Ok, here's the bad
thing about going to bed at 8 p.m. - you wake up at 3 a.m. with
nothing to do. But, it was a huge blessing in disguise. I had
incorrectly set my alarm clock; otherwise, I would have missed my
tour. Lucky me. The van pulled up around 6:30 a.m., picked up a
few people at a few other hotels, then took us to the coach. It
was a nice coach bus with air conditioning and a toilet. We
headed north of Bangkok towards Bang Pa-In. We saw many
condominiums along the way and plenty of rice fields.
Our first stop for the day was Bang Pa-In, the summer palace
for the Kings. This area had many buildings, all in different
architectural styles. I even climbed to the top of what
looked like a lighthouse. We were here for about an hour. Before
entering any temple, we remove our shoes. I'm getting
used to that pretty quick. For the lazy ones among us golf carts
were available to rent.
From the Lonely Planet Guide Book to Thailand
"The postcard stereo type here is a pretty little Thai
pavilion in the center of a small lake by the palace entrance.
Inside the palace grounds, the Chinese-style Wehat Chamrun
Palace and the Withun Thatsana building, which looks like a
lighthouse with balconies, are the only buildings open to
visitors. The latter was built to give a fine view over
gardens and lakes. There are various other buildings, towers
and memorials in the grounds plus an interesting topiary
garden where the bushes have been trimmed into the shapes of a
small herd of elephants."
Bang Pa-In
After getting back on the bus, we headed to the Ayuthaya
Historical Park. This is a rather large set of ruins dating to
the twelfth and fourteenth century. It is a Unesco World
Heritage site. The temples are scattered all over the city.
Where we stopped is probably one of the more famous sites (I
don't know why it's famous, it just is). There was also a temple
with a huge Buddha image inside. If you wanted, you could
take a ride on elephant.
Ayuthaya
After that, we made another stop at a large stupa with stairs
that you could climb up. New rule: don't climb up stupas with
steep steps. Easy to get up, hard to get down. Plus, I was a
little out of breath and sweating like a pig. Fortunately, all
the stops we were at today had bottled water for sale; I think I
drank at least five bottles just today.
Having done enough walking and being in the heat for one day,
we headed to the river cruise. Lunch was part of the price, but
drinks were extra. The food was very good, but the soup was too
spicy. Plenty of desserts were available. After lunch, we had a
nice, leisurely cruise down the Chao Phraya. I saw many more
temples along the way. Just before we got back to the pier, we
were lucky enough to see some dragon boat races. I couldn't tell
who won, but I think the guys in the yellow boat did.
River Cruise
The drive back to the hotel was easy, as far as Bangkok goes.
My room was clean and my laundry was ready. I'm going to have
dinner, then get on the Internet. Another great day.
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