Beginning Location: Bay of Thailand, En-Route to Bangkok, Thailand
Final Location: Bangkok, Thailand
I took advantage of the late arrival into Bangkok to spend the early morning in the gym, before a "lite" breakfast and assuming my sea detail position on the 10th deck for photo ops. We arrived at the pier about 1000 after a 2-hour sea detail up river to Bangkok. Any entry into an international port is interesting, the boats, the ships, the bridges, etc.
Our plans for the day included a full day tour. We boarded a small van and headed into the city center. En-route we ramped up to an expressway passing through the "Easy Pass" lanes and into relatively light traffic. That all changed as we approached the city center where traffic is intense, hectic and surprisingly relatively safe.
Thailand is a kingdom with King Rama IX the currently ruling Monarch. Actually it is a constitutional monarchy but the people really honor and look to the king for policy and opinion.
Our first stop was for a buffet lunch along the river after which time we boarded a river boat for a cruise along the Chao Phraya River.
The river was unexpectedly dirty and trashy but did offer a good view of river life in the city. Many residents still live on and over the river, either on boats or stilt houses.
Our next stop was to see the Golden Buddha Temple, the site of a 5.5 ton "solid gold" Buddha.
It's told that the Golden Buddha had been covered in plaster and kept in hiding for 1,200 years before being brought to the public in the 1950's.
Along the way we walked through a market place, always a great opportunity for photography with the shapes, colors and things we wouldn't see at home.
Our next stop was the Grand Palace, an opulent compound housing temples, living quarters, buildings of state, etc. all gilded and glitzy. The palace is primary for state functions and tourism today but hasn't served as the actual monarch residence since the late 1940's.
The Grand Palace is the home to the temple housing the Emerald Buddha; actually "emerald-green Jasper".
Other than a brief stop at a "sponsored" gem and silk fabric store, our day's tour was over. We returned to the ship around 4:30.
After dinner there was a traditional Thai dance show but by about 10 PM the day was over.
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