April 18 day 62
We got up to a simple breakfast that included weird green bread and got set for a day on the go. Just being outside our room for a little while covered us in sweat and we decided to stop for cold drinks on a regular basis.
On the walk there we met a woman who started talking to us and told us that the palace was closed until 11, warning sign one. She was at a corner but didn't seem interested in crossing. She talked about a floating market which was a great way to see the city but how overpriced some companies are. When we feigned interest a tuktuk appeared and for 20 baht (another warning sign, far too cheap) took us to a dock. This wasn't a busy dock, as there was one tout there who gave us a high price and then lowered it quickly once we didn't show interest. Obviously an elaborate scam.
We figured out where we were and walked back to the palace, going almost all of the way around it (and it's huge) before finding the entrance. We followed some people wearing baggy local pants that we've seen. One would think baggy pants would be loose and comfortable but we knew the exact form of the buttocks of the people in front of us and wished that we didn't have this knowledge. They couldn't have been comfortable to wear them like that. The entrance was like heading into a big concert, we had to walk around a large maze of barriers and large tour groups kept showing up and crowding the way.
Once we got inside it was the busiest place I'd been in since the forbidden city. Groups were everywhere, pushing, screaming, jabbing people with their sun umbrellas. We were already missing yesterday's much calmer temple.
We got an audio guide and tried to listen to the information but whenever we found a spot by ourselves a tour group would come beside us and start screaming to keep stragglers together. We got the jist of most things, it was an impressive array of sparkling ornate buildings, including a scale version of Angor Wat and extensive murals depicting sagas of the heroes.
The big attraction was the temple of the emerald Buddha, which had traveled to many places depending who was winning the wars in Southeast Asia. It was relatively small and on top of an ornate shrine so it hard to appreciate it from a distance. The temple itself was amazing, with decoration covering every bit of space.
We rejoined the scrum outside and got tired of our audioguide telling us exactly how many images of Buddha were in places or describing thrones we could not see. We exited into the royal palace grounds, where usually most buildings are closed but today everything was closed because they were still practicing for the King's ceremony in May. The buildings were large and nicely decorated but the wildly trimmed trees impressed us more.
We nipped in to a display on the king mainly because it was shown in an air conditioned room. The descriptions were so over the top (it is against the law to criticize the king) that they were laughable, but we were able to fight the heat for awhile.
We had one more stop, in the emerald Buddha museum. This had some nice models and work donated to the shrine. People donated whole sets of Victorian diningware to the monasteries so that they could put them in a glass case. Kind of weird, but no stranger than what goes on in other religions.
As we headed out we saw a dance performance advertised that we could see for free with our ticket. The people telling us about it were so aggressive in getting us into our free transportation that we wondered if it was a scam. We got into a big bus that took us on a short trip close to where we were staying. We were 30 minutes early for the show so we went to the attached cafe and had an overpriced but quick lunch.
The performance itself was really good. They demonstrated several types of dance and then did an extended story through traditional dance. The dancers were real, not clumsy summer students (we have seen this) and the costumes and sets were top notch, with whole sets dropping on wires and video backdrops with animated features. It was only 30 minutes but would have been worth it even if we paid for it.
We walked back to our room and Meg napped while I looked at Thai train timetables. We then walked up to a mall mentioned in the guidebook so that she could get some shopping done. The mall turned out to be a street full of vendors just north of us. This was a backpacker circus, with hostels, restaurants and bars trying to guide us in, stands containing clothing and vendors walking around selling ice cream and scorpions on a stick.
We had a juice and then Meg shopped while I had a beer and read my book. Backpackers were constantly going by and usually getting roped in somewhere. The place I was at gt annoying when they set up speakers and started playing dance music while not turningheff teh tv which continued to loudly show awful videos for Thai pop songs. Fortunately, Meg finished her shopping (but couldn't find zip off pants) and so we headed back.
Both of the restaurants recommended in the guidebook were closed so we went along a sidestreet until we found somewhere that had people in it. It was nearly full and had some karaoke going on but only two people were singing: an offkey guy who got worse as he worked his way through of his bottle of whiskey and the woman leading the whole thing, who had a nice voice and seemed to be pleading for anyone to take over from her. The food was fine but the waitstaff wandered around with dishes trying to figure who would get what, which didn't seem too efficient.
We walked back the short distance to our room and talked to the owner, who was a woman in her 30s working in insurance and very nice to deal with. Then to the welcome air conditioning and bed.
