The Adventures of Mike & Merlene: Thailand Day 3

Let me begin this day by introducing you to the world of travel in Bangkok. In addition to riding in ALL of these types of travel this day we also walked several miles.

We first took a taxi.

Next we walked, and walked, and walked, and walked, and walked! (Remind you of a Primary song?)

Later we took a motorcycle taxi. There was no bar of step for getting in so it was quite a graceful act for me.

We did not take a scooter or motorcycle taxi but whenever you see one with this vest on they are for hire.

We also took a river taxi.

And a train!

And at the end of the day we took a van ride over to a better place to catch a taxi to our hotel.

Raff arrived at our hotel in the morning and we caught a taxi to Wat Phra Kaew with it's golden spires, brightly colored buildings and gorgeous mosaics.

Obviously this picture of the Grand Palace is not my own. This building is more European in design. There were so literally thousands of people in the area and no way to get a full picture so this is off the internet. The place is closed at present and we had to show identification to even get on the property for security measures because of the some day in the future coronation of the new king.

We lost Mike in the crowds for about 25 minutes which was a bit stressful because we had no phones, no meeting spot or any plan for if that happened. Finally I spotted him walking back toward the place where I stayed while Raff looked for him and we went on with the day. We entered another building in the same complex and to our surprise instead of mobs like the outside we were the only visitors in the Khon Masks room. The guys put on some costumes for a picture and I did my own little "letter-boxing" activity with stamps that told about the different parts of the plays.

Different characters in the stories wear different colors to add description to the story.

One of these warriors got a little more into the act than the other! At least I got him to do it!

As we left the palace grounds Raff asked one of the guards where the Thai Museum was and he indicated that it was just up the block to the left. Actually it was probably over a mile and then it was closed for remodeling. My shoes were wearing a blister on my foot and I was ready for a change.
We walked over to the river and there caught a river taxi down to the more commercial area of Bangkok. When we got off the river we went to the train and then ended up in a very high-class department store and mall.

View from our water taxi.

These were for sale at a little stand before we boarded the taxi. It would have been fun to bring some home but I just had my carry-on suitcase.

As we got off the river we were at a train station and went a few stops to the mall. We could not have done it with Raff to show us every step of the way.

We stopped in the mall to eat at a very strange place. The pasta was great and the drinks were outstanding but we are guessing that it was designed to be a spot for children.

Mango Ice

Strawberry Ice

Women's and Men's Restrooms

Interior of a store in the mall.

We next went to a Fine Arts Center for Youth (I can't remember the details) but it was brand new. We were fascinated by the two men on ropes using roller to paint that 7 or 8 story building.

They would swing together and roll paint on a row and then go back, fill the rollers and go again. They were only hanging onto the ropes!

Below is a picture from the inside of the building. It had some wonderful photographs and the work of a "unique" artist in residence.

We next walked over to a hotel I believe was called the Baiyoke Sky hotel. It had a circular walkway on the top where we were able to walk around and see the entire city. I took some pictures of their "spaghetti junctions" and different areas. Obviously this picture is from the internet. If nothing else the blue sky in all of that pollution would be a give away.

Our tickets allowed us to go down to a lower floor after we saw the top and enjoy a fantastic fruit bar with about any fruit that you may want to taste. We didn't need dinner after that.

The Church Office Buildings are across from the arched building about due center. That is the possible site of the Bangkok LDS Temple.

Next we caught a taxi to Siam Niramit Show which is based something like the PCC on a smaller level. We could feed and ride elephants if we wanted, saw a Traditional Thai Village and saw 100+ performers dance and perform.