A full day of sightseeing. Took the Skytrain to the Saphan Taksin stop on the Mae Nam Chao Praya River. The area is called Ko Ratanakosin and is where Bangkok first started. The Grand Palace is here, along with most of the major temples (wats). I went to the Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaew (the Temple of the Emerald Buddha) and Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha).
The grounds surrounding Wat Phra Kaew are stunning. It’s not just one building but a series of buildings and courtyards, each with intricate detailing. Pictures cannot capture the scale, the number of buildings, and the colors – gold everywhere, with temples decorated in red, blue, and yellow tiles. I’m not even going to try to describe it. I’ll just upload some photos.
The Grand Palace is stunning as well, but in a slightly different style.
And Wat Pho is amazing – a 150-foot long gold Buddha, in a reclining position. The feet alone are about 12 feet high, and the soles are inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
Ferries serve as taxis along the river. The bigger ferries travel up and down river, while the smaller ones travel across. They run frequently and are inexpensive – it costs 3 baht (about 10 cents US) to go across the river, and 40 baht (just over a dollar) for a 10-minute ride up river. The ferry pulls in, a guy at the back blows a really shrill whistle, he throws a rope around a post to sorta/kinda hold the ferry near the dock, and passengers jump on and off. No dawdling – the attendants very stridently "encourage" you to move.
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