Our next stop was Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. I had visited Thailand twice before; this was Alice’s first time in Thailand. I had chosen a small, family-run “poshtel” (essentially an upscale hostel) on a relatively quiet, dead-end street in the Old District of Bangkok.
On our first day in Bangkok, we had an American breakfast, a Japanese lunch, and an Indian buffet supper. Days later, we finally found a Thai restaurant near our hotel for an authentic Thai meal.
Our first adventure in Bangkok was taking the hop-on, hop-off boat along the Chao Phraya River. We viewed the city from the river and stopped to explore a large modern mall.
The next day, we set out to see some of the temples in Bangkok.
We started by walking to the end of our dead-end street out to a major road. Several tuk-tuks were waiting. (A tuk-tuk is the nickname for an auto-rickshaw, a three-wheeled, open-air motorized vehicle, named for the sound its tiny motors make.)
I approached the first tuk-tuk and asked to go to the Grand Palace to see the Golden Buddha. The driver informed me that the Grand Palace wouldn’t open until 11 am. He offered to take me to a different palace. I ignored him and walked to another tuk-tuk. This driver brought us there with no issues. The Grand Palace was, of course, open. Alice immediately learned not to trust anything tuk-tuk drivers told her!
Once again, I was denied entry because I was wearing shorts. This time, I bought a pair from one of the handy vendors standing near the entrance for that exact purpose. See photo.
On our way out of the Palace, we happened on the Changing of the Guard ceremony and stayed to watch it.
After visiting the Grand Palace, we walked out to the nearest street to catch another tuk-tuk to ride to Wat Pho to see the massive, gold-leaf-covered 150-foot long Reclining Buddha.
In Thailand, all of the tuk-tuks have a high platform in the back where passengers sit. Alice had difficulty climbing up to the platform. The driver shoved her, hurting her. I intervened and gently lifted her up. This made her dislike tuk-tuk drivers even more.
After we reached Wat Pho, the driver offered to take us to a different Buddhist temple instead of letting us off. We were already at Wat Pho! I insisted that he allow us to climb down before paying him. At this point, Alice really disliked tuk-tuk drivers!
For our next adventure, we booked an all-day tour to the Railway Market and the Floating Market. Rather than board another tuk-tuk, a van picked us up at our hotel.
The first stop was the Mae Klong-Ban Laem Railway Market. It is referred to as the life-risking market because its stalls are adjacent to the railway. Vendors at the market set up parasols or canvas to protect themselves from the sun. The shelters stick into the railway where visitors walk and do their shopping. When each train arrives, vendors rush to close their parasols and canvas, along with clearing all goods that will obstruct the coming train.
Once the train passes, parasols and canvas are reopened as goods are again put into their usual place next to the railroad. The above photo of me standing on the railroad appears as if I’m standing in front of a moving train. The reality is that I’m standing on the tracks after the train has passed.
For the second stop of the day, we boarded a classic “long tail boat” for a Floating Market.
After riding through the Floating Market, we disembarked the long-tail boat. While helping Alice out of the boat, I slipped and sprained my ankle.
The constant heat and oppressive humidity made stepping outside feel like stepping into a furnace. As a result, we spent much of the rest of our time in Thailand hiding in our air-conditioned room and resting my sprained ankle.