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.