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Today was the first full day in Bangkok and we had a full itinerary of sightseeing and tourist stuff.
First up we had to get from the hotel to the Grand Palace. Nick decided that we'd get the Sky Train and then a boat. Directions set in to google maps we set off. First off we headed to where google said the first connection was, we could see the sky train above us but no way of getting there. We headed down the street where we could see a station, once we got to the station it was difficult to work out where or how to get tickets. Eventually joining a queue we pointed at the map on the phone and we purchase tickets for everyone. Once on the train it the map on the train did not match the map on the phone. A very kind Thai person helped and pointed out the directions on the phone were for the bus and not the sky train. They pointed out where we needed to exit and all was good.
The next part of the journey was by boat, once we got to the pier we realised there were multiple types of boat:
Again we asked for help and it turns out that the lines on the river a colour coded and not all boats stop at all destinations, we needed the Orange Line, which meant that the boat had an orange flag.
In Thailand everyone has to have their shoulders covered and men to have to have their legs covered to enter the temples. Outside the temples you can buy clothing to cover you up.
To get entry to the Grand Palace it is free for Thai nationals and ฿500 (Thai baht approximately £11 when we visited).
I really don't know what to say about The Grand Palace other than if you are in Bangkok you really should go and see and witness it is truly amazing. Every direction that you turn there is just incredible art works, sculptures, murals and highly decorated buildings. It really is immense and kind of overwhelming.
Just before we came to Thailand, the Queen Mother Sirikit died on 24 October. Her body is lying in state in the Grand Palace for 1 year so that the Thai nationals can go pay their respect, while we were there there were queues of people (all dressed in black) and school children all dress immaculately in their school uniforms.
After we'd eaten lunch we walked a short distance from the Grand Palace to the Temple of the Reclining Buddha also known as Wat Pho. This was another incredible sight and this time ฿300 (approximately £8 when we went). The size is literally jaw dropping, It is 46 meters in length, the body is all gold and the underside of the feet are decorated in mother of pearl.
We then had to dash to get to the departure place for the boat trip that we had booked, we were due to be there for 14:20 and at 14:00 we were 15 minutes away with no sign of the boat we needed to get there. Fortunately Mike Johnson was already there and he managed to stall them.
The boat trip was fantastic. The highlights were:
We went past the Siriraj hospital in Bangkok where the king had been treated and all the Thai people loved the king even more because of him going and staying in a public hospital rather than being treated at his palace.
We got to feed catfish. The boat stopped and the catfish flooded to the boat and we were sold bits of bread that we could throw over and the lady giving the tour described the fish as men who never go to the gym. They are all floppy.
We saw our first water monitors, aka Bangkok Dragons, basking in the sun on the concrete jetties.
After the boat trip we walked back to our hotel and then went our separate ways, the rest all went out to Khoa San Road area, while Susan and I head to Sirocco a roof top bar on a 64 floor building. this is a bar that was in the film Hangover 2, bu we went there as my friend Stepphen highly recommend it to me.
The views were exceptional and as were the drink prices. I had a hangovertini and Susan had a mojito then for the second round I ahd a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and Susan a rework of a Negroni, in all I spent about £160 for 4 drinks but we had a fantastic time.
We finished our night off with a night cap at Drunken Room.