Solo Day in Bangkok

So I woke up ready to go places today.  Much of this past summer I have been sleeping in very late. The first floor offered a free breakfast with eggs, salad, Thai lunch foods and fresh fruit like papaya.  During breakfast I checked out NomadicMatt’s blog on what to see in Bangkok and opted to tour the Royal Palace.  I asked the front desk how to get there and the clerk told me to take the Chong Nonsi train to the Saphan Taksin stop then take the ferry to Tha Chang Pier. No problem. If I could only pronounce the words. I asked a lot of people for help and even though I went the wrong way for one stop on the rail, I figured it out and found my way to the palace.  They don’t always understand what we say either:

At the palace I was told I could borrow a sarong since shorts were not permitted while walking around the palace and temple. The statues were beautiful and I loved the mural even though I didn’t understand all of the stories.

 The best was the spiritual aspect of people praying and chanting.  I also loved seeing the people light candles and offer flowers. There was only one Buddha golden statue in the emerald temple and you were not allowed to wear shoes in there or take pictures.

After a few hours of walking in the hot humid outdoors I was ready to find my way back when suddenly I became distracted by a sign: Massage 250 baht (about $9).  I had heard about these so I went in. It was similar  to a yoga class in that you get stretched out all over but it was in an air conditioned room and the price was right. Well deserved.

The trip back was a wild adventure.  The ferry was only 14 baht (50 cents) but the boat was jam packed with people. Definitely no regulations here. I got a little confused after I got off the train but used the mapme app to find my way back even though I didn’t have wifi service. A great app to have.

My roommate is lovely and a teacher from Nottingham, England. Coincidentally I studied abroad during college in Nottingham, England. Our tour guide’s name is Beam, named after Jim Beam. There are 8 of us on this tour: one honeymoon couple, 4 other women and a young man. I’m definitely the elder in this group but everyone seems very nice. We all went to dinner together and off to bed early for an early travel day in the morning.