2017-11 Grand Palace (Bangkok, Thailand)

My first attempt at the Grand Palace didn't end up materializing. It was the royal ceremony of the changing of the Emerald Buddha's costume from the rainy to winter season. In Thailand, there are three seasons: hot, rainy and winter. November 4th just happened to be the day of the robe change.

Grand Palace

My second attempt was more successful, participating in the Urban Adventures Temple and River Kings tour. The benefit of the tour is that our guide left us to take photos within the welcoming area of the Grand Palace while he went off to purchase our entrance tickets. He also got us through shorter lines for entrance as well as providing background on the different monuments.

Exterior of the Emerald Buddha temple

Fortunately, we were now able to see the Emerald Buddha, even if we couldn't take photos of it. It is a petite 26 inches tall; and, it's actually made of jade. We had to leave our shoes outside of this temple to enter.

In fact, the Grand Palace has the strictest dress code of all. No shorts allowed. For the one guy who had shown up to the tour in shorts, our guide, quickly pointed him to 100 baht "elephant pants". For women, long pants or a long skirt is required. It needs to cover one's ankles. Shoulders must be covered for both men and women.

A giant demon gaurdian

Yet, you don't want to miss a chance to visit this complex. It is extensive! Even walking to get to the entrance was over a kilometer plus what seemed like another 1/2 kilometer to get to the ticket booth. Once inside, we saw the gigantic "giants" that had been mentioned in Wat Pho. These are demon guardians.

Golden stuppa

We also saw a giant stuppa covered in gold leaf. This was built by King Rama V; and, he had the gold leaf imported from Italy. Another iconic piece is a model replica of Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat was part of the kingdom of Siam from the 15th-19th centuries.

Model of Angkor Wat

Quick notes:
- dress appropriately: shoulders covered, no shorts, women need to cover their ankles
- 500 baht entrance fee
- have a back-up day in case your first choice is closed for a ceremony

2017-11 Canals of Bangkok (Thailand)

My friend heard that Bangkok is like Venice. Canals and boats certainly play a large function in transportation, especially in the areas around the river that runs through Bangkok. There were so many boats that we rode in Thailand overall. In Bangkok, we rode in two types: a wooden longboat with a motor through a canal tour and the ferry boats to travel up and down or cross the river.

View along the canals of Bangkok

Every adventure was distinctly unique. Usually, it started with trying to get in the boat in the first place. On the wooden boat, we stepped, or sat down on the dock and slid into the boat. It was a tricky maneuvering. Plus, once the motor got going along the river, we were being splashed as the it bounced along the waves made by more powerful speedboats. Even our guide used his umbrella as a shield against the spraying water.

Ferry boat

On our first ferry ride as an Intrepid group, we had to skip our first entrance to the dock, which was flooded, and walk down to the second entrance. We weren't the only tourists there. First, though, we all had to wait for those who were getting off the ferry. Then, it was our rush to all get on the ferry. "Go, go, go!" Our guide made sure that all twelve of us made it. Since it was morning, most of us were evfen able to get a seat as we rode our multiple stops to Arun Wat.

Flooded dock is still in service. Ferry riders walk on the planks balanced on the sandbags

At Arun Wat, we switched to a different ferry. While we were waiting on the dock, it rolled up and down with the waves coming in. Finally, we were on the ferry, making the short trip across the river, where we were shooed to quickly get off the boat. This dock was so flooded that there was a couple wooden planks laid out for us to walk across. The shops at the end of the dock were flooded with a couple of feet of water.

Shops flooded in the morning

And dry in the afternoon

In the afternoon, when we braved the ferry to get home (it is still better/faster than bus 53!), the shops previously flooded were now dry and open and for business. The walkway to the dock had also dried out. Now, it was just a matter of somehow cramming in with the masses without accidentally touching a monk. Monks have reserved standing area at the back of the boat. Plus, women should not touch or even talk to monks.

Looking back at Arun Wat and the dock from the ferry

"Inside, inside!" directed the lady collecting tickets. Then, at our stop, we were squeezing through the people lining the hall and stairs up to the exit. "Out, out, out!" yelled the guy on the boat with the whistle. He'd sound the whistle as we approached a dock and would then tie us to the dock with one rope while we all disembarked and boarded the ferry. A must experience for Bangkok!

Quick notes:
- tickets are generally purchased from a ticket seller before getting on the boat. You'll need to have this ticket handy in case there is another ticket seller on the boat.
- fares range. We paid between 4.5 - 15 baht for each ride

2017-11 Wat Pho (Bangkok, Thailand)

A "wat" in Thailand is Buddhist monastery or temple. Wat Pho was the first "wat" that I visited in Thailand. It's located not far from the Grand Palace in Rattanakosin Island in Bangkok.

