Today was an action packed day! We are finally getting used to the time change (with the help with some over the counter sleep aids) and woke up at the reasonable-ish hour of 6AM. We decided to treat ourselves to breakfast at the W while we plotted the order of the day's adventures. First thing we, decided to go to the main train station, Hua Lamphong, and buy tickets for tomorrow's overnight trip to Chiang Mai ($26/person). Unfortunately all of 1st class was sold out but we were able to get top bunk 2nd class in A/C. A local was chatting us up later in the day and we told him we were off to Chiang Mai on the train and he had some real comforting words of advice, "watch out for your luggage and don't drink the free water, they drug you and steal your luggage and passport". We looked at some reviews on Trip Advisor and they were also reassuring like "Its like an earthquake" and "wear your Macintosh". We then headed West to the Chao Phraya river to catch a boat to see Wat Pho. Boating up the riverWe caught the orange express boat at Rachawongse and took it two stops North to Tha Tien which is where Wat Pho is located. The boats were pretty efficient and crowded, you basically just huddled at the pier's edge and waited for the boat to arrive and then hopped on and paid on board. We have no idea how the people collecting the fare can keep track of who paid and who didn't. Here's a map of the boat system. Wat PhoThe Wat Pho complex was stunning. We first checked out the Reclining Buddha commissioned by King Rama III. The statue illustrates the passing of Buddha into nirvana. It is all gold leaf and mother of pearl inlay. We walked around the complex and into the Buddha Galleries and then ended our visit at the Massage Pavilion. The weather was scorching hot and humid... literally parts of our shirts had look like we just pulled them out of the wash before the spin cycle so a trip to the air conditioned massage pavilion was a no brainer. The 1 hour massage was really quite pleasant. It wasn't a kneading massage like we were used to but more of an applied pressure and pressure point massage. It was the best 14 dollars we had spent. Grand PalaceNext to Wat Pho was the Wat Phra Kaew & Grand Palace complex. We trekked around this enormous complex trying to find the entrance. We tried going in one entrance and a man who looked like a tour guide told us that it was only open to Thai people today. Marcel was excited to hear this because his guide book had warned him of scammers like this and was eager to brush him off. It took Eric a second to realize he was trying to scam us. :-) We trudged along and found the entrance (only after another other scam encounter regarding our clothing). The Grand Palace was a so colorful and gilded. Every surface of it glittered as you walked around it as each mosaic caught the sunlight. Along the roof eaves of some buildings were little bells which composed a nice organic soundtrack as they rang with the wind. To enter the Grand Palace you had to wear long pants, which we brought with us, but could also be borrowed there. It was such a thrill to put long pants on in this weather, there was nothing we wanted to do more. As a result, our stay at the Grand Palace was probably on the shorter side. ;-) Khao san roadAfter the Palace we headed back toward the river to catch another boat to head North to Khao San Road. We had a little meltdown at the pier as we were frustrated, hot, sweaty and didn't understand where the next boat was going to arrive or what color boat flag we needed to look out for. Fun! This road is kind of like a melting pot of tourists, backpackers and hippies from all over the world. We sat down at a little street restaurant and met a lovely British couple who had just quit their jobs, sold their cars and were off, winging it, for 12 months travelling around the world. The neighborhood was as if Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley, St. Mark's Place in the East Village and Bangkok had a love child. Bowls!We walked down Khao San Road and then headed toward Soi Ban Baat. According to the guidebook this is the only remaining village where metal bowls are hand crafted for monks to use to collect alms from the faithful each morning. There was no exact address of where we were going so we just headed in a direction and crossed our fingers. We headed down an alley that got smaller and smaller in width and was up close and personal with everyday Bangkok life. We dodged people, children, dogs, trying to make our way through this alley as they were coming in and out of their homes. To our surprise we happened upon a woman hammering bowls! We watched her work for a bit and she showcased her work. :) Marcel bought two bowls. We then walked back to the hotel to rest! Bangkok NightlifeWe decided to make the most of our last night in Bangkok and go out a bar. We found the gayborhood and were seated front row at Telephone Bar. It was a tragic little scene. All the bars lined this alley had chairs facing out toward each other so we were forced to stare at the people across from us as well as view everyone that walked down the alley like a nighttime catwalk. People came by selling fake tattoo sleeves, flashing rave toys and even this one woman with one eye who slowly walked up and down singing into a little speaker. We had two beers each and a rat ran under our chairs and we decided to leave! We walked along trying to find some more bars and ended up walking down a street full of people enjoying the night out lined with souvenir shops and girlie ping pong bars (and not table tennis, if you get the meaning). It was hard to take in all of the things going on around us -- especially with our tired eyes and feet. The experience was a lot like a mix of scenes from Blade Runner and Total Recall. Now we understand the meaning behind the song "One Night In Bangkok."
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