Temples and Tuk-Tuks and Tourists, Oh My!
A fantastic first day in Bangkok! Jenny and I went out to see what we could see. We started off at the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha). The sites were amazing and the tourists were a hoot, myself included. There were more than one mix up as Jenny and I got through the gate but we did make it. The grounds to these two sites were just breath taking, mosaic glass pieces with mirrors and gold (painted or real) glistening in the sun, so beautiful! Then the Emerald Buddha was mesmerizing, it reminded me alot of the Mona Lisa, I had this grandiose idea of the size of this sculpture and then when I saw it, it was tiny and yet is was perfect.
Emerald Buddha
We decided to get out of the mass amounts of people and head to Wat Pho. This temple houses The Reclining Buddha: 138 feet long and 45 feet high, gold leafed, and its feet are inlaid with mother of pearl, this Buddha is my favorite so far. Have you ever walked into a room and heard a sound but couldn’t see where the sound was coming from and your eyes were so involved with what they were seeing? I had that experience with Wat Pho, we walked in and I was was just mesmerized by the sculpture but there was some sound coming from somewhere and I couldn’t find the rhythm of it either just that there was something about it. Well when we got around the huge Buddha I found what the sound was, you could buy coins to toss into bowls, there were about 20 coins and about 30 bowls. What an amazing sound to go with such an amazing site!
Wat Pho is said to have an amazing massage school near by and yet when we went to find it, no one could give a straight answer and that was to a Thai woman. So off we went this time to the river. We hopped a River taxi and went to Wat Arun. At Wat Arun you could climb up onto some of the buildings and look over Bangkok, and you know me, I am always one for a good climb, so off I went. When I got up it was beautiful! There was a yellow scarf wrapped around the “lookout level” and there were messages all over it, some of who was here, some for honeymooners, some for safe travels, so neat to see.
Pat said that there was a part of town I should check out to see if I would want to hang out in a little closer to all the action so Jenny hailed a tuk-tuk (a tricycle with a windshield, a bench seat in the back, and a canopy) and off we went. I had to laugh because here I am in traffic that would scare me anyways and now I am riding this thing and the guy drives like a bat out of hell and I can’t even tell him to watch out, I pretty much just shut my eyes and waited for Jenny to tell me when to get out/off. The best part was I wanted to do it again later, I’ll get to that. When I caught up to my body we were surrounded by food, clothes, and lots of English, I even saw an Irish pub…IN BANGKOK THAILAND!!! Does that seem weird to anyone else? At the end of the road I saw another temple and talked Jenny into crossing the road and checking that temple out. This one was smaller, more intimate and there were nuns around too. Jenny did some talking and purchased a gift to give to a monk for a blessing. We knelt in front of a monk and repeated him (or in my case attempted to mumble something) while he sprinkled water on us. It was amazing!
Since we were blessed by a monk we decided that it we would be safe to get back on/in a tuk-tuk to get Jenny’s car. Another wild ride and this time I even made the driver laugh when some squeal came out of my mouth. The monk’s blessing must have worked since we made it and it only cost 40 baht.
Jenny needed to go to her Salon to check in. I think it was a ploy to get me in so she could trim my hair. I have hung out with enough hairstylists to know that they can’t resist getting their hands on my hair. Even if I don’t have much to begin with. I do have to admit my haircut was great and then she sent me back for a shampoo and now I can’t wait to get a massage that was AWESOME! I almost fell asleep. After a quick walk to see Jenny’s travel agent friend we headed back to the house. It was an amazing day and I know tomorrow will be another special day.
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