Flight was bumpy from Phuket to bangkok on air asia. We went to the airport with Mr. Chit, our awesome taxi driver from yesterday since we couldn't find the first one.
In bangkok we stayed at hotel taipan which I would highly recommend. Its buffet lunch was super yummy (see pix)
I then decided to go visit the grand palace myself (min's been there before and she wasn't feeling too well so she took a break at the hotel. I took a cabbie for 200 THB, which would have taken an hour at that time in the day because of BK's terrible traffic. The driver suggested taking highway so an additional 40 THB toll to get there in 30 min which I took his offer up on.
The grand palace wasn't as crowded as i thought it would be. First lined up in the wrong line where people were renting clothing for 100 THB per piece (well borrowing since you get your money back) like a sari to wrap around your bottom, big pants for guys and shaws for ladies wiht their shoulders exposed. Being appropriately dressed, i just looked like an idiot lining up for the wrong line.
Admission prices also went up from 250 THB to 300, but oh well you have to pay for it since you want to see it. And it was worth every penny of it. It was so big, and so much to see it took me forever to relate my top 10 guidebook map to the one they gave me. It was so glittery and pretty and very glam. Definitely can only be described as grand and elegant. Thai people can go in for free, so a lot of kids were there on a school trip.
After spending about an hour there, I decided to head over to Wat Pho which was number 3 on my guide book list and very close by. The entry fee was only 50 THB since it's the oldest temple in thailand. It was another maze and i had completely missed the reclining budda until i finally oriented myself 45 minutes later. In the process of that, some Aussie guy was showing his creepy side again. He asked if i would go pretend to be a goalie in a soccer net where the little kids who are schooled inside the wat pho have their playgrounds. So i said no thanks, but i offered to take a picture of him (even though he has friends) and he just insisted.. so i smiled and walked away. Why are all the aussies that we're meeting in thailand so strange?
Anyways, the reclining budda was HUGE and it was very grand again like everything else in thailand. We had to walk from its face all the way to its legs, then around its back and then exit. Along its back you can donate some money and get a bowl full of coins (i think it's 1 satang (cent), which does not get used anymore) and you get to put one into each of a whole row of jug things that collect them. I think if you get to the last one that means you're very lucky. I ran out about 10 from the end... so i guess i was not that lucky. I should look up what it actually means.
Then i saw the fruits that the cable ski guys shared with us yesterday, they said in thailand they call it longkong, it's like a longan like fruit but the fruits are in little slices. Min said they call them Baluku (or something) in singapore. The lady originally asked for 40 THB a kilo then i walked away. Then she offered a bag of it for 20 THB. I don't even know if it's a kilo.
anyways so they weren't lying when they said bangkok traffic is bad, it took me 1 hour to come home. The driver was so bored, he started clipping his nails.
Now we're waiting for kally to arrive and then probably hit up one of the malls and get a massage to fix our sore sore necks and muscles from cable skiing and do some shopping!
oh on a side note, the aussie guy that min met last night, came by our room at 5am knocked on our door scarily and apparently wanted to say goodbye. He gave up finally when we refused to open the door and decided to call instead. Trust me it was strange....
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