Advertisement
Published: March 8th 2011
Edit Blog Post
After a couple of days spent not too far away from our hotel (I’m pleased we upgraded and got our own bathroom) I was now ready to venture further. We walked through the grounds of the university on our way to the grand palace. Many people were studying through their lunch breaks including a couple of young monks who looked rather strange in their traditional basic dress sitting in front of the latest state of the art laptop. I was under the impression that monks should only have the bare minimum of possessions and live a basic life, but at the market stalls on the other side of the university we saw monks shopping for antiques and a computer mouse.
We were told that to get into the palace arms should be covered to the elbow and legs to the ankle. I had long trousers on and a wrap to cover my shoulders and arms so I was surprised when the security guard told me that it was not good enough and I would need to hire a shirt. After waiting in a very long queue behind a lady in a see through net top - what was she thinking
- I rejoined the queue in a rather fetching beige park rangers shirt. It didn't even cover my elbows so I’m not sure what the point was. The security guard had disappeared and now women and men in shorts and vests were walking in - I was not amused that I had wasted 45 minutes to get a shirt and now people were walking around in beachwear.
The palace was worth all the messing about. Courtyard after courtyard filled with the most ornate buildings in so many colours shimmering with gold in the sunlight. Each entrance was guarded with giant statues equally as ornate. Included in the entrance fee is entrance to Wat Phra Kaew which is home to the very impressive and beautiful Emerald Buddha. It can be found in the main chapel amongst a wall of ornate gold which shines so bright that its difficult for your eyes to take in. Made of jasper it is one of Thailand’s most famous Buddha images. Each season Buddha’s clothes are changed by the king to reflect the change in seasons.
In the evening we had a few beers with dinner but we didn't have too many as Pete
would be arriving the next day.
The next morning we made our way to Wat Pho, making a short stop on the way at the pig shrine, which is literally a shrine in the shape of a pig.
Wat Pho is the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok. It has the biggest collection of Buddha images in the country. Everywhere you look and every corner you turn there is another amazing statue. Without a doubt the most impressive is the 46m long 15m high statue of reclining Buddha. Its so big that it almost fills the room. Its size makes it difficult to get it in one picture.
After walking back to the hotel we went to our room for a rest. Pete would be arriving in a few hours and his body clock would still be on UK time so we had a feeling we could be in for a late night.
When Pete arrived, Andy and I were downstairs having a beer. We took him to the roadside place where we had our first Bangkok drink to watch the world go by at great speed while Andy and Pete chatted about how much had
changed since their last visit.
More drinks followed at the vegetarian organic restaurant and this time we convinced Andy to eat there - ok it was only because he wanted western food due to an upset stomach and he did only have omelette and chips but he ate there which is a first. The Thai food was great and was so tasty it didn't need meat. I would definitely eat there again.
We had a few at our favourite cocktail bar until they closed then went back to the hotel for a few more where Pete said he had a few hours of awake time left. Andy and I made it till 4am but we just couldn't stay up any longer. It was probably a good idea that Pete went to bed anyway - the sooner he was on Thai time the better.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.053s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 6; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0317s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb