| MPT |
Mar 27th, 2007 07:52 PM |
By this time we were getting a little hot and tired, and needed a change of pace. Tong rented a longboat for us and we took a tour of the khlongs. Sitting in the boat with the wind in our faces as we watched daily life float by was wonderful. We even bought a huge box of bread to feed the fish in the river. What a feeding frenzy. Our last stop on the tour was Wat Arun. Although, it may have deserved a longer visit, we stopped long enough to climb up and take a quick look around. Then it was back on the boat and off to lunch at one of Tong’s favorite local places, the Coconut Palm. She ordered some traditional Thai dishes for us and we sat and enjoyed the food and A/C. A word of caution, Thai spice is on a completely different level than American spice. Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever had anything that spicy. Food was good and cheap. Place was clean. Everything that Tong said she required in a restaurant!
Our final destination was the piece de résistance, in my eyes, the Reclining Buddha. It is colossal and completely amazing. Something I’ll return to again and again on future trips to BKK. I also enjoyed making my way down the line of the 108 bowls, placing a coin in each, hoping for good luck and a long life. The rest of Wat Pho and Tong’s explanation of its history was a bit of a haze, as we were getting tired. We had originally also planned to go to Chinatown, but given the early start to the day we had combined with the heat, we decided to skip it and make our way back to the Pen and try out its pool. Tong had us back in no time. We said our goodbyes and took a souvenir picture. In the end, our time with Tong was all that I had hoped. Her smile and laugh is infectious. She is a joy to be around. Tong provided a truly memorable experience to BKK’s main attractions.
We spent the next hour or so hanging out at the Pen’s pool. Though small, it provides a nice atmosphere to relax and enjoy the views of the river. For some reason I was craving a burger, so I ordered one from the pool bar. It was good, a little too well done for me, but the Pen can’t be perfect at everything, right? Next, we got ready and took a taxi to the Joe Louis Puppet Theatre and made it right on time for the 7:30 PM performance. This is a unique puppet show performing traditional Thai stories. It was amazing to watch the coordination and grace of the puppeteers. Tickets were pricey, though, at 900 THB. Afterwards, my husband had the best $2 Thai meal he’s ever had at the patio place across from theatre. We then walked around the Suan Lum Night Bazaar, but compared to JJ, it seemed amateurish. However, we did stumble upon the outdoor food court / beer garden. This looked like the place to be, with locals enjoying food and drink, bar girls trying to get you to visit their stall, and a huge stage with live, bad Thai pop music being performed. After taking it all in and a quick consideration for seeing what the fuss was all about with Patpong, we decided to just head back to the hotel.
Next up, the Prasart without Mr. Prasart and driving in the Golden Triagle.
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