Thailand Adventure-Day 3

Before I begin our new day in Bangkok, I have to go back a few hours to yesterday afternoon. After our tour of Wot Po, the Golden Buddha and temple area there, we went back to our hotel. The extreme heat had really taken it out of us so we cleaned up and took a quick nap. At about 4:30, refreshed and ready to go again we got an expected phone call that my friend and long-time colleague, Lisa Monson, who now teaches in an international school in Bangkok, was waiting for us in the lobby.

We had arranged to go out for dinner with her. She took us on our first ride on the Sky Train and on a wild Tuk Tuk ride. These little three-wheeled motorcycles have a seat behind the driver that accommodates three passengers under a canopy with open sides. It gets its name from the sound the engine makes. It's a high-speed, hair-raising ride through the streets. Fun!
Lisa took us to a lovely Thai restaurant where we got caught up on each other's lives. She popped us into a taxi at about 10 and grabbed one herself that whisked us all back to our places. It was nice to spend some time with her.

The next day we had an excursion to The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew or Temple of the Emerald Buddha and they were just that, Grand. Spired towers laminated with gold leaf and colorful ceramic tiles fashioned into flowers and geometric patterns dotted the hundred acre site.

The Emerald Buddha was the only disappointment for me due to its diminutive size. It was, however, sitting on an elevated platform 30 feet high and covered in gold leaf. The Emerald Buddha is, also, not emerald. It is jade. It's size and elevated location make it nearly

unidentifiable and with no photos allowed, I couldn't use my zoom to get a good look at it. Oh weel,everything else was fabulous.

I will admit that I am and will most likely return to topic of the weather throughout this narrative.

But it is damned hot here. No other way to describe it. If you don't love heat and humidity I can't imagine a time of year when it would be good to visit Bangkok. It just wears you down being in it all day.

So, anyway, enough of that. We finished the tour of this site with a walk past the Grand

Palace and visited the reception room where a stunning boat-shaped, gold-leafed throne looked out over the crowd. Used only twice in the sovereign's life, once when crowned prince and again when made king, the room itself is famed as the place where King Rama IV received Anna of the King and I story.

By the time we returned to the bus, our driver and his assistant had a bottle of ice-cold water and a wet wipe for us, something they do quite frequently. It is always so welcome and appreciated. Our modern, clean bus is also air conditioned which helps give us a break from the extreme heat.

We were driven back across town in the bumper to bumper traffic. It's bad! Finally, only the divided four lane was between us and Soi 18, the street our hotel was on. Our courier, Anil, offered to have us get out and use the pedestrian walkway over the road and eliminate another 15 minutes on the bus. We were ready to scream after so much time stuck in that insane traffic and readily agreed. Our hotel is a lovely place. Very classy, but comfortable. The room was well appointed and decorated. A great buffet breakfast was included every morning with great coffee and a diverse menu of options for both eastern and western tastes.

In the evening a car was sent for by the ISB, the International school where Leslie had taught the day before. Anthony Giles who is the choir director there had taught in the Seattle area where Leslie had gotten to know him originally. He sent the car to pick us

up and whisk us out to the school where we met his lovely wife, Jackie and family and then went to dinner at the most romantic and delicious spot you can imagine. It was at the River Tree House Restaurant along the Chao Phraya River. We ordered Papaya Salad, Pomelo Salad and a Curry. Fabulous and the setting was so amazing.

The driver returned our hosts to their home and then drove us back across Bangkok, yes, through that crazy traffic, and back to our hotel where we crawled happily into bed. What a day!