Bangkok, Thailand

We took a 2 hour drive into Bangkok, a bustling city of over 8 million whose major industry is auto manufacturing, although ironically they impose a 200% sales tax on Thais purchasing vehicles.

Our 1st stop was at The Grand Palace. We had been warned in advance about the chaotic traffic and likely crowds. The good news was the congestion wasn't too bad as many businesses for closed for 2 weeks for the Chinese New Year. The bad news was all those on vacation seemed to be at the Grand Palace. Getting though the narrow entrance was not for the faint hearted and Brett experienced an east vs. west encounter with an elderly, 4' tall Chinese lady, who barged her way thru the queue. When she reached Brett, who had nowhere to go, she shouldered him aggressively although he couldn't move. After shouldering him aggressively a 2nd time Brett looked down to try explain the situation whereupon she stabbed him with her elbow at which pint Brett hip-checked her into the wall. She left him alone after that.

Once inside the grounds it opened up and although it was still busy the crowds were less of a factor.

The Grand Palace was founded in 1782 and numerous buildings have been added over the years, with the final royal residence built in 1903. 

Monuments, spires, pinnacles, all compete for space and all feature incredibly intricate work and detail, much of it in gold and all very ornate.

The Temple of the Emerald Buddha is one of the most venerable sites in Thailand. The Buddha was rediscovered in 1434 covered in plaster and is in fact made of jade. It is considered so sacred that the king himself brings  ritual offerings and changes his seasonal dress 3 times a year: gold and sapphire in the rainy season, a diamond robe in summer and a woven saffron robe in winter .

There was so much to see and my photographs cannot possibly do justice to what we experienced.

The Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall, built, and still used, for the lying -in-state of members of the royal family.

After a delicious Thai buffet at the Mandarin Oriental we boarded a boat from their pier and cruised north up the Chao Phraya River which was a refreshing way to see many more temples and sights. Did I mention it was hot? Branching off the river are various khlongs, man-made canals where many people still live in stilted shacks.

On the way back down River we stopped at the beautiful Wat  Arun Temple (Temple of Dawn) which is currently undergoing renovation. It was built in the early 1800s and has a 225' central spire surrounded by 4 smaller identical spires.  Every square inch is covered is inlaid with Chinese porcelain. 

Our boat finally dropped us off at a nearby pier where we once again boarded the bus back to ship, just 10 minutes before it was due to depart.