SE Asia - Bangkok, Thailand - 1

 

Bangkok, Day 1, January 17, 2014

Bangkok, Thailand

We arrived in Bangkok last night from Denpasar, Bali, via Kuala Lumpur, traveling on Malaysian Airways. Both flights had very rough spots because we had to go over the storms in the area. On arrival we immediately noticed that the weather, while warm, was not humid.

After a very good sleep we were ready to embark on our next adventure. First was a group briefing by our OAT guide, Vit, about the basic outline of the whole trip. Vit would be with us for the rest of the trip. We also met the five new members of our group. Then we headed off to visit the Royal Palace. The route we took was a bit circuitous so that we would not run into any of the blocked intersections where political demonstrations were taking place. They were getting ready for an election and things were not going smoothly.

One of the special things we saw at the Palace was the Emerald Buda, which is actually made of jade. It is really quite small, only about 18 inches tall, and sits very high on a pedestal. It was wearing its “Winter” clothes made of gold. I had to take my picture from outside through a doorway, as taking pictures inside was not permitted.

After the Royal Palace we drove to a restaurant along the river where we had a delicious lunch and I had my favorite - Pad Thai. Others had a rice dish. The last stop in the afternoon was to the Gem shop where they make jewelry from the sapphires and rubies mined in Thailand. I managed to control myself, as I already have enough jewelry. That made Paul happy!

Back at the hotel some of us took a walking tour of the local area to get the lay of the land and exchange some money. In the evening we walked to a close-by restaurant for the Welcome Dinner. It was very good typical Thai food.
That's it for now. Grace and Paul