Last Two Days In Bangkok

Chapter Three

Grand Palace

We had two days left In Bangkok and the Grand Palace was something I really wanted to see. Before we took off to other parts of the country, we had gone to the Grand Palace and had been greeted by this very kind man who explained that it was about to close for the day. He then gave us a map and directed us to a tut tut which would take us to another temple and a nearby gem market. In my mind, I was thinking of a true market with many vendors selling stones and gems. We said, “That sounds good.” Off we went. This tut tut took us to a jewelry store; a fancy, fancy jewelry store. We were greeted by people in formal attire and a boat load of diamonds, sapphires and rubies. And guess what… the gentleman we talked with is from Tampa! Believe it or not, yes, Tampa. He sure would have liked to sell us a ruby. That is what I said we would look at when asked. Knowing very well that Stewart was not going to buy me a ruby. I talked our way out of the building but began to think that we were on a no return ride. The driver did take us to a temple and to a fabric store which was very small and fancy, complete with a tailor ready to make a suit for Stewart. We got out of there very fast. We had the driver take us to the river where we got on a boat which cruised through a canal where we saw people’s homes and temples before we were dropped off at a huge, magnificent temple. Another boat ride took us back up the river to our port. When we got back to our room, I was reading “Do’s and Don’ts in Bangkok” which included: #13: DON’T LET A TUT-TUT DRIVER TAKE YOU TO A GEM SHOP. Lesson learned.

We did make it to the Grand Palace the last day we were both there. We went in the morning because it was to be another very hot day. Well, as we are walking through the gates, around ten buses of people from China were also entering. That in and of itself changed our experience. These people were shorter than Stewart and me, and many of them had umbrellas that were in our faces all the time. They push and shove their way through the lines. It seemed to be a behavior they all shared, but I don’t think they realize how that effects the others around them. A few times I wanted to say something like, “Excuse me, but I’m standing right here and you are pushing me and your damn umbrella is poking me!” But I didn’t, and we figured out a way to get out of their way.

Group Selfie at the Grand Palace

The palace has some major temples within the compound. The history of the dynasties is told by realistic paintings on panels. We studied these paintings for some time before we came across a monk who was painting over the paintings, slowing following the lines. I suppose restoring it. Just by looking at these painted murals, I felt as though I had learned more of the history of the palace and Thailand.

The Grand Palace

This being our last night, Stewart took me on a dinner cruise. What a trip that was. Once again, the port was a block from our hotel… very handy. We got our tickets along with thousands of others. We were early, so we sat down and had a cocktail while watching the sun set across the river and behind skyscrapers. At one point there was an amazing amount of dinning cruise lines that’d pull in, load up and then pull out. Then comes a couple more cruise lines repeating this activity. So sitting there drinking wine I watched what I thought seemed to be thousands of people getting on these boats, it was very entertaining. 

Then came our turn to stand in line to board, and while standing there, I started talking to this nice younger lady from Malaysia and we hit it off big time. We chatted all the way to the boat. There were two cruise boats right next to each other. A “welcome to us” was announced with ladies doing a Thai dance. Then the gates opened and onto the boat we went. We had seats on the upper level and everything was in place for service. As I sat there, I figured there were 500 people on the upper level which meant a thousand people on our boat, and another thousand on the other boat that attaches and all the people inter that boat through the first boat. Which makes that two thousand people at one time. And they do this every day! Yikes. I know what it’s like to serve large numbers of people and these folks had it down, big time. The food was good and plenty, and I realized that everyone had been served in thirty minutes. I talked with the manager afterwards and gave him kudos. He confirmed my numbers: they do seat one thousand people per boat. There was live entertainment and we were sitting back, relaxing, drinking wine when this couple we had just met came to our table to join us. Yeah! She likes to dance and pulled me onto the dance floor at the bow. We had a blast and many others joined in. It felt so good, with the night sky and moon shining on us with a warm breeze and looking out into the city of Bangkok, life is good. What a wonderful time that was. Thanks, Stewart, for making those arrangements.

A night on the Chao Phraya river

Stewart had to fly back to Jakarta before returning to Tampa (a government requirement) and I was scheduled to fly to Beijing. Stewart left in the early morning on the 13^th which meant I had the whole day to myself. I scheduled a cooking class which had received great reviews. We were all packed, ready to go our different ways when I opened my email. That in itself is a big deal because Wi-Fi was terrible in our little boutique hotel. There was a message from United airlines saying there was inclement weather coming into Chicago and strongly suggested I change my return flight into the USA, free of charge. Now I had to get to my class and did not have time to get through to the airlines, I needed to get to my cooking class.

So I took a tut tut to this Sompong Thai cooking class. It was 8 am and already very hot. As we waited for the students to arrive for the class we were handed a fan and bottle of water. The fan did come in handy while out and about. They took us to the market where they explained how coconut milk and cream are made, and the difference in eggplant, peppers, ginger, etc. I learned a lot at the market and in class. It was so hot I was dreading the class because I figured the room would not be air conditioned and I didn’t know how well I’d do inside with this heat and had wished I had worn something different. I was pleasantly surprised when we got to the third floor classroom it has air conditioning and they offered a lovely, light refreshing ice tea. My teacher was very good at what she does and has a good since of humor which makes the class a lot of fun. We learned how to make: chicken stir fry, Tom Yum Goong, curry paste, Mussaman curry with chicken and pumpkin coconut dessert that was divine. I’m happy to say that since I’ve been back to Tampa I’ve found an Asian store that sells many of the products we used in Bangkok I could even get the pumpkin they grow there. So I’ve prepared a number of Thai foods items with great success.

Market. Learning the in’s and out’s of shopping. Shredding coconut and making coconut milk & cream. Students in class and the finished product

I had thought that after the cooking class I’d do a little last-minute shopping. What I didn’t realize was that Friday the 13th was Thailand’s NEW YEAR so many shops were closed. The ritual in Thailand on the New Year, is to have water guns of all sorts, shapes and sizes. Buckets and garden hoses are set up on corners. It was around 98 degrees—very hot; a perfect day for this water-drenching celebration, and it was funny to see so many people of all ages carrying water guns down the streets. These people are relentless. I avoided the corners and decided to go back to the hotel. I did take one last walk to the river and stand on the deck taking it all in before I take off.

With a few hours left to myself I decided I should get to the airport and figure out my traveling plans for the next day. Since airports are known to be a good place to pick up souvenirs, I thought I could shop there. Well, I don’t understand how there can be hundreds of people in the perfume stores at the airport. I just don’t get it…

Goodbye, Thailand what a colorful country you are!

Thai restaurant

Thai restaurant

very cool tut tut

photo of a sign

Home on the river

yes, this big guy was alive and well

Thai restaurant

Thai restaurant

yes, this big guy was alive and well

photo of a sign

very cool tut tut