Temple Hopping

Yesterday afternoon we walked to Lamphini Park in central Bangkok and it was so beautiful and peaceful, like a little oasis in the big city. We sat beneath the palms and watched a ton of Thai people participating in multiple outdoor aerobics classes. We also saw a Monitor lizard (?) attempt to swallow an entire catfish. At 6pm the national anthem plays and security guards in the park blow their whistle to signal you to STOP what you are doing and honor the anthem. Literally EVERY single person in the park froze at this time and sang along. It was a neat sight. After that we were exhausted and felt like we hadn't slept in a day (which was kinda true cuz of the time difference) so we had a banana and went to bed.

Today we woke up quite early and took the skytrain (like BART) and water taxi to the Grand Palace. First we visited Wat Pho, which houses a HUGE (45 meters long!) reclining gold-plated Buddha. It was so impressive! One thing that was surprising is that you have to take your shoes off to enter any temple and you also must be wearing long sleeves and pants (ah so hot!) as a sign of respect. The temples are very beautiful, decorated with many colorful tiles and pieces of glass so they sparkle in the sunlight.

Next we visited Wat Phra Kaew, which is even larger with many colorful temples and more golden buddhas and a mural that wraps around the entire complex. There were soooo many people here and it was so so hot that by the end we just had to sit in the shade and cool down for a bit. The Grand Palace is beautiful as well and is one the King's homes used for special ceremonies. After this, we had some yummy lunch and thai tea at a real restaurant with ceiling fans (ahhh). Then we took the cross river taxi to Wat Arun, which was perhaps the most simple (but still very interesting) wat. Then we got a Thai massage (1/2 hr for about $7), which was quite different from any massage I have had before. There was lots of cracking and bending, and it was rough but I felt very relaxed by the end. Next we had a couple of beers at a bar that looked over the river and Wat Arun and waited for sunset for it to light up. Definitely worth it! Then we took the river taxi back to the hostel and took a much needed shower and nap. Now we are going to watch the World Cup Final (at our hostel), it is at 1:30AM here!

Here is a link of the wats until I post pics:

http://www.bangkok.com/attraction-temple/