Day 3 - Bangkok

We started our day in Bangkok at the Grand Palace. It opens at 8:30am. We arrived by taxi around 8:20 and waited in a short line until it opened. We passed the wardrobe inspection with no issues. This was not a given. While we were both wearing modest clothing there is some conflicting information on the internet about whether or not you have to wear closed toed shoes and other details. I wore long linen pants so I wouldn’t have to purchase elephant pants - they are popular with tourists who come unprepared.

Our view of Bangkok while eating breakfast at our hotel

Alison and I wandered the palace grounds while we waited for Victoria and Hayden to join us. They had a taxi driver who would not drop them close to the Grand Palace. He kept complaining to them that he has some issue with the police and needed to avoid the area.

The Grand Palace complex is quite large with many temples and other ornate buildings. The architecture in Thailand is so unique. It emphasizes lots of vibrant colors and detail. They use many spires and angles that give the buildings a distinctive look. We stayed close to the entrance of the complex while we waited.

A little after 9am Victoria and Hayden arrived. Alison was so excited. Her most important priority today was to spend time with Victoria. There was so much she wanted to catch up about with her. The moment she saw Victoria they embraced. Victoria introduced us to Hayden and we got to know him as we explored the Grand Palace and Bangkok.

One of the highlights of the Grand Palace is the temple of the emerald Buddha. Inside the temple is a pyramid of gold iconography at the  pinnacle sits the emerald Buddha. From our vantage point we could clearly see the emerald head, but the rest of the body was draped In ornate gold clothing and jewelry. We stood and marveled at the site for a while before moving on.

We walked the palace grounds as we chatted. There were quite a few soldiers dressed in ceremonial uniforms marching around the palace. Victoria explained the royal family does not currently live at the Grand Palace, but she didn’t want to tell us more here because it is illegal to talk about the king in public. We also explored a small museum within the complex.

Victoria led us to our next stop, the nearby temple complex of Wat Pho. It really was a short walk, but tuk tuk drivers saw us and thought they could convince us we needed a ride. They were surprised when Victoria would tell them “I don’t want” in Thai. Victoria was so kind to show us around Bangkok. We could not have asked for a better guide.

Wat Po is a large complex. The most interesting and famous part is a huge reclining Buddha. It is massive. We marveled as the size and detail - especially the feet. They were so ornate. Along the back wall were a long line of metal pots, people would bring, or buy handfuls of coins they would drop into these pots. They filled the hall with this echoing metal clanking sound that was really quite beautiful.

We continued exploring Wat Pho. There must have been thousands is smaller Buddha’s located almost everywhere we looked. The buildings here were also extremely ornate and colorful.

We finished exploring Wat Pho and took a water taxi across the river to visit Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan, also known as the temple of the dawn. This is a famous Bangkok landmark because of its Central Khmer style tower crusted in porcelain. It is another beautiful Buddhist temple. We walked around the main building and a few of the smaller buildings within the complex.

When we were done we took the water taxi (it is so inexpensive - just 4 baht) back across the river for lunch. Victoria found the restaurant and ordered us some of her favorite Thai dishes. We all shared the food, family style. I don’t even know what all of it was, but it tasted good.

In the afternoon we bought tickets to the hop on hop off riverboat. It was a good way to get around. Our first stop was IconSiam. It is this relatively new mall in Bangkok. The mall was huge and like almost everything else in Thailand it was ornate. It was nice to get out of the heat - the sun was strong and it was very humid in the afternoon. The mall also had some nice outdoor balconies with views of the Bangkok skyline.

We stayed at the Millennium Hilton in Bangkok. It is a great hotel. It has nice views of the city and is centrally located.  

When we finished exploring Icon Siam we took the riverboat to the flower market. This covered market had rows and rows of stalls with vendors selling fresh flowers. The flowers were beautiful and inexpensive.

We wandered around Bangkok until we found a place to get a massage. Massages in Bangkok are inexpensive (you may notice a trend - most things in Thailand are inexpensive). We all got a 60 minute foot massage for less than $20 USD. The massages were amazing. It was so relaxing and felt good after all our walking today.

This is a picture of a random street in Bangkok near the flower market. 

We finished our massages right in time for dinner. Victoria made a reservation at a restaurant located on the river. From our table we watched the sunset over Wat Arun as we ate. Once the sunset they light the temple up - it is beautiful.

After dinner Victoria and Hayden got a taxi back home and we took the riverboat back to Icon Siam, which is next to our hotel. We stayed at the Millennium Hilton. Before we called it a night we headed up to the top floor where they have 360 degree views of the Bangkok skyline. We really enjoyed seeing the city all lit up.

We like Thailand and Bangkok. The temples were beautiful, the food was delicious and the people were kind. We always felt safe and it was fairly easy to get around. The highlight of the day was spending time with Victoria and Hayden. It was great to catch up with them, and to hear more about how they met and how they ended up in Bangkok.