Our first full day in Bangkok began in a leisurely fashion by having the free buffet breakfast that came with the room and having sussed out the local area, we were able to get to find our way to the Central Pier located underneath the Sathon Bridge to catch the ferry up the Chao Phraya River to Wat Pho where the massive Reclining Buddha is located. Having wandered around sufficiently, we walked through the humid heat to the Royal Palace that is located right next door. Apparently my shorts were considered inappropriate and I had to done some trendy pants that have probably been worn by countless number of tourists before me (I don't even want to know if they have been washed…).
The grand palace has a temple of it’s own and it is here that the Emerald Buddha is located. Whilst much smaller in stature to that of the Reclining Buddha, it is made of precious stones (hence the name, duh!) and precious metals such as gold. Other interesting areas of the Royal palace include the weapons museum and royal artefact/Thai coin museum. It was fairly heavy work walking through the palatial grounds as the stifling heat and muggy humidity ensure that we were sweating profusely throughout the touring. Having drunk a number of bottles of water, neither of us needed to go to the bathroom – thought I’d put a bit of inappropriateness into this blog hahaha.
A short lunch stop in much welcomed air conditioning and then it was down past the markets to the river-crossing pier to catch the ferry across the Chao Phraya River (it costs a measly 3baht). Unfortunately we had crossed a few hundred miles up river from where we really wanted to go and so had to hit the back roads using educated guesses as to the direction of Wat Arun (known by foreigners as the Temple of Dawn). The searing heat was relentless and arriving at the temple finally, we had to sit and rest for quite a while before able to continue on.
The main feature of Wat Arun is the main tower located in the middle of the grounds and climbing up about halfway to the top where spectacular views of Bangkok and it’s river surround you as you circumnavigate the top of the tower. The cool breeze was also very comforting even if the steps and lack of safety railings was fairly concerning for someone who is quite afraid of heights!
Having seen enough of temples and palaces for one day, we called it a day and caught the ferry and BTS back to the hotel. Tonight’s choice of cuisine was the nearby Maccas and a taste test of the Samurai Pork Burger. A bit too sweet and covered in too much sauce, I’d rate it a 6 out of 10.
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