More Thailand Day 3

Our third day was a very busy one and after our riverboat trip to Temple Wat Arun, we met up with Ali and he took us to the Grand Palace. Once again, with his cell phone number in hand, we were off. The Grand Palace was quite beautiful but very crowded. We purchased our tickets and off we went.
Once inside the grounds I was amazed at how gold everything was. There were mosiacs everywhere and the beauty was unbelievable. We got separated but eventually found each other as we walked around the perimeter looking at the beautiful mural.


We removed our shoes and entered into the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The buddha was perched in a glass box high above us. We could barely see it. We walked in and knelt on the floor with everyone else. It is interesting that the Buddha is dressed in seasonal clothing and has its costume changed for the summer season, the rainy season, and the winter season.


We spent quite a bit of time walking around but it was dreadfully hot. Unfortunately the vendor had sold out of water and Casey and I settled for a mango fruit juice. We quickly went through the rest of the grounds and then found a restaurant so that we could get some cold water. We called Ali to meet us out front and only wanted to head back to the hotel and go swimming. Ali kept trying to talk us into taking us shopping but we kept saying no thank you we have already done plenty of shopping and only wanted to go swimming. Finally we convinced Ali that the hotel was the only destination that we wanted.
It was a long day so after swimming he had dinner at the hotel and headed to bed early. We had been up since 5:30 am and were quite tired.

Sydney and Crosby Entertainment

These two have an unusual fascination with the copy machine. They can be anywhere in the house and if they hear the copy machine (or a printer) start to work, they come running and try to get as close to it as possible. They will try to stop the paper from coming out and stick their paws into the tray. It is quite a sight to see.

Thailand - Day 3 Continued

Warning: Very picture heavy post!

Following our stop at the Temple of the Golden Mount, we got back into the nice air-conditioned car and headed to the pier to catch a riverboat to Temple Wat Arun.
The boat ride was very nice. Casey and I were the only people on the boat and it cost about 3000 baht for the ride. I think it was worth it as the temple was quite beautiful. Upon arriving at the pier in front of the temple, we had to pay a landing fee so that we could go to the temple. There wasn't an admission fee, just the landing fee.

The temple itself is incredibly beautiful. The ornate design was so enjoyable to look at.
From the website of Temple Wat Arun - "It is decorated by bits of porcelain which had previously been used as ballast by boats coming to Bangkok from China, a hallmark of the reign of King Rama III. The Wat had a brief period as host of the celebrated Emerald Buddha, which now resides in nearby Wat Phra Kaew."

The steps up to the first level were steep but the steps to the second level were impossible for me to navigate. Casey headed up there but she held tightly to the rail both up and down.
The view from up high was beautiful and we were able to look out and spot our boat driver. After walking around a bit, we met the boat at the pier and headed back out on the water for the ride back.

One thing about this trip to the pier and the boat ride was that the locals were relentless in their attempts to sell us trinkets. They would crowd in very closely and invaded my space which angered me. Once we were on the boat I was happy. However, our boat driver stopped the boat in the river and allowed a riverboat with a peddler to approach us to sell us more junk. That didn't make me happy.

However, I do understand that this is their livelihood, but they were just annoying as possible.

I would imagine that the river life is very difficult and the tourist trade is an important part of their livelihood.

Happy Birthday Mom!!

My beautiful mother would have been 80 years old today. I miss you Mom and wish we had had more time together.