A Grand Day Out

Wednesday January 30th


Well being in Khao San means I am finally in walking distance of the big sights, Wat Po and the Grand Palace. So it was off to the Grand Palace first thing in the morning (after not the best nights sleep, Khao San is a bit noisy).


The Grand Palace is grand, but you don't actually get to see that much of it. More impressive is the adjoining Wat that contains the Emerald Buddha. The Buddha isn't actually Emerald but it is housed in an amazing complex of buildings. However it had rained hard overnight and the marble steps were quite slippy. I narrowly avoided a trip to the hospital when I slipped on a step. Just about managed to avoid going down them all.


Anyway after that came Wat Po, the home of the reclining Buddha. Lets just say this guy is huge. There is no point in trying to describe how big because its hard to say. But its closer to a boeing 737 than a car. That temple was very large, and had all sorts of bits to it. I actually found it more impressive than the Grand Palace.


This day was the first really hot day. It was the first one where my walk instead of tuk-tuk policy looked a bit mad. But I persevered, and made it back to the hotel for a siesta. The rest of the day was spent shopping around for a good deal on the Cambodia Visa, trip to Siem Reap, and a day trip. We'll see how they go.


This day was also the first where I tried to eat like a local. I don't mean I'd eaten burgers till them, although I did resort to a nice steak and chips the previous night, I mean eating a load of tiny meals continuously through the day, and all bought from street vendors (well except for some milk from 7-11 - milk may actually be, drop for drop, the best thing to cool you down). Anyway it was all really nice food, but I actually think I didn't eat enough, based on alcohol's effect on me later.

The alcohol began from a street vendor too, which is where I met yet another older guy who was married to a Thai. Steve, an Aussie (originally English) opal miner is really sound bloke, he was only up in Bangkokk for a night on buisness, but he decided he would teach me his tricks. The most useful trick was how to say Mai, no, to all the vendors. Gets rid of them quicker. He also decided to teach me how to pull Thai women, which is where the lots more drink came in. (Turns out its pretty the same as at home, and I'm as useless at it here)


He also had some tips about Cambodia which I'll take on board. Unlike another guy I met from Canada. Lets just say he enjoyed Cambodia in the Gary Glitter way, and pretty much every place he recommended is off my list of places to visit.