Day 19: Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Chinatown

Joe joes in the morning!  Yum.  After breakfast, took the BTS to the Phaya Thai station, followed by the tourist boat up the Chao Phraya River.

The boat system is confusing to me, very behind the ease of the BTS.  I wasn't sure if I was even on the tourist boat, as there were no announcements regarding the stops.  You have to just look for the signs on the pier.  Grand Palace was supposed to be at pier N* (star) but it was actually at N9.  And there did not seem to be an organized ticketing process.  While I did purchase the day pass, no one checked that I had paid.

It was around 10:00am when I arrived at Grand Palace.  Wow.  Hoards of people.  Thousands and thousands.  Before I could make my way to pay the entrance fee, I was called over to the clothing rental area because I was not wearing full length pants.  It was strange though, because I later saw quite a few others who had capris on.  Anyways, I borrowed a sarong from their office.

I debated about joining a free, English speaking tour, but then I saw that a group consists of 50+ people, so changed my mind.  As I passed other tour groups, differentiated by their nationality, it was interesting to see all the Thai guides speaking the languages fluently.  Thai guides speaking Russian, German, everything.

The temples at Grand Palace are beautiful.  The structures contain intricate details, full of gems and jewels.  The patterns were colorful, and vary by temple.

Grand Palace

Close up of details.  Look at those gems!

I also enjoyed the weapons museum.  Many types of old weapons: muskets, bayonettes, spears, etc.  Its crazy thinking about how some of the huge rifles were actually used.  How did one manage to carry it around?

At one point, I was inside looking at a Buddha, and saw a lot of people taking photos even though there was a sign not to.  So, I took a photo too, but a guard came over and forced me to delete it.

Model of Angor Wat.  My finger is included for scale.

The model of Angor Wat was great. A lot of small details.

A Midas-like statue!

After Grand Palace, I seeked refuge in an AC'ed restaurant.  Went somewhere along the way to Wat Po, and had shrimp pad thai and a refreshing watermelon shake.  I love all the fresh, cheap shakes in Thailand.

Wat Pho is just down the same street, and the walk there goes by fast because there are a lot of street vendors.  Its interesting seeing what the  Thai vendors are selling.  Even random goods are high in demand. Like lightly used pens and highlighters, and used, old cell phones.

Wat Pho has a much more relaxed feel than Grand Palace.  There are not nearly as many people here.  There is a lot of shaded sitting areas, and breezes come through often.  A few cats and dogs are taken care of here.

Large, reclining Buddha.  He must be comfortable.

The reclining buddha was amazing.  So large!  Detailed patterns on his feet, and his hair.

Most travel sites recommend getting a massage here, where Thai traditional massage is taught.  I was really considering this, since of course my feet hurt, but the prices are much higher here.  1/2 hr of traditional Thai massage = 260 THB, 1 hr of foot massage = 420 THB.

It was hard to remember where I was at times because of the square, symmetrical layout.

Lots of Buddha.

Chinatown is also walking distance from Wat Pho, although around 15 minutes.  And alas, on the walk, a transportation guy tried to scam me.  I was waiting for when this would happen, after reading up on how common this is.  I was looking at my map, and he came up and asked what I was looking for.  He said that Chinatown's night market is not open until 6pm (it was currently 3pm), and that there won't be anything going on there if I went now.  He suggested that to kill time, I should visit Wat something, Wat somethingelse, and the Expo Center, where today is the last day of a make-believe sale.  Even though I said no thank you, he proceeded to wave down a tuk tuk, in which he would of course receive commission if I ended up going with the tuk tuk.  I was shaking my head to the tuk tuk, but the other guy continued showing the tuk tuk where to take me.  I pulled the map out of their hands, said no thank you again, and left.

I've had mixed feelings towards the locals I've encountered.  By now, a couple people have tried to scam me, but some other locals have been so helpful.  When I was heading towards Chinatown, a shop owner suggested that I take a easier, straight-shot route.  And he was right, very easy!  Another woman was kind in helping me cross the street.  There were so many cars, and I was just waiting, but she pretty much escorted me.

Along Pahurat Rd.  Look, tourists ahead!

Anyways, Chinatown.  Walking along Pahurat Rd was neverending.  A continuous stretch of street vendors.  I would enter a shop, and then not remember which way I was supposed to resume going.  I bought a purse that actually wasn't that cheap.  Oh well.

The next phase of Chinatown was when I walked along Yaowarat.  Such a loud, large, busy street.  I found a jerky store, and the employee spoke Cantonese!  That was a nice surprise.

And the transformation began.  As dinner time was approaching, the retail stalls were closing up, and food carts began rolling out.  My camera battery died around this point, so that was very unfortunate.  It was so interesting to see such a transition.  It became a new place, a food central, with fruit carts galore.  I wanted to eat something other than Pad Thai.  There was a food stall that was extremely popular with the locals.  A long line, full tables.  But, I was hesitant to try what looked like pork intestine in the soup.  And, the cart was right on the main road.  Instead, I ate at a cart a little further in, noodles with crispy pork and pork stomach.  Although, I did not each much because it was too spicy.

Yaowarat Rd.

I was so caught up in looking around and people watching that I had to rush to catch the last boat that was covered in my tourist pass.  Again, I found the boat system difficult to understand.

Eventually made it back....and got another foot massage at Chang's :). Great again.

I'm glad I experienced Chinatown, it is so different from the commercialized area I am staying in.  Tourists are only seen every now and then.



Last day in Thailand tomorrow...

Unrelated photo of view from hotel pool.  Awesome.