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Part 30: The Grand Palace.....
As is sometimes the case, I wondered how many of the travellers I spoke to the previous night would keep their word about meeting up.
So it was with a little scepticism that I made my way to the reception, thinking me and Yvonne would be the only ones going. Especially after all the talking up the night before.
But to my surprise, when I reached downstairs, they were all there waiting for us. Sean from Denmark, Elaine from
England, Jo and Sven from Germany, along with myself and Yvonne completing the group.
Since we would be visiting religious places, all of us had to dress suitably. Shorts, vests, or any revealing clothes were strictly prohibited.
The early morning heat was already in the 90's and my attire of long trousers, long sleeved shirt and shoes were not in the least bit helping me to keep cool, quite the opposite.
As well as already perspiring, Yvonne and I stank of tiger balm which we rubbed on our growing collection of mosquito bites, mainly on my ankles. Even my bites had bites! The itching was so ridiculously intense that I could barely think straight. Yvonne's arms and wrists were completely covered too.
I'm not sure if I had previously been lucky, but up to this point mosquitos had not really caused me any problems.
Any way, on the way to the bus, none of us could resist the breakfast stalls. I opted for the fresh fruit and healthy option for the second day in succession.
Jo, the German girl had an itinerary on her iPhone of exactly which busses to get, where we would visit, what route we would be taking, and in what specific order. She did not appear to be disguising it either.
As nice as she was, this was someone who I'd hoped would not boss us around to much, but the early signs were not looking good, oh well.
For that moment I thought 'come back tour guides, all is forgiven' as she rushed us into eating up our breakfasts.
'Come on, come on' she said.
'We will miss the bus'
I thought it best to go on autopilot, let her do all the thinking and just go with the flow, for now.
With my mouth still full of fruit we all made our way to the bus and towards our first destination, the giant reclining golden Buddha at the Wat Pho Temple.
En route I was taking a good look around noticing the architecture, traditional statues along side modern structures, reflecting both the new and old quite beautifully.
His majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej's proud and peaceful face was emblazoned on every single corner, statues and huge posters paying homage to their king were quite literally everywhere. The people absolutely love him here, talking of him like he was a cherished member of their own family.
You will see his picture in shops, taxi's, tuk tuks, busses, amongst modern buildings and huge boards.
I was wondering why he is so revered and learned the King has been an inspiration for his people. Always having their welfare close to his heart and for more than sixty years, he's worked hard for the well being of Thailand, personally overseeing many projects of development, sustainable living and agriculture.
Travelling to all corners of his country reaching the remotest parts, talking to the poor and vulnerable, trying to understand their ways and problems, finding ways to help them, and touching the lives of many.
Particularly farmers and the impoverished which has endeared him to the hearts of everyone young and old. They have so much love and respect for their King, and it shows everywhere you look
The stop start journey didn't take to long, around 45 mins or so before we arrived at the Phra Nakhon district where the Wat Pho Temple of the reclining Buddha came into view.
Jo, who was really in a rush to keep to 'her' schedule, hurried us towards the gates guarded by 2 giant Chinese figures carved from stone.
The morning heat was sticky, humid and intense enough without being rushed, but I wasn't quite ready to jump ship, not just yet anyway.
We approached the huge temple complex which was one of the largest and oldest in Bangkok, and once inside the compound surrounded by stone walls, the girls were handed shawls to cover their shoulders, free ice cold bottled water was being handed out too, then everyone had to remove their footwear before we were finally allowed entrance.
The main temple where the Giant Reclining Buddha lay was huge, and once we entered I could not believe my eyes.
It was magnificent and a staggering 46 meters in length and 15 meters high, laid down with his right arm supporting his head, on a platform of marble in shining gold leaf, so huge it felt like it has literally been squeezed into the building.
The feet alone are 5 metres long and exquisitely decorated in illustrations of a 108 auspicious characteristics of the Buddha. A significant number, which refers to the positive actions and symbols that helped lead Buddha to perfection.
Inside the temple are 108 bronze bowls which line the length of the walls, representing each and every one of those characteristic.
People can purchase coins at the entrance of the hall which you can drop in the bowls one by one for luck, making a haunting sound as they were doing so.
I really wanted to do it but I'm not sure if Jo would have allowed me!
Anyway it was amusing watching her lead us to the next point of interest - The Grand Palace. This was to Bangkok, what Buckingham is to London, and their most famous tourist landmark of the city.
It was a 20 minute walk away and I wasn't really in the mood to be rushed as the midday heat was scorching.
All along the road to the Palace were a row of neat trees and underneath them on the pavement, were hundreds of street traders.
And it was at this point (thank god) that I think Jo's itinerary went out the window, because the rest of us choose to rummage through the really cool looking stalls, taking cover from the sun under the trees.
To be fair she did not appear that bothered, as her and Yvonne seemed to be enjoying the Bohemian jewellery.
I cant say for sure if that was Yvonne's plan, but if it was then great because I was beginning to think of ways to ditch.
The atmosphere on the way to the Palace with all the street life was wonderful, there were genuine bargains to be had, nice food stalls, beads, necklaces, vintage trinkets, and obscure jewellery.
We stopped to watch a skilled craftsman at work, expertly carving figurines from wood, it was great to see him in the zone.
All the group were much more relaxed now and we just strolled towards the Grand palace entrance at a gentle pace, this was more like it.
The architecture was beautiful and the attached temple was the most ornately decorated and grandest scale of the temples I had visited.
Although swarming with tourists, and people trying to sell scam tours, it did not take away from the sheer scale and beauty of the aptly named Grand Palace. If there is one must see sight that no visit to Bangkok would be complete without, this was it.
Built in 1782 and for 150 years was the home of the Thai King and government but now mainly used for stately events it shone brightly in the scorching sun.
We took dozens of pictures, cliche posing with the Palace in the background before finally heading to a beautifully cool and much needed pit stop at a nice looking coffee shop opposite. It was a temporary, heavenly escape from the exasperating heat.
After leisurely strolling back through the trees we made our way onto the hot bus to Siam.
The traffic was really bad and I could not stop thinking about a nice cold shower at the hostel.
Despite the initial rushing around it developed into a great day, learning about the historic and cultural side of Bangkok with my new travel buddies.
Finally we reached the Hostel and I headed to the dorm eager to take a cooling shower and get out of my sweaty shirt and trousers.
One of the American guys sharing our room showed us dozens of bites on his chest, that looked identical to mine and Yvonne's. Turns out they were not mosquitos.
Would you believe it the dorm was infested with tiny crawling bed bugs!!!
We informed reception and were immediately moved to an upgraded room, but not before being instructed to take a shower.
Having a flash new room was all very well but we had a big problem on our hands. Our clothes and bags were likely infested, as the bed bugs lay eggs and rapidly breed.
There was a real concern that we could carry these infested clothes on our travels and spread them!
So this whole situation needed a very careful plan or we would be in a right mess....
- comments
Gino cool blog bro, remember the Buddah and Palace very well
Vman Yeah, it definitley leaves an impression, wonderful place.