Running Around Bangkok

During this trip, I was only able to spend a total of 3 days in Bangkok (well, 4 if you count the day that I arrived and slept the whole day).  So I tried to cram as much sightseeing as I could into these few days. [I've already written about the weekend market, Thai massage, and group dinner.]

So continuing from my last post:

We took an overnight sleeper train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok.  It was a very nice, clean train, but I didn't sleep well.  We arrived in Bangkok at 6:30am and went out for our last group breakfast and said our goodbyes.  Like I mentioned before, 4 of us were continuing on for the second week to southern Thailand.  Since this was kind of a "free day," we decided to visit the Grand Palace.  

The architecture and history was quite stunning, but it was unbearably hot outside.  Thailand also has strict dress codes for visit temples and sacred places: no shorts/skirts above the knee, no leggings, shoulders must be covered, etc.  Because most people don't know these rules, the Grand Palace provides shirts/wraps/pants to those who are improperly dressed.  I ended up wearing a tank top with a cardigan and a wrap over my leggings, all in 90 degree heat.  It was overwhelming and I only lasted an hour (with frequent breaks in the shade).  But all in all, I'm glad I went.

Now since the second part of the tour was technically a separate trip, a new group of people arrived that day and went out for the introductory meeting and dinner.  I had already made dinner plans with friends from grad school, so I missed the tour group that night.  But I had a wonderful time catching up with Pink, Champ, and Waraporn!  I'm so thankful that I'm able to travel around the world and visit my friends from Leeds.

After dinner, I met up with some of the tour group and went out for drinks.  I also got a little more taste of Thai nightlife on Khao San Road (the touristy bar area).

The next day (Monday) was the official start of the next tour, which began at the temples of Wat Pho.  We saw the giant statue of the reclining Buddha and learned that it was the first university where Thai massage was taught.  It blew my mind to see centuries-old massage teachings on the walls.

Afterwards, some of the new group went to the Grand Palace, while others went for a boat tour down the canals.  

The rest of my afternoon was spent getting another massage (#4) and packing for our next overnight train to Krabi.  (I had a better night's sleep this time.)

Stay tuned for the Thailand beach experience . . .