There's a wonderful organization called Tours by Locals that matches tour guides with tourists. We had arranged a tour of the old part of Bangkok. Wi, our guide, lived in NYC for several years while his wife was working for Citigroup. They moved back to Bangkok when they had their daughter and he's been a tour guide ever since.
We started the tour by taking the Skytrain to the river. This elevated train is very efficient and clean and appears to be a popular way to get around. Next we hoped on a local river fairy to take us near the Grand Palace. The deceased King is lying in state in the one of the buildings in the palace complex and many, many Thai are visiting, dressed all in black, in large groups. Groups of 100 are admitted at a time all during the day.
The Grand Palace complex includes the Palace that was built in 1946, a royal temple, Wat Phra Kaeo and a beautiful textile museum featuring the gowns of the Queen. We visited the royal temple first. The temples are absolutely gorgeous, decorated in bright mosaic tiles and gold leaf. Throngs of people flowed around all the various temples, some taking tourist photos while others were there to give gifts to Buddha. One of the major draws is to view the Emerald Buddha, considered the most sacred image in Thailand. While small in stature, it sits high on a golden alter, dressed in the clothing of the season (changed out from a ladder by the King). Many of the buildings in the palace complex have definite European influences. One of the former Kings was educated in England and was a good friend of Queen Victoria.
The last building we visited was the textile museum which houses many of the Queens former royal gowns. This Queen definitely enjoyed her French designers. Her incredibly small waist (maybe the size of my thigh?) was a feature of many of the sparkly gowns. She reviles any of our first ladies in taste.
After our tour of the Palace, we walked across the street to a Naval facility and enjoyed a Thai family style meal. Wi ordered for us, so I'm not positive we had but it was good. Even better was the very cold water that helped a crew rehydrate after a warm morning.
After lunch we walked a short distance to Wat Pho (jokes included) to view the reclining Buddha. This 151 foot long Buddha was installed in the 19th century and is gold leafed with mother of pearl images on the feet. Some restoration is going on, so the pictures weren't perfect, but it was still impressive.
We took a ferry across the river to our last temple, Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn). This was the royal temple of King Taksin in the 17th century. This was another beautiful temple covered in colorful porcelain tiles.
And then, we did something completely different. Long boats will take tourists through the canal system so you can get a look at how people live. We saw everything from livestock to restaurants to houses both rich and poor. It was fascinating and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting the city.
It was late in the afternoon and we had a dinner reservation at 7:00 p.m., so we chose to skip China Town and head back to our hotel on the Skytrain, retracing our steps from this morning. I absolutely loved the historic part of Bangkok and would love to return again to wonder around and soak in the good karma.
Tomorrow: Off to Cambodia
We started the tour by taking the Skytrain to the river. This elevated train is very efficient and clean and appears to be a popular way to get around. Next we hoped on a local river fairy to take us near the Grand Palace. The deceased King is lying in state in the one of the buildings in the palace complex and many, many Thai are visiting, dressed all in black, in large groups. Groups of 100 are admitted at a time all during the day.
The Grand Palace complex includes the Palace that was built in 1946, a royal temple, Wat Phra Kaeo and a beautiful textile museum featuring the gowns of the Queen. We visited the royal temple first. The temples are absolutely gorgeous, decorated in bright mosaic tiles and gold leaf. Throngs of people flowed around all the various temples, some taking tourist photos while others were there to give gifts to Buddha. One of the major draws is to view the Emerald Buddha, considered the most sacred image in Thailand. While small in stature, it sits high on a golden alter, dressed in the clothing of the season (changed out from a ladder by the King). Many of the buildings in the palace complex have definite European influences. One of the former Kings was educated in England and was a good friend of Queen Victoria.
The last building we visited was the textile museum which houses many of the Queens former royal gowns. This Queen definitely enjoyed her French designers. Her incredibly small waist (maybe the size of my thigh?) was a feature of many of the sparkly gowns. She reviles any of our first ladies in taste.
After our tour of the Palace, we walked across the street to a Naval facility and enjoyed a Thai family style meal. Wi ordered for us, so I'm not positive we had but it was good. Even better was the very cold water that helped a crew rehydrate after a warm morning.
After lunch we walked a short distance to Wat Pho (jokes included) to view the reclining Buddha. This 151 foot long Buddha was installed in the 19th century and is gold leafed with mother of pearl images on the feet. Some restoration is going on, so the pictures weren't perfect, but it was still impressive.
We took a ferry across the river to our last temple, Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn). This was the royal temple of King Taksin in the 17th century. This was another beautiful temple covered in colorful porcelain tiles.
And then, we did something completely different. Long boats will take tourists through the canal system so you can get a look at how people live. We saw everything from livestock to restaurants to houses both rich and poor. It was fascinating and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting the city.
It was late in the afternoon and we had a dinner reservation at 7:00 p.m., so we chose to skip China Town and head back to our hotel on the Skytrain, retracing our steps from this morning. I absolutely loved the historic part of Bangkok and would love to return again to wonder around and soak in the good karma.
Tomorrow: Off to Cambodia
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