Dodging the storm and a full day in Bangkok

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Hey All,

I wish I could blame this late entry on the internet, but its all on me. I walked so much yesterday that my feet were killing me and I was so exhausted. The humidity here just drains you so quick. Its like nothing I have experienced anywhere else. I am out half a day and by the time a slide back into the hotel, I look like I just walked through a car wash. You literally have to shower and change clothes and head back out for the afternoon gauntlet. I did not bring that many clothes, so when you are going through 2 sets a day, that’s a lot of laundry to do.

I have been keeping an eye on the weather since arriving here and I passed on my way out this am feeling confident that things will be OK here. The storm should turn north after crossing landfall in Vietnam, which will take it north and east of here. We should get rain here, but doubt it will be very bad. The plane I will take to Taipei in the morning actually comes in from Amsterdam, so that flight will not be affected by the weather either. My flight to Taipei can fly right over or around the storm.

This storm is just so destructive, I have several Philipinno friends and I know they are so worried about family and friends. When I was in Vietnam a couple of years ago I made friends with this sweet couple that live in Hoi An, and we email each other about once a month. The storm eye should hit about that area and I can only hope they have gotten to higher ground, as its right on the coast. Keep them all in your prayers.

I sense a bit of relief on the streets of Bangkok, its hard to explain, just a vibe you get. The other day I saw a lot of water being carted around, and I guess there was a sense of caution, but yesterday, it seemed back to normal. That gives me a better feeling also.

I decided to put the weather issues which I cannot control on the back burner, and get down to some serious sight seeing. I am not sure what the weather holds for Sunday, so decided to double up what I wanted to do on Saturday. On my original trip to Bangkok back in ’07, I lost all of my pictures in a computer crash. Now I save them all, but decided to backtrack a bit and go visit the Grand Palace and such and get some new pictures.

The Grand Palace is worth a second visit, its such a beautiful place. While the King no longer lives here, its still an important area and houses some impressive buildings. It’s the home of the Emerald Buddah, which you cannot film inside the temple but that piece is so impressive, you just have to see it to believe it. The kings palace is such a beautiful building and they keep the grounds so nice. I was fortunate to get their early since as I was leaving there where 30 or 40 bus loads of Chinese tourist coming in and the gate was just packed. As I was leaving I bet there were a 100 or more buses parked around everywhere. I managed to stay ahead of the crowd for the most part, which is nice.

After that I went to Wat Po, which is the home to the largest reclining Buddah statue anywhere. WOW, if only I had found the largest ball of old socks my day would have been complete. I kid, but it was impressive, and the Wat was so cool looking, lots of photo ops. I will say this, it is really big.

By this time, I am getting tired but I headed to Traimit Witthayaram Temple, which is new for me since it was not built when I was here last time to my knowledge. It houses the Golden Buddah, which is a statue of solid gold that weighs 5.5 tons. I want to do the math when I get home. 11,000 lbs, x 16 oz. to the pound x $1500 an oz. for the price of gold, and I bet I could retire with that. This statue has an interesting history from what I remember. It was originally in the previous capital of Thailand, Ayutthaya in a temple and was covered in plaster many centuries ago to hide it from invading armies. Soon it was forgotten and the temple of was deserted. I think it was in the 1950’s they decided to move the Buddah Statue to Bangkok by floating it down the Chao Phraya River, to the capital of Bangkok to a temple constructed to hold it. During the move a crack was discovered in the plaster and you could see the gold color underneath. Needless to say, what a find, talk about finding a fortune in a garage sale. I bet they have been cracking old buddah statues all over Thaialnd.

After a quick rest and costume change, went out riding the Sky Train again and had lunch at this Cajun Restaurant I had read about. It was really good, it was called Bourbon Street Restaurant. Did a little hike through China Town and then went to the Mall for some air conditioning, did not get back to the hotel until about 10pm, after running the gauntlet through the night market.

What a day, and having some previous experience in Bangkok for sure pays off. First of all, don’t trust anyone that tries to start up a conversation with you on the street. They have one goal in mind, separate you from your money. They are preying on the green tourist who trust what they say. There are people that stand around the Grand Palace side gates and tell you the Grand Palace is about to close for a bit and offer to set you in a tuk tuk to take you shopping and bring you back when it opens. SCAM! This goes on everywhere and I was approached many times during the day with: Where are you going? What is your name? Where are you from? I have a deal for you! NEVER stop and give anyone like this a second of your time, just keep walking and ignore them. I don’t get his anywhere else in Thailand, just Bangkok. I had a guy in a US Boy Scout Uniform complete with patches and everything, outside the mall area hit me up for a donation, they don’t have Boy Scouts in Thailand. I hate to say it, and its sad, but trust no one.

Not a lot planned for today, may go for a swim on the rooftop pool if it does not rain, and have another restaurant I want to try. Have to get packed and to bed early as tomorrow will be another long travel day, and must get up at 4:30 am. And, of course watching the weather reports to make sure nothing changes.

Happy Travels, Don

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