Q:"Where you come from?" A:"Silom"

The Grand Palace:

We make our way to the Grand Palace via the Sky Train and the Chao Phraya River by boat.  At each pier stop along the way the boat boy uses his whistle to communicate with the driver as he docks the boat against the pier. He jumps ashore and ties the boat up and we swiftly disembark at the Maharaj Pier.  The river is swollen and a make shift ramp has been erected to meet the pier.  Flooded stalls are operating as normal and locals are wadding through the sludge bare foot.  We walk through the market and are immediately greeted by touts.  “Tuk, Tuk, Madam, Sir?, Where you going? I take you!  The Grand Palace is closed today I take you to the floating market, good price!”  We decline the offer considering we can see the gates to the palace 100m down the road where there are tourists gathering.

On entering the palace Bec gets stopped by officials.  “Need very long skirt, no tights!”  After queuing and paying a bond of 500b we are all set to see the sights.  Decked out in two dresses, tights and a cardigan in 35 degree heat without hats is not easy.  The sights were so amazing we forgot about the sweat covering our bodies.  The Wats and temples are humongous & elaborately decorated.

Next stop the Wat Pho – home of the reclining Buddha.  This attraction is half the size of the grand palace but just as beautiful and awe inspiring.  We actually like it better than the grand palace.  Bec especially liked the open court yard surrounded in golden buddas.

Bangkok Traveller Tips:

For a cheap thrill in Silom try crossing the street……waiting, waiting, waiting, run!!  We call it the Bangkok Russian roulette.  BTW Patpong is where the Russian roulette scenes in ‘The Deer Hunter’ take place. Chinese lanterns hang from the upstairs balconies – green for opium dens & red for brothels.

Haggling should be fun, remember to smile always & enjoy exchanging bids eg:

“how much is this today?” “haha, you must be joking” “how much for 10?” “Is (half their price) this enough?” “what specials do you have”

Likewise with touts & hawkers, shrug your shoulders & smile, in some cases you can speak French & they will immediately give up. Good on them for having a go, we have not seen many beggars but there are many sheepish dogs & fighting cats, all of whom have scraps a plenty and possibly rabies.

There is a hotel taxi driver who speaks excellent English & always accosts us (nicely!) about where we are going & how he can 'give discount to floating market or take you to buy cheap suit'.

Geoff went to the 7/11 at 5am & there he was "I start work at 3 in morning & finish at 9 night time, just sleep in car" !   

Hold your breath when you are passing the street rivers & watch out for street stalls selling ‘Durian’ this exotic fruit smells like something unmentionable (apparently it is delicious!)

Don’t worry if people are staring at you, Farang generally appear sloppy compared with Thais, which may be hard to reconcile with wealth & social status. Beautifully groomed Thai women can be seen applying makeup everywhere.

Next stop Khao San Road & Chinatown.

Below is a movie of the soi or street outside our hotel.

Listen for the monks chanting as they gather donations of food:

Eating fresh pineapple outside the Grand Palace.

The Grand Palace.

Flooded stalls.

On the river.

Grand Palace.

Wat Pho, The Reclining Buddha.

Geoff at the Grand Palace.