Giant reclining Buddha

The main feature of this temple is a reclining Buddha. It is gigantic! Housed within it's own temple, the Buddha stretches 46 meter (150 ft) long and 15 meter (50 ft) tall. The Buddha was built by Rama III in 1832. It was built out of bricks and then entirely gilded in gold. Even just entering the building and seeing the Buddha's head high above is impressive. The interior walls of the temple housing the reclining Buddha are covered in intricate mural paintings with gold leaf detailing.

Mural paintings inside the temple

 We removed our shoes and carried them in a red plastic bag provided by the temple. Entering on the right side, we first saw the Buddha's face high above us. We shuffled through on bare or stockinged feet, stopping to try to get good photos between the pillars holding up the temple ceiling. The entire time, we could hear dinging, like the sound of coins being thrown into something metal.

Metal bowls for donations along left outer wall

Then, we were shuffling past the Buddha's feet, ornately decorated on the soles in mother of pearl. Outside, we attempted to take full-length photos of the Buddha through the screen's over the windows. Then, we were shuffling past the back of the Buddha. Now, we could see where the pinging noise had came from: we could pay 20 baht for a container of coins to put into metal donation bowls along the outer wall of the temple. 

Traditional medical school

While the reclining Buddha is the main attraction at Wat Pho, it also houses the first public university within Thailand. According to Wikipedia, the traditional medical portion of the school wasn't started until 1955. We looked at the diagrams drawn on the walls for the students' learning. Even today, the traditional Thai massage continues within Wat Pho.

Stuppa for one of the King Rama's ashes

In addition, there are several temples with Buddhas, stuppas for kings' ashes and galleries full of Buddhas, both sitting and standing. A person can pay to be buried under one of the Buddhas in the galleries. Overall, the complex is immense. I visited it three times; and, each time, I saw something and learned something new.

Chinese Confucious scholar sculpture. We were told that it was brought over simply because the ships needed more ballast

Quick notes:

- admission for non-Thais is 100 Baht. Exact change ONLY

- open 8-6:30

- wear shoes that you can slip off to enter the many temples

- if you are not dressed appropriately, you will be provided with an appropriate covering

2017-11 National Museum, Bangkok (Thailand)

Buddha from 16th century AD, Ayutthaya style, Phra Nakhon Si

Google maps isn't always the best judge of how to get from point A to point B, especially in a country other than the U.S. After attempting to follow, Google, I ended up inside a walled complex, where I asked a young couple where the museum was. They were also tourists. However, a local heard us talking in English and came to our rescue, giving us directions to get to the National Museum. Following his directions, I got a bit closer before turning into another walled complex and asking a military policeman, who pointed me further down the road. Finally, though, I arrived to the National Museum, with a friendly employee pointing me to the ticket office.

Map of National Museum

Upon purchasing my ticket, the cashier handed me a map of the complex with over half of the rooms crossed off. "These are all closed?" I asked. She pointed me to the sign next to the window "No Refunds". Huh. Well, now that I was here, time to explore.

Vishnus from 6th-86h century A.D., from Si Maha Phot

If you only have time to see one hall in the National Museum, my recommendation would be 1: "Siwamokkhaphiman Audience Hall and Gallery of Thai History". It has a video in the beginning with subtitles in English walking through the different time periods in Thai history. This really helps to put into perspective the artifacts within this hall. 

Even the halls are historic buildings. This sign reminds us not to touch the railing next to the stairs

Within the hall, there are choice pieces from the museum's permanent collection. It covers all time periods from pre-history to the Bangkok period. My favorite pieces are usually the oldest; and, this gallery was no exception. There was a beautiful representation of a Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara from the 9th century AD (Srivijaya style).

Bodhisattva Avaokiteshvara from Wat Wiang, 9th century AD, Srivijaya style

While most of the items were representations of gods or religious stories, there were also a few choice urbane pieces, such as a bas relief depicting female musicians. This is also from the 8th-9th century (Dvaravati style).

Female musicians, 8th-9th century AD, Dvaravati style, found at Khu Bua

The other halls within the museum contain so many different historical items! Even though the 500s rooms were closed for renovations, visiting the rooms numbered in the 300s and 400s yielded a wealth of items from all time periods within Thai history. In addition, there were several items from around the world, mostly southeast Asia.

First Thai typewriter

Definitely give yourself several hours to visit this beautiful museum, whether all the galleries are open or not.

Quick notes:

- 200 Baht entrance fee

- open 9 am - 4 pm, Wed thru Sunday and national holidays (except New Year and Songkran)