DAY 3: The Grand Palace

If you come to Bangkok, the #1 place to visit is the Grand Palace.  It doesn't make the top ten tourist attractions of the world because very few people come to Thailand.  A typical list has the Colosseum / Vatican in Rome, Statue of Liberty in New York City, the Louvre / Eiffel Tower / Palace of Versailles in Paris, Basilica de la Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Stonehenge in Wiltshire, and Grand Canal of Venice.  Been to all.

Construction of the Grand Palace began in 1782 at the order of Rama 1 when the capital moved from Thonburi to Bangkok.  Future kings also lived there until 1925, and with the abolition of the monarchy, all government agencies moved out in 1932.

The palace complex is rectangular in shape with a combined area of 2,351,000 square feet.  It is situated on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, and perhaps an hour by car from the inner city...but only because of the traffic.  The two mass transit systems don't get close.  The general area close by is Chinatown.






A recommended touristy way to get there is to take the BTS Skytrain (there are two totally different systems) to Siphon Taksin Station.  Follow signs to the boat pier and then the river taxi, nine stops to Tha Chang (elephant) pier.  It is then a short walk.  If you're in any way not physically fit, come by taxi or tour.  Best to avoid Tuk-tuks for this adventure.  You kind of need to jump on the boat.  We took a personalized tour.

Also, there is a strict dress code:

• men must wear long pants
• women must cover legs to just above the knee, with no tight fitting pants
• don't wear sleeveless shirts or show shoulders
• no t-shirts with religious themes or symbols of death
• flip-flops are discouraged
• if you fail your clothing test, you can pay a $6 fee to rent a sarong...if the booth is open
• otherwise, you need to go across the street to haggle the price of something acceptable

This area is notorious for pick-pockets and other scams.  Be aware!  The entrance price is around $16.

The top photo is the approach to the Grand Palace.  Here are some of the other photos, starting with my Blue-bar Pigeon.  I could identify the buildings, but you would not appreciate this detail, so I won't.

That magnificent gold structure holds a portion of Buddha's ashes.  At close-up, you can see the 24-karat gold tiles.  People have been known to steal them.  That's my reflection with the two others in our tour group, with one being our tour guide, Dum:

Below is where I dropped off Pearl's ashes, ceremony #15, seven years ago:

I show the next photo because it was explained to us that Angkor Wat was once part of Thailand.  There was no such thing as Cambodia until the French prevailed on Thailand by treaty to create that country and Laos.

Here is also located the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, or Was Phra Kaew, built in 1983.  However, it is not a temple, but a chapel, and the Buddha is not emerald but jade.  You are forbidden to take a photo of the Buddha inside the building.  But you can use telephoto from outside.

Next to the awesomeness of the whole Palace, this attraction was perhaps the highlight of the tour.

We returned to our hotel.  I went next door to Larry's for a first fitting of my vest.  Perfect.  Dinner at the M Club was relatively simple in two courses with beer, champagne and red wine, a Syrah:

I should add that breakfast, for all the stuff available, was also mundane..mostly a salad:

Tomorrow, however, will be Sunday, and this hotel is famous for it's special brunch that day.  Return for the best you an have in cuisine to start the day.

Let me end with some relatively good news about COVID-19, for us.  We arrived in Bangkok a few days ago when Thailand was #2 to China with the most cases.  Today, Thailand is #5, and still with no deaths.

The last time I checked, the Diamond Princess had 218 cases, meaning that 6% of the 3,711 passengers and crew were infected.  The infection rate of Wuhan, with a population of 11 million, is "only" 0.3%.  Clearly those on cruise lines are particularly vulnerable.  Look for sea travel to dramatically drop over the next few months.  Good time to book future cruises.

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