January 8, 2018

January 8, 2018

We were up way before dawn and had breakfast on the hotel’s riverside terrace. We both started off with coffee and the Thai version of the Viet Pho noodle soup. While tasty, it was too much hot food on a steamy morning in the tropics. I went even more Asian with sushi rolls, and fish stir fry. It was delicious but not my normal for breakfast. I guess my stomach hasn’t made the time change.

Afterwards we poked our heads over the river and saw a bunch of the Asian Jumping Carp that are now plaguing the Mississippi. We also saw a water snake weaving through the floating vegetation. No swimming here!



At 9am we met our tour group, got audio devices, and an information package, then boarded a bus for a city tour. It was mostly uninteresting. It might have been better with a smaller group getting out near the sights. It did provide an overview if we have time to explore later. Besides being a land of high-rises, Bangkok is also a land of temples. They are numerous, large, and colorful.

Thailand is a Constitutional Monarchy, like England. The Thais seem more devoted and reverent to their King. Photos of the old king who died last year line several avenues and grace the side of several buildings.

Our group then stopped at the Wat Pho Temple, one of the oldest in Bangkok. It has dozens and dozens of brightly-colored porcelain-encrusted Chedis in all sizes. A Chedi is a Buddhist Stupa, which is a "pile" usually containing relics of the Buddha or ashes of the deceased. This temple has so many because the older kings had many wives and hundreds of children.

While Wat Pho has lots of gold Buddhas the star attraction is an immense gold Reclining Buddha 150 foot long that is crammed in a tiny building. Buddha is reclining at the moment he attained Nirvana.

With the end of the organized tour, we stayed behind with another couple to walk to the nearby river. We got lost but stumbled upon the Flower Market, where hundreds of vendors were assembling and selling flower arrangements. Back on track we found the ferry pier that carried us across the river to Wat Arun or Temple of the Dawn. This famous landmark soars over Bangkok and graces one of the coins of Thailand. Its immense Khmer-style central tower or Prang is over 200 foot tall. It is supposed to represent Mount Meru in the Himalayas and home of the Hindu gods. Its silvery-white color glistens in the sun. Stunning!

We then caught a tourist boat back to the hotel shuttle boat. The many shuttle boats that ply the river are a great way of getting quickly around Bangkok.

Back at the hotel we spent a relaxing hour at the pool before partaking in a Welcome Dinner with our tour group. We have 24 travelling companions from around the country. Surprisingly seven are Indian-American.