Bangkok...Day 4 (Last Day)

Well, our train pulled into Bangkok reallllllly early. It was just barely light out when we got off the train. We said good-bye to all of the group and got in a cab back to the hostel we stayed in when we here a few days ago. We put our luggage in the storage room at the hostel and went down the street toward the river.

We hopped on a river boat and took it to the exit for the big you-cannot-go-to-Bangkok-and-not-see-these sights. The river boat was a bit frightening because they do NOT warn you when they are going to stop or what stop it is...luckily we we just getting off at the last stop. Still, you better move quickly or not at all!!!!

Well, we must have taken a wrong turn because pretty soon we were in the middle of a nice Thai neighborhood where no one spoke English. Since our knowledge of the Thai language was limited to "yes" or "no" and "thank you" we were stuck. We found a cab an got in. He didn't understand what we were looking for until I said Wat Pho. We realized that that would be the same name in Thai and English. Made our searching MUCH easier.

So at about 9 am we found ourselves outside Wat Pho ready to explore this famous temple. We wandered around a bit aimlessly. While I can really appreciate the beauty of the whole thing, I'm afraid the religious significance is a bit lost on me. *Note to self, research better next time.* But what the Wat is really famous for is the gigantic reclining Buddha in the middle. Personally my favorite part was his toes (Mother of Pearl inlay was spectacular!).

So after another round of photos we left in search of the palace and the Emerald Buddha. Turns out the Emerald Buddha is inside the palace walls. Sweet, one less chance to get lost.

As we walked in we were directed to a small building on the side where we rented sarongs (skirts, basically) which we had to wear, along with long sleeves, because it would be inappropriate for women to be walking around in what we had on. While the sarongs were beautiful (Thai silk, embroidered with gold elephants) they made the heat that much worse. Good thing it was still pretty early. I would NOT have wanted to be wearing that at 2 in the afternoon...

It's always amazing to learn that a building is from 1200 years ago (or more). I mean seriously, America wasn't even a thought back then. Also, it's terribly difficult to imagine how early explorers could think that the people who built this stuff were anything less than brilliant. Everything is gold, colorful, masterfully finished and fantastic to look at. I'm impressed today. Thousands of years ago I would have been awestruck!

We rented a guided tour which Lil and I shared. One earbud for each of us. We followed the map and listened to the stories of each part of the grounds. Way better than paying for a tour guide because we got to do it at our own pace (and it's nice to hear the American accent every once in awhile).

Eventually we got to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha which is on the palace grounds. There are very strict rules about going in. Unfortunately I have no pictures because there were no cameras allowed. There are times when I think it's okay to break that rule, but religious things should be respected I think. So...no pictures.

Then again, it was not as impressive as I expected. The Buddha was quite small (I think I was expecting something HUGE) and was surrounded by piles of objects in honor of him. The overall effect was quite overwhelming. However we discovered that he was in his summer garb. People actually come in and change the clothing the statue is wearing according to the season. Pretty sweet for a statue!

Eventually we decided that we'd seen all we came to see. Wow! Total sense of accomplishment!!!!!!

We wandered through the streets a bit, checking out the goods for sale. We bought coconuts and drank the milk from them. Then we walked back toward the river and got on another river boat. We took this to the last stop and hopped on the Skytrain back to Sukhimvit.

Lili must have been tired because we got back to the hostel and didn't really do much. We watched a few movies, talked to some of the people that came through, then decided it was time for showers. We paid the hostel to rent us some towels and went upstairs. A nice shower was perfect and then we packed up everything and went downstairs to hail a cab to the airport.

I'm sad to leave Thailand. I could seriously spend at least another 2 weeks here, if not more. But I am excited to get back to Columbus too. It's been a crazy couple of weeks!!!

Chiang Mai...Day 1

I'll never understand why more people don't want to travel by train.

We took an overnight train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. The conductors came around about a half hour after the train departed and put the beds down. I climbed into my top bed and passed out. I woke up refreshed and ready to go the next morning just as we were pulling into Chiang Mai. Excellent.

We got in a van with several other people and were eventually dropped off at our hotel. I am a bit peeved that we are staying at a hotel instead of a hostel. It really could have brought down the price of the tour by a great deal. Eh, it's quite comfortable so I can't complain too much. Plus we're only here for two nights (one at the beginning of the tour and one at the end).

Once we settled in our room we got a call from our trek leader who told us to meet them downstairs...time for the Chiang Mai adventure to begin!

We piled into the back of a truck with the rest of our tour group. It's a pretty good group. There are four people from Australia (Clare, Sharon, Tim and Diane), three from England (Pat, Pip and Luke), one from Germany (Rebekkah) and two other girls from the USA (Corianna and Maya). Our guides were taking us to a wat (the Thai word for a Buddhist temple) that was in Chiang Mai.
The wat was pretty impressive. It was at the top of a mountain. The truck dropped us off at the bottom of a set of stairs...306 to be exact...which people climb as part of how to show their devotion to Buddha. The stairs are "guarded" by two dragons that run up the entire length of the stairs. The scales are colorful and beautiful. There were some local children dressed in traditional clothing about twenty stairs up. We were allowed to take their pictures. Cute kids.

Finally we got to the top. If Catholics were made to do this in order to get to church...I bet a few less would actually attend. When we got to the top we took off our shoes and began to walk through the temple. There was a whole lot of gold there! It was really beautiful to look at. We learned about the seven positions of Buddha and about some of the different rituals Buddhists practice. We walked through admiring the art and sculptures. A Buddhist nun (male) blessed our group and tied string around our wrists for good luck. We shook out sticks to get our fortunes. We took pictures of the city of Chiang Mai (which actually lies at the base of the mountain) and with some other things around the temple.

After awhile it was time for lunch so we walked down the stairs and across a market, taking a seat in a small dining area. Lili and I ordered a dish that Chiang Mai is famous for...it's beef, yellow curry and crispy noodles. If you think that sounds gross you are totally wrong...it was delicious!

We left the mountain top on our way back to the hotel. Tonight we are going to a night bazaar...should be fun (plus Lili and I still need a few supplies!).