Sunday, August 26, 2007
We accidentally fell asleep at 6pm the night before, so we of course woke up around 5 am - bright eyed and bushy tailed, but no where to go! So we waited for the cafe to open up downstairs for breakfast.
On the way downstairs, we heard loud marching band music. Playing the same marching band songs we were familiar with from high school and college football games. Where in the world are we? Peaking out onto the street, we watched a parade go by, with people dressed in various costumes. We talked to a local who told us that today is the Mini-Marathon. Which is oddly called the "Bangkok to Sydney Mini-Marathon". Last time I looked at a map, I think it was more than 26.2 miles (marathon distance) to Sydney...but I'm no expert!
Returning back to the cafe, we were the first and only customers (who else would be crazy enough to wake up by 6am on a Sunday???) After another yummy breakkie of croissants and espresso, we headed out for a full day of touring. Our plan was to walk down the road to visit the Grand Palace & Emerald Buddha, then head over to the shopping district to find iPod Speakers. Somehow, we instead ended up visiting almost all the major tourist sights --- in one day. It just happened that way -- we'd walk by a neighborhood, spot a sight, and say "hey, we're here - let's just check it out real quick!". Here's a rundown of the lovely sights we visited on our Marathon Day:
Wat Phra Kaew (also known as "The Emerald Buddha"): A relatively small buddha figure made entirely of jasper. The Buddha statue's history is interesting, as it spent many years hidden under layers of stucco and also seized by the Laos army, relocatated to Laos before being recaptured and relocated by the Thai people. The grounds and buildings surroundng the Emerald Buddha's latest home are gorgeous -- detailed, intricate temples.
The Grand Palace: Former royal residence, now used for ceremonial purposes by the Royal Thai family. Lovely grounds and buildings, though most are closed off for security. Entrance is included in the ticket to the Emerald Buddha (250 Baht per person (about $7.50 US)). Don't bother getting the audio tour (200 Baht) - it's pretty long and dull. Be sure to visit the small museum (included in entrance fee) - to see the crown jewels and the Emerald Buddha's seasonal attire - and it's air-conditioned!
Wat Pho (also known as "The Reclining Buddha"): This is a HUGE GOLD Buddha statue, laying on it's side with it's head resting on it's hand. This is the largest Buddha in the country, at over 46 meters (about 130 feet) long and 15 meters (about 45 feet) tall. Absolutely Ginormous! It is made of plaster, with a brick core and gold-leaf outer layer. Mother-of-earl ornaments the eyes and feet. Admission is 50 Baht per person (about $1.50 US)
Wat Arun: I call this one "The Gaudi Temple". It is a beautiful temple (no Buddha) that you can climb to the top for beautiful panoramic views of the city. Looking closely at the temples, you see that decorative patterns are actually made up of broken porcelain dish pieces! It reminds me of Park Guell (spelling?) in Barcelona, Spain - designed by Antonio Gaudi. He used broken bits of porcelain and glass to decorate his creative public park. Wat Arun is located conveniently across the river from The Reclining Buddha. You can take a cheap (3 Baht, about 10 cents US) water ferry across the river to the temple. Admission is 20 Baht per person (about 60 cents US).
Wat Saket (also known as "The Golden Mount"). This is an active temple surrounded by traditional Asian houses that the monks live in. The golden temple rests on top of a mountain of earth. A couple staircases wind up and around the mountan and temple, and the rooftop provides a beautiful panoramic view of the city. Admission (donation) is 10 Baht per person (about 30 cents US).
Note of Caution: Beware of the scam artists lurking around these tourist attractions. We were approached by dozens of them, telling us that the sights were closed (a lie!) and offering us cheap tuk-tuk rides. This is the same scam that we got suckered into yesterday. They can also get really angry - so just walk away. I attempted to warn another tourist who was told that the Grand Palace was closed (it was really open) - and a tuk-tuk driver got angry, yelled at us, and even followed us in his tuk-tuk down the street!
After a fun, but exhausting, day of touring all these sights, we made our way to the shopping district in search of iPod speakers. Before we left the US, we planned on buying them in the US, but at the last minuted decided to wait till we got to Asia --assuming that the selection and price was better in Asia. Oh were we wrong!
First, we wandered through the shoppers mecca of Siam Center, which is flanked on either side by the Paragon and Discovery Centers. All of these are nice enclosed shopping malls. Paragon is the high-end center offering such shops as Chanel and Lamborghini (yes, you can buy an Lamborghini in the mall!!!). Siam and Discovery Centers offer more moderately priced shops such as Nike, Timberland, Benneton, Apple Computers, etc. The prices seemed higher and selection much less than the US, though. In a few stores, such as The North Face store, we spotted some knock-offs mixed in with the real items. We were also surprised to see a Tip Jar on the sales desk of the Apple Computer store.
We grabbed lunch at the food court in Siam Center, which was really cool. They give you a debit card when you enter, and the food vendors swipe your card when you select your food/drinks. When you leave, you hand the cashier your debit card and then pay the full bill.
Having no luck finding a nice set of travel speakers for our iPods, we headed across the street to the famous shopping mecca called "MBK". We had heard that this was the place to go to find loads of electronic goodies at cheap prices. Well... it turned out to be partly true. It was a 7-story shopping mall - with very tight small crowded walkways lined with hundreds of kiosks - don't go if you are clausterphobic and don't like crowds. We found a ka-zillion different mobile phones for sale by the hawkers. But not much more for other electronics. They all appeared to be cheap Chinese-made knock-offs at so-so prices. Tired and empty-handed, we escaped the madness of the mall and headed home. Luck was in our way, as the first bus we caught just happened to be a direct bus that would take us across the city and drop us right in front of our hotel.
We grabbed our bags from the hotel (free luggage storage) and headed down the road to a travel agency. We had booked an overnight bus & ferry ticket to go to Koh Tao, an island in the south eastern coast. The bus was scheduled to leave at 8pm (10pm in reality), with a transfer in Chumpon to the ferry to Koh Tao at 7am. We highly recommend this way for you travellers going to Koh Tao. The air-conditioned bus was very comfortable and clean with large reclining seats, and the ferry was quick. It cost 750 Baht per person (about $22 US). The company is Lomprayah and you can buy it through any travel agency. We arrived in Koh Tao by 9 am on Monday morning.
Cheers,
Kay
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