Anyway so after taking heaps of pictures I arrived at pier 9 to go to The Grand Palace. I wasnt quite sure which direction to walk in so I kind of went with it (in the wrong direction obviously). After floating around for a while and observing all the little stalls on the side of the road and absorbing everything around me I decided to change direction only to be intercepted along the way by an enthusiastic Thai tuk-tuk driver who informed me that The Grand Palace was closed until 14h00 (two hours away). I wasnt quite sure if it was due to language barrier or what that I didnt quite get the reason it was closed (maybe for prayer) but I agreed for him to take me to three sights until it opened again. Call me blonde, naive, head in the clouds...all of the above AND I totally forgot I had read about this scam in the Lonely Planet book my darling sister had bought for me. In the back of my head I did think if it didnt work out I would still see another sight and get back to the Palace anyway so I went with it for 30 Baht.
Our first stop was the big Budda or so he called it this. It literally is a gigantic Budda hundreds of meters into the sky alongside a temple. It was magnificent, not to mention the first temple I could explore. The architecture, design, attention to detail, images inside the temple, atmosphere and all blew my mind. I took time to absorb the details before going back to the ``generous`` tuk-tuk driver.
Within 10 minutes I realised what was going on as he took me to a tailor that I needed to go into and wait for around 15 minutes, something to do with fuel money, and then we could move on. After five minutes I thought no ways this is not happening. I walked out of the shop and told him I didnt need anything and asked him to take me back. We had a little debate and neither of us was happy. It was an experience I learnt from and wanted to kick myself too. I lost so much time with that escapade, but I got to see the big Budda so it wasnt too bad afterall.
By the time I reached The Grand Palace (which was VERY open to the public) I took a breathe and collected myself. Girls please note you need to be cover from wrist to ankle. I was only covered to my wrist and wasted yet another hour or so going back and forth from the entrance to the area where you rent clothes. So finally after an entire morning spent trying to get to the Palace..I was here. I cannot begin to describe the beauty, abundance of temples and structures so I hope my pictures can do some justice...I highly recommend going there if you have time in Bangkok. I loved every minute of it, even being fully clothed in scorching heat condition. I just absorbed every detail around me and tried to imagine what life was like then and there, attempting to get a better understanding of the country I was in. It gave me a real feel that I was an exploring backpacker in Thailand and it all felt so surreal...
I must admit that I did find it rather difficult to navigate myself around this area of Bangkok and it took me a decent amount of hours to get back to the BTS Train without spending a small fortune on a taxi. In saying that I somehow ended up at the Flower Market and walked along the river, observed raw areas, small alleys and the life of the city.
All in all with the snags I had an amazing first day exploring. The people are friendly, some helpful, the streets are busy day and night, the air is warm, the environment is new and exciting and I cant be happier...And it can only get better each day!
Ha ha a funny story about the temple being closed :-) at least that won't happen again!
ReplyDelete