29th May 2007

Today we got up and decided to get a Tuk-Tuk to the Grand Palace and to the Emerald Buddha. And to see the 'Wat Inthara Wihan' - which is this HUGE gold buddha! It only cost us 10 Baht so a bargain. I have uploaded pictures of these so you can see. When we got to the Grand Palace, we didn't realise that you had to cover your legs, and as we were both in shorts, we had to 'borrow' these "stunning" full length thai skirts that were so thick in material and chafed our ankles! But the sun was beating down and it was just sooo hot but it was really good to see how ornate the palace was. Everything was made from tiny pieces of gold and it was all mosaic, as you can see from the pics! On the way back, the tuk tuk driver took us to this satin shop (they get a free petrol coupon if they take customers) and we had read about this where they try conning you into buying fake stuff and then advising you to sell them on in your home country to make a profit, but we knew we wouldn't buy anything so just went along with it. But we mustnt have been in the shop long enough or something as he didnt get his coupon!! So had to take us to this gem shop, but we were getting aggravated so luckily he only charged us 5 Baht each. Then we got back and had tea and a few drinks with some people we got chatting to from Birmingham! (Mainly about football!) Got back to the hostel where i was sick! Don't know why as I wasn't drunk! - Maybe the dodgy chicken i had for tea!