The palace is closed

We chose a hotel without breakfast as we had very little time in the city and thought it would be better to get something out. A skytrain and then a metro journey got us nearer to the ferry terminal that we needed to be at. A tuk-tuk driver offered us a good price to take us to the location, but it turns out he actually took us to his mate further up the road who sells highly inflated boat tours (classic scam). We refused and headed towards the correct location grabbing some food from a bakery on the way (I ended up with a hotdog with a piece of bread wrapped around it - but it actually looked and tasted better than it sounds).

At the ferry terminal it was a bit confusing trying to figure out what we needed to do. Some Americans spoke to us and they thought we just needed to wait and then hop on when a boat arrived. Nothing happened for 15 minutes, which gave me time to figure out where to get the ticket from in advance (£0.30 for a journey up the river to the grand palace).

On getting to the other end, we were quickly stopped by a guy who told us the palace was closed until 1pm and recommended some other sites for us to go and see (and how much we should pay), we knew to be wary of this (plus the guide book said it was open all day), further along we were stopped by a man with a tourist police badge on who said the same thing (for some reason seeing that badge made me think there might be some truth in this but Tash realised this was also a scam). I'm sure we were told a third time it was closed, before getting to the gates to see it looked very open to us (the first guy sent us the wrong way around it too!).

You have to cover up legs etc to get inside the palace (I had those convertible trouser/short things but I was instantly hotter!) and its the most expensive entrance we have paid for a sight so far(£10 plus another £4 for the audio guide), the tour lasted about 90 minutes and was quite useful as I think you would just be clueless walking around without it). It's not used by the monarchy to live in but is still used for functions and there is a area used for foreign guests.

This would also be the first time we got to see the real emerald buddha. When in Laos they claimed it was stolen from them and taken to Thailand. It used to live in Chiang Mai before being moved to Bangkok. It only 75cm in size (but it is at least emerald) and is dressed in clothes that are changed in a ceremony by the King every season). The complex itself has changed and expanded over the years, with each new King making restorations, upgrades and commissioning new pieces.

At weekends a lot of the buildings you can go into are closed, which was annoying as the ticket price doesn't change. After the tour we went into the museum that houses some of the original items from the complex and then sat by the entrance listening to a guy with a megaphone, tasked with telling tourists that they need to cover up as they file past him.

In the evening we jumped into a taxi and went to the Moonbar, which is part of the Banyon hotel. I think most of you know by now I like a good view at the top of a building and its even better with some overpriced cocktails thrown in! You also needed to have trousers on for this bit too, but having changed into shorts I was forced to use a pair of the hotels black trousers, a bit tight, and not long enough!

The bar area is quite small (they also have a restaurant up there), and was rammed with people so you couldn't sit down. The view was great though, gives you an appreciation of how big Bangkok is. Tash had something that tasted like Pina Colada and she said mine tastes like Thai food in drink form (it was vodka, malibu, ginger, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and a bit of chilli). I did like the first half but the second was just water from all the ice. Probably not as good as some of the others we've had in the world.

We got back on the sky train and headed off to dinner (we just got out at a station and went for a walk). Apart from being double the price of previous dinners, it was much better, I had squid & basil leaves and shared some chicken pandan with tashinator. I suggested she try the Mai Thai cocktail ;)

Bowls of rice; 47