Today we decided to go for the Grand Palace at the start of the day. It opens at 8:30, we were there at 8:45 (declined the nice brief walk the taxi guy offered - what's with these guys?) and in search of a guide we didn't find. We bought our tickets and someone actually called a guide for us who certainly did know her stuff. However, she was irritated with something and ran us through the entrance really fast and up to the first structure in no time. Army personnel is beginning to section some things off, and we on several occasions literally came in under the wire to quickly see something that was no longer viewable 2 minutes later.

You see, the prince was visiting the temple with a professor of his (from Germany). Hey, it's the palace, it's his stomping grounds and we are just (paying, mind you) guests on his turf, so it's all good. But you cannot see the prince. And you certainly cannot take a photograph of the prince. Therefore, a medium-sized battalion appears to manage the crowd (to manage away the crowd) and our local guide was just lighthearted enough with them to still slip through, or stand 30 seconds longer where people were being moved. However, the prince entering the emerald Buddha's shrine, and that being the centerpiece of the whole experience, kind of puts a dent into things. And the pushing us around and quickly taking pictures without really getting the story didn't help us appreciate what it is we were looking at. She really wants to take us to the emerald Buddha, and so we hang around some and get more of the story, but after she's done telling the story, there still is no movement on that side and we decide to move on. Military personnel patiently awaits the prince's decision to leave the temple, but we know that hundreds and hundreds of tourists are waiting to get in with us right as he does this, so we decide to rather go to the next section, which is the actual royal housing of the Grand Palace.

We asked why they wouldn't just close to the public, so people don't spend their money on an at the very least weird experience. Well, the palace belongs to the king, and the tourist revenue goes to the king, so not a strong incentive there. But in any case, when you sit back and look at the experience, it was fun trying to outrun and outsmart the guards and still see as much as possible. We missed the emerald Buddha, however, and that would have been a sight worth seeing.

Oh, and apparently the princes is visiting tomorrow.

Next we take a private boat ride. With huge exposed engines and propelled by a prop on a long stick far behind the boat, these are nothing like our little 19ft Chaparral. Another fun local experience. Check out the pics! An hour long ride that was more like 90min, again, and took us back into the west side of Bangkok, where river houses are dilapidated and the only abundance is poverty. We're not confused about where we are, but it is always a sight that touches me.

I'm going to wrap this blog up here shortly. We ended up visiting Wat Arun (across the wide river from the Grand Palace) and took a 12c ferry back to the right shore and visited What Pho, a 50ft tall, 150ft long reclining Buddha covered with gold. We didn't have guides for either of these two sites, and what I will say is that at some point the attention to detail, the scale, the gold, the statues, it becomes overwhelming. The sights are truly so spectacular, and you just can't capture their majestic presence in a photo. We tried, but found the detailed photos give you a better sense of what to expect here than the overview shots.

Post Wat Pho we make our way to MBK, another large mall. We have a quick meal and shop around some, looking for souvenirs. It's another large mall, although only about 2,000 shops, and everything is negotiable. It's a good environment to try out some of your negotiation skills. We ended up not buying anything, but walking the six floors back and forth was certainly a fun experience.

At the end of the afternoon, my feet gave in to my flip flops, and Liz wanted to recover some from the day, still very much battling the cold and throat infection. So we again took it easy, promising ourselves to hit the town the following two evenings.