got wat

I figure I've been in Bangkok for three days, so it's time to go and see what is arguably it's most famous site, so today I went to the Grand Palace. It's no longer a royal residence, but you wouldn't know it by the bejeweled and bedazzled buildings.

I think going to the Palace and making offerings may be a New Year tradition, because there seemed to be a LOT of Thais mixed in with the tourists. Like a lot. Like three times as many. It made it busy as hell, but at least it didn't feel like a tourist attraction, but like a living and breathing sacred place.

Inside the Palace is a huge temple, along with dozens of other buildings. Pictures don't do it justice, because they can't really capture that these multicolored buildings and roofs are all covred with mirrors and shining jewels, so they literally sparkle in the sunlight. It's an amazing site, like we just don't have in the west, really.


The next stop after the Grand Palace is the Wat Pho across the street, where one finds the reclining buddha. And he is huge, but just chillin', really. Kickin' it. Again, the place was packed, and many where Thais making their offerings - burning incense, pouring water over the Buddha images, making money donations into pots. I think I liked Wat Pho better of the two - something about the Grand Palace was magnificent, but to stoic for me. Inside Wat Pho were vendors and hawkers, lots of walkways that went nowhere or to some other little temple, a massage school, all kinds of little treasures.
I took a water taxi back, and it's the fastest way to travel around here - traffic is insane in Bangkok. And ironically, it's the driest way, too; no one gets you with water when you are on the boat. Once you are off, though, fair game.