Thailand--Bangkok and the Grand Palace March 28

A six hour flight from Narita got us to Bangkok where for about $15 we hired a large taxi to take us the 25 +/- km to the Thai Hotel in downtown Bangkok.  We had two double rooms with breakfasts there for about $60/night (total!).   They also had free Internet access, a pool, which was closed, and, to greet you each morning, a small aviary with a variety of loud chickens and pea fowl.  Thai peacocks, by the way, are green, not blue like the Indian ones. We were on the fourth floor, so we had a good view, slightly marred by the abandoned buildings but in the distance, you can see the Golden Mountain of the Grand Palace complex poking up out of the city. The Grand Palace/Emerald Buddha Wat (temple) was our first goal.  A WONDERFUL Internet "Birdingpal", Chirdphong, picked us up and escorted us around Bangkok.  He explained all about the sites and made sure we got everywhere ok.

These school kids were down from a northern part of Thailand for a spring vacation tour of the Grand Palace.  Notice, even the high school boys wear short pants.  The coolest it got on our vacation was about 30 degrees Celcius/85 Fahrenheit.  HOT! and high humidity.  Thank goodness for AC! The Grand Palace was built 200+ years ago and was the home of the first several Rama kings.  The current king lives in a different area.  Each of the gray towers is the grave of one of the kings.  There are eight in all.

The word we used the most was, "WoW!"  Every building is so ornate.  There is gold and tile and bright paint everywhere, even in the wats (temples) of small towns.  We were in awe of the beauty.  The Thai are very devout Bhuddists and the actual temple of the Emerald Buddha was full of worshippers.  The Emerald Buddha is actually jade, but when it was discovered, covered with clay to protect it from marauders, the priest thought it was emerald and the name stuck.

This young novice monk wanted his picture taken with Danielle, who was his age.  In their beliefs, blessings can be recieved for their family, living and dead, by temporarily living as monks.  Boys can serve for a month or more to help relatives who have died reach paradise.  In the background is a portion of a huge, 200 meters?, mural depicting a legendary history of Thailand--many flying monkey armies, elephants, etc.

These bird people are very common but we didn't find out why.  Any suggestions, Thai readers?