It was crazy hot so we decided to cool off after the market with a swim at our hotel which had a nice pool. Afterwards we went to the Macaroni Club, a restaurant almost next door, which has a beautiful pond with koi, and statutes on the grounds. I tried Chang beer for the first time, and actually liked it. The beer is light since it is so hot most of the year. My theme in Southeast Asia would be to stick with the local beer since it is cheaper, and tastes pretty good.
We met our group at 6pm, and I immediately liked our guide Tara who surprise, surprise was Australian (almost every Contiki guide is). She was very positive, filled with excitement, and had come back from retirement to go on this tour that she had helped develop years ago. I was sure she would have great recommendations for us (this turned out to be true as you will find out if you keep reading).
We ate across the street from the hotel so we could get to know each other. I was there to spend time with my sister, and didn’t really put too much effort in making life-long friends as some people did. Plus there was this annoying guy that was thirsty to hook up with whoever he could that kept asking all the females weird questions…I will have some good stories about him and his escapades coming up. During dinner, random Thai people would come up to your table to try to sell you scorpions to eat. I passed but you’ll see what I ate later. We also got a lot of offers to buy goofy hats and all kinds of knick knacks. The night life made for great people watching, but I had no desire to go to a sex show (look up ping pong show if you are curious) with the group, which most people did. I enjoyed walking around and soaking it all in. We missed out on bonding with the group since we didn’t go…so don’t pass up on a sex show if you want to get close to your group.
I highly recommend that you go to the Grand Palace in Bangkok even though it is a clusterfuck of crowds, and you will have rude, Chinese people shoving you…so be prepared for that. There is a reason that places like this get boat loads of tourists. As a sign of respect, you must wear sleeves and cover up your knees, so I wore the elephant pants we bought at the market, plus a cardigan since I brought nothing with sleeves. I strongly recommend that you bring some clothes with sleeves if you want to visit temples, as most normal people want to. I also had a hat on…so you can imagine how I was feeling. The discomfort was so worth it.
We had a local guide that took us around the grounds and explained a ton of history to us. The capital Bangkok was established in 1782 by King Rama I, as there had been two other capitals beforehand. Construction of the palace also began in that same year. Wat Phra Kaeo is the most important Buddhist site and every good Buddhist must make a trip there to pay their respects.
We also looked at Phra Kaeo Morakot, which is carved from jade; it is where the kings of Thailand are buried. The current king does not live there, but it is used for ceremonial purposes. I also learned that there is a Buddhist Bible that is housed there. At the temples you also have to remove your shoes before you enter, like when you see the Emerald Buddha. The grounds are just filled with gorgeous structures, temples, artwork and statutes. There is gold everywhere.
After the palace tour, I was much happier since I could take off my sweater. We took a canal tour on the river Chao Phraya. We passed Wat Arun, a beautiful Buddhist temple made with Chinese porcelain. We also took part in a tradition where you feed the fish for good karma. The canal was a nice way to cool off and chill after the craziness of the palace. Once we disembarked you could buy all kinds of juices and fruits. I tried freshly made pomegranate juice, which was amazing, so much better than what you can buy at the store. Walk around and try the fruit, smoothies, and juices since they are much tastier. They made them in front of you.
