Mark and Gail's Excellent Adventure: Bouncing Around Bangkok

Winston took me down!

Flower Market

Our tour was scheduled to start at 8am on day two, so naturally our guide called at 7:45 and said he was there and ready to go.

I booked a group tour due to cost, but also because I read in the reviews from past clients that they had booked a group tour, but they were the only ones for that day, so they got the private tour anyway. Lucky us! We got a private eight hour tour in a new Toyota Camry!

First we hit the flower market. Gail and I wanted to take some home, but it just wasn't practical. The colors were spectacular!

Flower Market

Wat Pho Temples

Not sure what to say about this guy

The temple behind us is called the library

After a short ride from the flower market we arrived at What Pho and the Palace. The architecture was amazing and the grounds are meticulously manicure. Kenny led us around explianing all about the different structures and history. In the picture of the three temples the first one is Sri Lankan style, the second is Thai and the third is Cambodian style.

At Wat Pho you can see the worlds largest reclining Buddha at 150ft.

Next we moved on to Wat Phra Kaeo which houses the largest solid emerald Buddha at 26" high (It's actually Jadeite, but who cares about details)

Here we also got a 30 minute Thai massage. Nice!

Next Kenny hustled us onto a ferry as it was ready to leave, and we crossed the river to Wat Arun which was the original capital of Bangkok.

The temple is extremely old, and they still let people climb the insanely steep stairs. No problem for a thrill seeker like me....until I got to the top and looked back down! Cripes!

Next we boarded our private yacht (long boat) and headed our on our canal tour. It was extremely interesting to see the variety of dwellings along the canal. Throughout the ride people on the banks waved to us and children yelled out "Welcome to Thailand"!

There is an amazing amount of fish in the river and canals. Looking at the water you would think that nothing would be able to live in it, but they are thick, and people often throw bread in and cause a feeding frenzy. On our way back to the river, the driver slowed so that an older Thai lady could row out and show me her wares. (Probably his mom) But she had beer on ice, and I had expendable income, so I got a nice coldie for the rest of the ride.

Funeral Home

150 ft Reclining Buddha

Crossing the river

Wat Arun

The boat dropped us at our floating buffet lunch, and we washed it down with a couple more local beers. Yes, Gail had one too.

With full bellies and a long day in the scorching heat way headed to our last stop, the Gems Factory where we got to watch them create the gems from raw stones. Of course they then assign you a personal shopper that parades you around the showroom. People were out of their minds in a shopping fervor. We got out in a hurry. The jewelry was beautiful, but thankfully Gail isn't one that is too hung up on that.

At the top of Wat Arun

Next we were whisked back to the resort where we took a MUCH needed shower and got ready to head across the water to Asiatique. Yes, that is the name of the newish shopping and dining experience a short boat ride from our hotel. It's actually pretty cool. Lots of nice shops and restaurants. We got a couple walktails and set off for some serious shopping. Bags in hand, and worn out from our ling day we headed to the pier to grab our boat. Well, along the way a nice Irish Bar was calling our name, so we ducked in for a couple drinks and potato skins. Gail set up a pool game for me with a twelve year old. Needless to say, I lost.