the Grand finale: part 2.

The final stop of our Bangkok tour:  Wat Pho.  We rounded the corner from the Grand Palace and were right at our destination... here are some typical street views near the temples.

Wat Pho is the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok and is famous for not only the largest Buddha in Thailand but their massage school.  I passed on getting a massage in a factory-like setting with rows of tables.  Not exactly relaxing.  A few days prior I was able to get a one-hour Thai massage for around $8 (yes, you read that right!) down from our hotel.  Unfortunately, Miss Oh and I had not yet talked about massages, so she hadn't told me to be sure to tell them "no elbows!"  Yikes.  

Just so I'll remember the experience for years to come, I will tell a bit more.  When I entered and asked for a massage, the lady asked, "Man can do?"  I quickly told her no, I would prefer a woman.  Oh goodness, was I ever glad they asked first!  I entered a tiny curtained off room - if you can call it that - and changed into the oversized shirt and pants.  At that point I wondered where the lady was going to stand as she worked around the table.  There were honestly two inches at most on any side of the table from the curtains and walls.  But never fear, catwoman was there!  I thought I might pass out trying to hold my breath through the pain for the first 20 minutes... she was like catwoman perching on the edges of the table, poking her elbows into every inch of my spine.  Finally, she switched into stretching mode and used her legs and feet to stretch my muscles into a pretzel.  I really thought about yelping for her to stop a few times.  ...which would have been even more awkward had a man been doing all this.  Good gracious.  Wish I had known it would be best not to have a traditional Thai massage while in Thailand.  Be forewarned, friends.

When you enter the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, you leave your shoes in the slots.

The buddha itself is quite impressive in size but impossible to see in its entirety at any point in the room.  Just the smile itself is 5 meters across!  You can't appreciate it all at once because the chapel is only slightly larger than the buddha, so you have to peek in between columns to gaze one direction or the other.

As we walked down the front side, I kept hearing a clinking sound, sort of like instruments but in no pattern.  

As we walked down the back side I understood the clinking.  People paid for tin cups of coins since it's believed if you drop one in each of the 108 bowls, you will have good luck and a long life.  

The soles of the feet are inlaid with mother-of-pearl prints and 108 icons which distinguishes a true buddha.

One icon up close.

Here's where I wish I could have swapped places with my friend Amy for even five minutes.  She's an amazing photographer and I bet she could have done amazing work with her camera, this door and my daughter.  Sad to say, Sweet P was hot, tired and would not let go of a drink that had just spilled all over her dress.  Regretful.

Dried fish and squid.  Yum.  

I could live off the orange juice in this picture.  We had a street cart selling it across from our hotel, and it was only 10 baht per bottle there.  That's about 33 cents.  It tasted like fresh squeezed tangerines!

This is where my camera died, so I wasn't able to capture any sites from the boat ride home.  I charged it up in time for our last dinner in Bangkok, where the food was delicious and little miss entertained!  

We took a final stroll down Langsuan Road past our hotel and Sweet P kept her eye out for stray cats saying "mah-ew" (Thai for cat).

 One final stop by 7-11 where I could not for the life of me figure out how they get bright pink eggs.

 We passed on these too.

 ...and roast ducks hanging by their necks in a metal noose weren't exactly the best way to end the evening, so we stopped back by Home Kitchen to get a to-go order of mango and sticky rice.  Now that was the perfect ending to our time in Thailand.  

You can see our return home and the other two kids meeting Sweet P by clicking here.

The end.  

Blessings, angela

the Grand finale: part 1.

A trip to Bangkok is not complete without a stop at the Grand Palace.  Iconic of Thailand, it was our final stop before the airport.  I'll try to let the pictures do most of the talking...

We took the skytrain down to the express boat pier to take us up the Chao Phraya River.  Here's a longtail boat that are plentiful.

The next two pictures disturb me.  I am disgusted by my own country's insatiable desire for things, for bigger and better, for more and more and more things.  I disgust myself that I am so comfortable living the life I lead.  

These homes on the river are not even the poorest of the poor in Thailand.  Stats from 2008 say the average American GDP was $46,900 while Thailand's was a mere $8,400 (which is obviously still much higher than many other countries).  ...and what's also saddening is that despite our wealthiness, debt is so infused into the fabric of American life, beginning at the top in govt.  Americans as a whole buy all the way into what media tells us is important for a great life.  Ugh.

What is important to you?  

To me, pursuing a relationship with Jesus is the most important (although there are plenty of daily distractions that make it difficult to prioritize).  I am also so grateful He has allowed me family and friends and the chance to wholeheartedly seek to store up lasting treasure in Heaven.  If only I would choose to do that each day...

(Okay, so I'm doing most of the talking so far, but those numbers have been eating away at me and I had to get that out in the open.  Think about it next time you think you need something.)

Wat Arun - The Temple of the Dawn

So food regulations are low in Thailand, but maybe that's why the food is so good!  They just throw a big pot (hopefully it's been cleaned since the day before) on a burner and start it simmering.  No sneeze guards.  No fancy equipment.  Just like momma's kitchen only outside on a dirty street.  Hungry?

I wish I remembered the name for this drink... it has long spaghetti-like straws of jelly-ishness floating in a dark liquid.  I wasn't brave enough.

Here we entered the Grand Palace compound.

I tried to get her to give a wai for the picture, but K captured me doing it instead while she looked at me like I'm crazy.  Maybe I was.  The heat was getting to me.

This is the highlight at the Grand Palace:  the Emerald Buddha.  I should have read the guide more closely because I was rather disappointed when I sweated it out to get in the building with hordes of people only to see a tiny little thing up on a very tall pedestal.  The buddha itself is only 60cm tall.

K took this one for the record books.  An "Al Gore bulb" at a palace originally opened in 1785.  

Thailand's "holy" sites have strict dress codes, so K had to put down a hefty deposit on those hammer pants.  Mind you, it was high 90s and I also had to cover my shoulders with a sweater.  Lovely.

Murals along many outdoor walkways tell stories of Thailand's history.  

Below shows the detail work on the tallest point of the picture above.  Each building is such a beautiful masterpiece, it's difficult to admire each one because there are too many in one compact area.

Total tourist.  

I was trying to find somewhere decent to eat lunch, to no avail.  Our next stop was literally right around the corner at Wat Po.  I'll make it a separate post to break up the photos, but then I'm done documenting our trip!  There are still a few more things I would like to share about our time in Thailand and what's been on my mind since.  

If you have made it this far and have questions I might answer in the near future, send them to me or comment on this post!  Anything is game.  

Blessings, angela