So, on today's itinerary is the grand palace and several temples. I was again the first person picked up. The second couple was from Guam and very friendly. The second couple was from Hong Kong and addicted to their blackberries at the beginning of the tour. The third and fourth couples were from New Zealand, around my parents' age. Everyone was very nice and the group today really fit well together (unlike the day before, when everyone seemed very standoffish). Everyone kept volunteering to take my picture and one of the New Zealand women - Frances - took me under her wing.
Our first stop was Wat Traimit - the golden buddha. Because of the camera issues, there aren't too many pictures from today (you'll have to wait until I have the film developed). So I'll have links to images of the different items. This buddha was covered with plaster so invaders wouldn't know that it was gold - and then it was promptly forgotten that it was covered with gold and remained hidden under the plaster until it was being moved to a new location in 1955, when the plaster cracked and the gold beneath was revealed. This is a "working" temple and while there, we saw a monk come to meditate. The grounds were very touristy, though.
Then it was on to Wat Pho - the reclining buddha. Let me tell you, this buddha is HUGE. About half a football (not sure if he meant American football or soccer) field in length. The best view is actually from the feet, so I hope those pictures came out ok. The reclining buddha is actually dying, as he's lying on his right side with his feet uncrossed. It's best to lie on your right side as it's better for the heart, but the uncrossed feet indicates that he's dying (the fact that he's reclining may also indicate this, but I'm not positive).
Finally, time to see the Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha. We were unable to go to the Royal Funeral Hall, as the body of the current king's sister was lying in state. She died in January and they are building her funeral pyre, hoping to finish it by October and to have the ceremony in November.
If you want to know more about the Thai king and his family, you can read about him here. And you definitely have to read about the king's son - his personal life is like a soap opera! Speaking of the son, the tour guide thinks it was probably his first ex-wife that I saw the other day, as she is still very much involved in charities and the like. Though I found it surprising that she would ride in one of the king's yellow vehicles and have the royal anthem played for her when she left. But then, what do I know?
Speaking of yellow....you may wonder why the king's cars are that color. The king was born on a Monday and that day's color is yellow. The king is very much loved by the Thai people and in support of him, on Mondays almost everyone wears a yellow shirt. They wear them other days of the week as well, but Monday is a very particular day. The queen was born on a Friday and her color is blue.
The Grand Palace is no longer the residence of the royal family, although they
do come here for different functions. One major reason they come to the Royal Palace is to visit Wat Phra Kaew - the emerald buddha (this one we could only take pictures of form the outside). This is the most important icon for the Thai people. Most of the time in the Royal Palace was spent walking around (I got a bit sunburnt).The tour guide today was very good and was quite open to all sorts of questions. Apparently traffic in Bangkok is not considered "bad" until about 11:00, when the shops opens. Siam means dark, bulky peasant, so the name was changed to Thai, which means freedom.
So, I would be remiss in not mentioning the current political situation in Thailand. There were protests against the government and there were rumors of an imminent military coup, which did not occur (at least so far). The demonstrations have been peaceful. This BBC article gives a good overview of the situation. Where I was staying was no where near the protests and in fact, on the tour of Bangkok we went past a street that the protests were on - it was further down the street and I didn't see a thing.
The final stop was at a gem shop, where I bought myself a sapphire ring. It's very simple and pretty. One of the funnier moments of the day happened on the way back to the hotel. First of all, everyone was taken around individually at the gem shop, so I never saw any of my fellow tourists again. The gem shop has vans that go back and forth to the hotels, so I was in one of those. Along with a family from India who talked so loud, I was very happy when they got off - randomly on the side of the road, but they had a guide so perhaps they were going somewhere for lunch. So now it's just me and the driver. We get to a light and are turning right. Keep in mind that in Thailand you also drive on the left side of the road (so at home, this is similar to taking a left hand turn). We are far back in the line of traffic and the lane is both for turning left and going straight. There was no one coming in the opposite direction, so the driver pulls in to the other lane and makes the right hand turn at the light - and promptly gets pulled over for doing it. The traffic stop only lasted about 2 minutes. The policeman write up a ticket and off we went.
So, back to the hotel for my final hours there. I decided on lunch at the hotel and ate at the Greenhouse again, where I had eaten the first night I arrived. This time I ordered a chicken ceasar salad - unlike any I ave ever eaten. There was lettuce and chicken, a side dish of bacon, ceasar dressing, and this thin bread, that had lettuce between it - but I don't think I was supposed to eat it as a sandwich. I know - you're surprised that I didn't have any more pad thai. I'd already eaten it at this restaurant, so I decided to try something else.
Now back to the airport, and of course I arrived early. The airport in Bangkok is very nice. It's all one big terminal, with rows going from front to back with the ticket counters. Then once through immigration, there's a huge shopping/dining area before you even get to your "terminal" to go through security (x-ray). I had some Thai baht left, so I did a bit of souvenir shopping and had a hotdog (it wasn't very good). At the gate, there were international telephones that I could use with a credit card, so I called home. It was great to talk to Mom & Dad! They sure were surprised to hear from me.
The flight was uneventful. I arrived back at the luxury condo and much to my surprise, it wasn't Frank who opened the door but Queenie, the owner. Frank had mixed up her return date. But it was ok for me to stay there, so I did.
Pictures: Emerald Buddha & Grand Palace
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