Day Eight -- Bangkok, Thailand

Chris woke up around 7am and read through guide books, planning the day, as Lily slept on for another hour. Once awake, we set out in search of breakfast. We knew we needed something substantial for the intensive touristy activities we had planned, and succame, again, to the temptation for familiar foods. Last night was pizza and pasta at an Italian joint, and this morning was a full British breakfast at the Black Swan British Pub. It was legit. Proper sausage and bacon, grilled tomato, Heinz baked beans, the whole lot. Oh man. The OJ, though was a rare treat. The Thai oranges are small, and taste much like tangerines, and everywhere we go, we are surrounded by fresh squeezed juice for unheard of low prices.

The Bangkok sky train system (BTS) is very easy to use, quick, clean, and not too expensive. (We heartily approve of any transit system that prints the route map on the back of the fare card!) We took the Sky Train from Asok to Saphan Taksin, at the river's edge, south of the old town. There, we bought an all day fare card for the Chao Phraya Express boat, essentially a boat bus, which makes regular stops along the east bank of the river.



The view of Bangkok from the water is stunning. Grand hotels like the Oriental and the Shangri-La stand next to corregated-tin shacks and lean-tos; Tourists sip cocktails on a riverside bar, while men wash clothes in the muddy water not far away.



We got off the boat at Tien, and walked towards the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo (see also: "The King and I" starring Yul Brenner). We walked through the amulet market, which was really just a line of tables and blankets displaying all manner of items to buy, much like a neighborhood yard sale, with an emphasis on religious amulets.



The upselling schemes continues as we neared the Grand Palace. A nicely dressed man tried to convince us that because of a Buddhist holiday the Grand Palace was closed in the morning and we should see this OTHER location that is "open one day only in the whole year(!)" and then the taxi can take us to this place and this other place and then back to the Grand Palace by 1pm, when it will be open again. What would you pay for this elaborate grand tour of Bangkok? Why, only $1.20! Baloney. We called shenanigans and moved on.

The Grand Palace, of course, was not closed. We bought our tickets and checked our attire:Knees covered, shoulders covered, and heels covered. (although, I think they recently changed that last requirement and you are now allowed to wear flip-flops). For those dressed in shorts, there were sarongs and baggy pants available for rent, but we came prepared! (The heat is brutal in long pants, BTW).

The Grand Palace is an enclave of several temples, museums, and governmental ceremony rooms. Everything is lavishly decorated, but unlike the ostentatiousness of the Vatican, which is clad in gold, the architecture of the Thai Wats are simply painted gold colors, and use glass and mirrors to catch the light and sparkle.





We spent most of the time here looking at the Ramakien, an elaborate mural, that wraps around most of the Grand Palace exterior wall. Because of the humidity, a portion of the mural is almost always undergoing restoration.



We stopped into an outdoor market for some watermelon juice and mangosteens before catching the boat to Chinatown.



Chinatown was something else. Alley after alley packed with vendors selling anything and everything you can imagine. The alleys are a maze of activity, with people packed shoulder-to shoulder, and then a fruit vendor with a large cart would attempt to push through. We walked aimlessly getting intentionally lost in the madness (this block is all plastic boxes and cups, this block all shoes).

We made our way to the electronics district, where we were awed by the same Chinatown madness, but all focused on electronic goods. Countless street vendors with bottomless baskets of switches, LEDs, XLR connectors, wires, adapters, lightbulbs, and god knows what all.



Among these vendors were very small storefronts featuring analog sound mixers, or followspots, or speakers. Most of these goods were likely repaired by the people running the shop and being sold second-hand.



We also looked into a large modern, store (maybe the size of a big US grocery store), filled with every piece you could ever want for an electronics project, and everything at dirt cheap prices! Why can't we get one of these in the US? Our only options are Radio Shack or the internet!

We took the boat back to the sky train and headed back to the hotel around sunset. We took a refreshing dip in the rooftop pool, which we had all to ourselves.

We took a short walk from our hotel to a street that was alive with activity. There were tons of people (mostly locals) eating at folding tables, with food prepared by one of 3 carts. Mmmm street meat! It was quite possibly the best meal we have had since traveling to Asia. The green papaya salad was like heaven. Sweet and salty and crunchy and crisp and peanutty and fruity and oh my god was it spicy! The most deliciously spicy dish of all time. Beer Chang kept the burning to an intense tingle, though.