Finally putting the morning behind us and with bellies full of soup dumplings, we headed for Thailand's Grand Palace in the heart of Bangkok.
Global Subway
We decided to try out the subway, or MRT as it’s called, which we’d heard good things about. Super clean, modern and fast; it delivered. When sitting down, we discovered they had seats reserved for monks only. A nice lady let us know and started chatting it up with Paige & Sadie who were sitting next to her. Turns out she’s a Thai/American who lives in Austin, TX but comes to Thailand for a couple of months each year to visit family.
New to Old
We got off the subway and onto a boat, heading up the Chao Phraya River that runs through the heart of Bangkok. On the river we left behind the modern skyscrapers of Bangkok and we were back in the Old Town.
Almost Missed the Palace!
When we got off the boat and started heading toward the palace, we were told that it was almost closed. What? It was 2:45pm! Turns out it closes everyday at 3:30pm, news to us. We went through security, bought our tickets and were in with just 30 minutes to spare.
Cindy
As we entered, we were approached by a tour guide named Cindy. With only 30 minutes we needed a speed tour to make sure we caught the highlights. Cindy has been a tour guide for 30+ years at the Grand Palace. We were smitten with Cindy; she was a bundle of energy, had a wonderful sense of humor and flashed the Thai smile the entire time we were with her.
The Grand Palace
The Palace seems like a haphazard complex of intricate buildings, halls, temples and gardens. Construction began in 1782 by order of the King when the capital of Thailand was moved to Bangkok. Over the years, successive Kings added their touches to the complex with new buildings.
The Emerald Buddha
In the palace sits the 26 inch Emerald Buddha who is seen as a protector of Thailand. In front of the tourist area, there was a roped off area that clearly read: “Thais Only”. A few locals were seated there praying or reading in front of the larger crowd of tourists.
We were tapped on the shoulder by one of the security guards, who invited us to sit on the floor in the area reserved for the Thai people. We politely accepted and got to feel like locals for a moment, but we certainly didn’t look the part.
A Magic Kingdom
The ornate features and architecture around the complex felt like Disneyland to us in a way. Lucky for us we made it in with no time to spare. As we were headed out the next morning, we came close to perhaps being the only tourist to ever visit Bangkok without visiting the Grand Palace!
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