We got up to a simple breakfast that included weird green bread and got set for a day on the go. Just being outside our room for a little while covered us in sweat and we decided to stop for cold drinks on a regular basis.
On the walk there we met a woman who started talking to us and told us that the palace was closed until 11, warning sign one. She was at a corner but didn't seem interested in crossing. She talked about a floating market which was a great way to see the city but how overpriced some companies are. When we feigned interest a tuktuk appeared and for 20 baht (another warning sign, far too cheap) took us to a dock. This wasn't a busy dock, as there was one tout there who gave us a high price and then lowered it quickly once we didn't show interest. Obviously an elaborate scam.
We figured out where we were and walked back to the palace, going almost all of the way around it (and it's huge) before finding the entrance. We followed some people wearing baggy local pants that we've seen. One would think baggy pants would be loose and comfortable but we knew the exact form of the buttocks of the people in front of us and wished that we didn't have this knowledge. They couldn't have been comfortable to wear them like that. The entrance was like heading into a big concert, we had to walk around a large maze of barriers and large tour groups kept showing up and crowding the way.
Once we got inside it was the busiest place I'd been in since the forbidden city. Groups were everywhere, pushing, screaming, jabbing people with their sun umbrellas. We were already missing yesterday's much calmer temple.
We got an audio guide and tried to listen to the information but whenever we found a spot by ourselves a tour group would come beside us and start screaming to keep stragglers together. We got the jist of most things, it was an impressive array of sparkling ornate buildings, including a scale version of Angor Wat and extensive murals depicting sagas of the heroes.
The big attraction was the temple of the emerald Buddha, which had traveled to many places depending who was winning the wars in Southeast Asia. It was relatively small and on top of an ornate shrine so it hard to appreciate it from a distance. The temple itself was amazing, with decoration covering every bit of space.
We rejoined the scrum outside and got tired of our audioguide telling us exactly how many images of Buddha were in places or describing thrones we could not see. We exited into the royal palace grounds, where usually most buildings are closed but today everything was closed because they were still practicing for the King's ceremony in May. The buildings were large and nicely decorated but the wildly trimmed trees impressed us more.
We nipped in to a display on the king mainly because it was shown in an air conditioned room. The descriptions were so over the top (it is against the law to criticize the king) that they were laughable, but we were able to fight the heat for awhile.
We had one more stop, in the emerald Buddha museum. This had some nice models and work donated to the shrine. People donated whole sets of Victorian diningware to the monasteries so that they could put them in a glass case. Kind of weird, but no stranger than what goes on in other religions.
As we headed out we saw a dance performance advertised that we could see for free with our ticket. The people telling us about it were so aggressive in getting us into our free transportation that we wondered if it was a scam. We got into a big bus that took us on a short trip close to where we were staying. We were 30 minutes early for the show so we went to the attached cafe and had an overpriced but quick lunch.
The performance itself was really good. They demonstrated several types of dance and then did an extended story through traditional dance. The dancers were real, not clumsy summer students (we have seen this) and the costumes and sets were top notch, with whole sets dropping on wires and video backdrops with animated features. It was only 30 minutes but would have been worth it even if we paid for it.
We walked back to our room and Meg napped while I looked at Thai train timetables. We then walked up to a mall mentioned in the guidebook so that she could get some shopping done. The mall turned out to be a street full of vendors just north of us. This was a backpacker circus, with hostels, restaurants and bars trying to guide us in, stands containing clothing and vendors walking around selling ice cream and scorpions on a stick.
We had a juice and then Meg shopped while I had a beer and read my book. Backpackers were constantly going by and usually getting roped in somewhere. The place I was at gt annoying when they set up speakers and started playing dance music while not turningheff teh tv which continued to loudly show awful videos for Thai pop songs. Fortunately, Meg finished her shopping (but couldn't find zip off pants) and so we headed back.
Both of the restaurants recommended in the guidebook were closed so we went along a sidestreet until we found somewhere that had people in it. It was nearly full and had some karaoke going on but only two people were singing: an offkey guy who got worse as he worked his way through of his bottle of whiskey and the woman leading the whole thing, who had a nice voice and seemed to be pleading for anyone to take over from her. The food was fine but the waitstaff wandered around with dishes trying to figure who would get what, which didn't seem too efficient.
We walked back the short distance to our room and talked to the owner, who was a woman in her 30s working in insurance and very nice to deal with. Then to the welcome air conditioning and bed.
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| One of many ornate buildings. |
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| The well-guarded exit from the temple complex. |
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| The free show! |
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