Bangkok with a Guide

Two different building styles. The one on the left uses the Chinese porcelian
see all photos »

We usually aren't tour kind of people. We read up on where we are going, figure out what we want to do, and set forth to do it. We decided to be really different this time and actually hire a tour guide for the day! Yes, I know that it is shocking. We read a lot of good things about a guide named Tong and tried very hard to book her. Well, apparently lots of other people read the same good things and she was booked. She sent one of her other guides instead. His name was Jerry and he was great. He met us at our hotel bright and early at 830am and we set off. Getting a cab with Jerry was WAY easier than our experience the night before. After he had a quick discussion with the cab driver about where we wanted to go, we were off and the meter was on. We inquired about the whole no one wanting to use the meter thing and he said that it is because we are tourists. I am not sure how the cab drivers know that we are tourists.. Its not like we are carrying around a map or a guide book. :)

The guards (and their guns)
see all photos »

Our first stop of the day was the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Jerry knew all sorts of interesting facts about these places and we spent way more time where with him than we would have by ourselves. We arrived just in time for changing on the guard, which was done with way less pomp and circumstance than changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. There were also no horses. The guards are organized and they carry really big guns. I think if you have guns that size, then you don't need horses. Next we headed onto the grounds of the Grand Palace and managed to get hustled by another tour guide. Jerry was quick to jump in and explain that we were with him. I really wanted a sign for the day to hang around my neck to say that I had a tour guide and didn't need anything!

In the long boat
see all photos »

Our first stop within the palace grounds was at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. We learned about all the different buildings around the building that housed the Buddha as well as about the different architecture styles. Different Kings commissioned different buildings to be built and the styles of the buildings reflect what that king's taste was. For example King Rama III started trading with the Chinese and imported lots of Chinese porcelain. This was used very liberally on the outside of the temple related buildings that he had built. We got to go inside and see the Emerald Buddha and learned all the important rules for going into a temple. First, you must take off your shoes. Make sure you are wearing socks that you don't mind people seeing! Shoes that slip on and off are a big plus too. Next, don't step on the raised threshold at the bottom of the door. It is raised to keep demons out and if you step on it, the demons will be able to enter you. This applies to all buildings with raised thresholds, not just temples. Then when you get inside you have talk in a soft voice and when you sit on the floor, don't point your feet towards the Buddha. We learned that the Emerald Buddha really isn't made out of emerald, but out off something that I can't remember. He was made a long time ago and no one was sure what he was made out of for a while, so they called him the Emerald Buddha and the name stuck.

The really long reclining Buddha
see all photos »

The Grand Palace is quite pretty with lots of different buildings. You can't go in any of them, but you can walk all over the grounds. The Grand Palace is just used for ceremonies and such now. No member of the Royal family actually lives here anymore. There are some very interesting buildings as you walk along. A lot of them have elevated platforms because the King (and I am not sure if this is still true now) was considered more important than a mere mortal and as such, his feet were not able to touch the ground/earth. So they have platforms where he could get on and off his elephant and his litter. As we were leaving, I think that the guard was changing again, cause a lot of soldiers marched by. Again, no horses, just big guns.

The very French style temple
see all photos »

Next we headed to the river where Jerry got us a long boat to take a tour. It was a bit to much boat for three of us, but there were no smaller options. I enjoyed the trip along the river and canals, but wouldn't want to have tried this by ourselves. Jerry and the driver had many conversations about exactly where we were going and I wouldn't have had a clue where to go. Like the roadways, the waterways are every man for himself. Lots of people live on the waterways. They even get their newspaper and mail via the water. Currently most of the houses are very long income, but you can see signs of the upper class moving back to the water. Jerry says in about 20 years it will be all fancy houses. There are many temples (Wat) that are along the water and no one is allowed to fish in front of the temples. Fish aren't dumb, so they all hang out around the temples. You can buy bread via a complex pulley and bucket system and feed the fish. We fed a large group of enormous catfish. They even let you touch them. Unfortunately the pictures don't do justice to the large amount of fish all on the surface of the water.

Wedged in the Tuk-Tuk
see all photos »

After arriving back on land, we visited the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, where you guessed it, the Buddha is laying down. This is an amazingly long Buddha. Buddha's feet are decorated with many symbolic pictures all inlaid with mother of pearl. It must have taken a long time to complete. This temple contains many small bowls that run the length of the temple (and the Buddha). People buy enough coins to put one in each bowl, so as you are walking through the temple the almost musical sound of many coins landing in many bowls can be heard in the background. They do this for merit making. Any money that you donate in the temple will be waiting for you in the afterlife.

Then Jerry took us to an amazing place. It is rows of stall down a few smaller streets and it is the flower market. Here you can buy cut flowers of any variety. One side of the street is for exotic flowers and the other for local flowers. If I lived here, I would addicted to this place. A large bunch (over a dozen) roses is about $2. And that's the marked price. It is expected that you barter and pay less than the marked price. They had some fruit for sale here too and I was surprised to see that they had Washington State apples for sale here. I didn't a chance to see how much they were, but I am betting that they cost less than they do at the supermarket in Washington.

Our next mode of transportation is a cute little car called a Tuk-Tuk. These are almost like overgrown golf carts that have three wheels. They are open air and a popular way to get around. Unlike taxis these have no meters at all, so the driver tells you how much it will cost to go where you want. These are not good for longer drivers or if the traffic is bad, since the only air conditioning is the wind when you are moving. Jerry, Jeff, and I just managed to fit in the back (the only front seat is for the driver), but according to Jerry, you can fit up to 8 Thais (plus the driver) on one of these. As you will see in the days to come, I develop a growing fascination with the number of people that can fit on different modes of transportation.

The Tuk-Tuk let us off in front of a temple, who's name I don't know. It was built by King Rama V. He was the first king to travel to England and he loved to bring back different architectural ideas with him. This temple is built in a very French style and some of the outlying buildings are round. The inside is amazingly French, with crystal chandeliers and Fleur du Lies on the walls. We then battled traffic in a cab and had lunch, which gave us a chance to hang out in the air conditioning for a while.

Then we headed off in a water taxi. These zip up and down small canals and they stop at the stops barely long enough to let people on and off. A moment of hesitation and you can get left behind! I am not sure that we will be attempting this mode of transport by ourselves. It is a lot faster than sitting in traffic though! Our final stop (yes, you really are almost done reading this) was at the Jim Thompson house. Jim Thompson was a rich American who ran a silk company. He loved it in Thailand and decided to live here. He built an amazing house from teak with a nice mixture of Thai and Western styling. He disappeared on a trip to Cambodia (I don't remember when) a good number of years ago, and now his house is a museum. We took a nice tour (with our shoes off). We braved the water taxi back and Jerry deposited us tired and sweaty, but a whole lot smarter in the lobby of our hotel.