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Published: January 5th 2012
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Hello family and friends!
As the new year passed and the historical sites of Bangkok opened up we were able to start exploring the temples (Wats) of Bangkok. Probably the most famous of the Wats is Wat Phra Kaeo and the Grand Palace. This Wat is the holiest site in the country and is host to the Emerald Buddha, which is only 75cm tall, small by statue standards. I think the influx of tourists for the New Year had some impact, but Wat Phra Kaeo and the Grand Palace was an absolute zoo. I believe it was the busiest site we have visited in all of our travels. The Taj Mahal may have had more visitors, but they are far more spread out so you don't really notice the crowds so much. At this place, you are shoulder to shoulder almost the entire time! The entry fee is rather steep too, 400 baht/person, which is about $13. The price still falls short of the Taj, but the price seemed too much for what you received, especially compared to the other locations we visited.
On our walk to Wat Phra Kaeo, and prior to our visit there, we actually stopped
at Wat Mahathat, which was a free Wat to visit and was definitely worth the stop. It is one of Bangkok's oldest shrines and it is home to a Buddhist Univesity. The people at this location were very welcoming compared to Wat Phra Kaeo. As with the temples in India, there is a dress code in Thailand, which means only long pants and shirts that cover your shoulders. Overall the dress code is not a big deal, but the temps are close to 90 here in Thailand, so wearing pants can get you warm pretty fast! Between Wat Phra Kaeo and Wat Mahathat we had spent the better part of our day, so we headed back for some down time and food.
The following day we headed to Wat Pho, which is home of the gigantic reclining Buddha. We were pleased that the entrance fee was only 100 baht and the crowds were far smaller than at Wat Phra Kaeo and the Grand Palace the previous day. Given the choice between Wat Pho and Wat Phra Kaeo I would choose Wat Pho, just because it is a much more pleasureable experience with far less people and I preferred the
reclining Buddha to the Emerald Buddha. The architecture of almost all of the temples in Thailand has proven to be almost identical. The buildings are gorgeous but after seeing one hundred or so you really know what to expect and the newness wears off. So we decided that Wat Pho would be our last Wat we made a point to visit in Bangkok.
Wat Pho is on the way to Chinatown, which was our other planned stop for the day. A quick ride on a boat down the Chao Phraya River and we had arrived at the dock for Chinatown. When we first got off the dock we weren't exactly sure where we were heading, but about 100 meters later we were in the thick of things. Chinatown was out of control. I'm not sure we have been in a busier market yet throughout our travels. The whole time you were sandwiched between the shoulders of the two people next to you. It was like the plastic ferry threw up all over the streets. It was kind of like being in a Dollar Store, Walmart, and ethnic grocery store in one. Except imagine that you are at Walmart on
black friday, then quadruple the amount of people. I didn't even know so many things were made out of plastic, I assume that everything actually came from China. We did get to enjoy some fresh squeezed pomegranate juice, which was delicious! Besides that, it wasn't really our scene, far too many people to enjoy walking around and not much you could buy that would last through the end of the day.
Our last day in Bangkok we decided to get another massage, this time a Thai massage. Prior to coming to Bangkok I don't think I really thought much about the different kinds of massages, but a Thai massage is a pressure point massage, and do they find the pressure points! My masseuse quickly zeroed in on my left shoulder and went to town. She used her fingers, elbows, and who knows what to push on my knots until my eyes popped out of my head. I think she could see the agony in my face and she ventured on to the rest of my body. Meanwhile, Amy is having a completely different (read less painful) experience with her masseur. My masseuse continued to massage (and step on) me
Wat Pho
Reclining Buddha - the smile is 5 meters wide! for 30 minutes, the majority of which felt good after the initial pain of my left shoulder wore off. When we got done I'm pretty sure my exact words to Amy were, "I'm going to be sore tomorrow." She said that her massage was exactly what she needed. Mine may have been exactly what I needed, but wow did I have some left shoulder issues! In case you were wondering...my left shoulder was sore the next day.
Just after our massage and a quick bite we were scheduled to catch a bus to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. After a two hour delay for the bus, we were headed north on a 12 hour journey. Outside of only sleeping for a couple of hours the ride was unevenetful and we arrived at our Guesthouse around 7am. Since they were fully booked the night before we burned some time walking around looking for yoga studios that Amy wanted to try while in Chiang Mai. After settling in to our hotel and taking a desperately needed nap we went out to find a light dinner and do some gentle Hatha yoga (which is essentially stretching).
As of now, we plan
Reclining Buddha
About 150 feet long - Wat Pho on staying in Chiang Mai for a week or so. I'm going to take some Thai cooking classes, and Amy (and possibly I) will do some yoga. The town itself is really nice and has a different feel than Bangkok - we are excited to "settle down" a bit and enjoy Chiang Mai.
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