So up early didn't really take the form of early that I had wanted, so I think I am only heading out at about 9ish. I walk to the Royal Palace, just in my shorts with my zip ons in the bag. There is a bit of a breeze in Bangkok and so jumping from shadow to shadow isn't too bad, though from looking at the temperature it appears to be the same, so perhaps I am developing a tolerance. Let's hope so.
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So I get to the Royal Palace and I walk in the main gate and some Thai man motions me to a separate room, where someone is trying to sell me some trousers. I don't need any and so I walk back out the door and get my zip ons on. I am instantly hot. I can't be dealing with the trousers. It amazes me that some people wear trousers every days. Madness. The palace is so busy, and I thought that I was here early, but clearly that was not the case. Awww well I'll just have to get my elbows ready. When I get inside it is 100BHT, which is like £2 so it is not too expensive. The first thing that I notice is just how ornate all the temples and architecture is. It is in stark contrast to Angkor Wat, which is old and stone, but here is all bling bling, super shiny and new. People are being ushered around in between barriers and there is an ebb and flow to the whole arrangement. This works fine in principle, but I like a bit of freedom when I am exploring a temple area and this system does not allow me that. That and the fact that there are so many people that it makes it hard to change direction. There are also many tours and so there are people standing for long periods of time in front of interesting buildings. There are so many different temple all just shoved in to a small area here, and there is not much information around about what it is or it's significance, but it is nice to walk around in blissful ignorance. I enjoy doing temples on my own because it allows me to be as geeky as I want and change my lens on my camera and spend as much time at each venue as I want. Though what would be really nice would be if people would just move on after they take a photo instead of just continue to stand there. I mean we are not talking Chinese here, full Western annoyances. Let's be honest, they should know better.
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I leave the Royal Palace and head towards the temple of the Reclining Buddha. It's a little bit of a walk and the temperature is picking up now. The temple complexes are so big and what would be nice would be if there was a sign showing you which side the entrance is on. I end up walking round 3 sides of one temple due to this lack of signs. Brilliant. When I get in there is the usual bunch of people trying to be my guide, again I am not interested, I'll just have a look around myself and just admire the shininess. The Reclining Buddha is some sight. It is massive! Again, trying to get the good photo is nearly impossible with so many people pushing and shoving, snap snap. There is also columns running the full length of the temple and so there are few places that you can actually get a good view. On the far side of the temple, the back of the Buddha, there are a number of pots, where you are supposed to buy a number of coins and then put one in each pot, to bring good luck. I was going to do it, but there are so many people that I decide to give it a miss, otherwise i would be here forever. In this complex there are a number of other little rooms with rows and rows of Buddhas in various different poses. There are a number of people chanting and dancing in front of the statues, and making offerings of incense and flowers to each of the Buddhas.
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I release myself from the temple and head down towards the river, but before I get there I come to a market that is just set up along the roadside. It is the largest market that I have ever seen. Selling all manner of things, and there are rugs just thrown over the ground with people selling second hand goods, I even say a PS2 controller, how bizarre. There are also these little Buddha carvings that appear to be very popular, many many locals have the old magnifying monocle checking the quality. I'm not really to sure what they are looking for because they just look like bits of rock to me. After my hustle bustle I head to the river and just sit for a while, observing the pandemonium on the river. This river is like a highway, I have never seen so many boats on a river before. It is like the sea, there are so many boats moving up and down that it is causing a chopping on the river. Boat taxis are cruising up and down, with different flags representing different prices and how many docks they will stop at. I was going to get one across the river to see another temple, but I am feeling pretty tired and so I just sit by the river.
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When I get back I go for some food I a local place just beside the Starbucks and have some Thai noodle soup, delicious! There is some football on the tv and so I sit and watch the match and have a few beers before heading to bed, feeling fairly exhausted after my day of temple exploring.