ salesman, and a few kiosks selling every kind of police gear I could think of, minus the actual uniform. I suddenly realized that I was in a police rest area and felt very out of place. Who knew so much could be happening in one block!

I got to the end of the road and turned right, back onto a sunny street. On my right was the Government House and a throng of protesters. A-ha! Now it all made sense. I'm sure the nice policeman who let me through either thought I was baffling or an idiot. I walked by the protest on my way to the pier, but because a stage was set up, I couldn't see people, just some signs in the street. More police vans lined this street, too.

Finally, the river was in sight and so was the journey home. At the pier I paid only 14B for my return ticket south--half of what I paid for my tourist ticket this morning! The ride was slower though, since it made more stops than the tourist boat. I took the skytrain again and then stopped off for an A & W root beer float--a joy from my childhood and my first in about a decade. It was SO good. It was the perfect 5pm lunch.

Knowing that tomorrow is our last day, Sally, Tom, Colin, and I went out for one last Thai meal and we all got Pad Thai, our favorite. Edward was still feeling ill from whatever he ate in Siem Reap. After dinner, we wandered through the neighborhood night market and then stopped at a grocery store to get some food for Edward. Except for his absence, it made for a perfect last evening together.

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Photos

The World's Largest Teakwood Mansion
Dusit Palace

The Receiving Building
Dusit Palace

YES!
I hate footprints on toilet seats.

Ajisen!
One of my fav places to eat in China, they're also in Bangkok!