Tuesday 3rd May 2016
We were very tired last night and slept like babies. We are already relaxed and in a very lazy mode. So all we have managed so far is a shower and breakfast. Ventured out onto the street and attempted to catch a taxi over to the Grand Palace and had several knock backs. So gave up and returned to the tour desk and organised a couple of tours to familiarize ourselves with this City. Currently relaxing before setting off at 1:30pm for a trip on the canals and river..
We drove for about 30 mins to get to River City where we boarded a boat to cruise down the Bangkok River past the many beautiful temples – they have thousands in this city. You could be here a year and you would never see them all. We eventually turned from the river and motored down a canal. This is where the locals live. So the houses vary in shape, size and wealth. Living on the water is considered only for the very rich in Australia however in Thailand some of the very poor can still manage to live here. I suppose one day the government will eventually relocate them, but for now it is a real mixture. We made our way back to the hotel in peak hour traffic which took nearly 3 times as long but as they say in Bangkok you have not experienced life unless you do 3 things here. First is a Bangkok traffic jam, second is Thai food and third is visiting the Grand Palace to pay homage to the Emerald Buddha.
Having now accomplished the first experience we set about dining on Thai food near our hotel – we tried a Red Curry and a Green Curry. Both were delicious. It is funny though we picked a place where we could sit back and relax, have a drink – just like a normal restaurant however our food was prepared in a small street vending stall just outside the restaurant. So very Thai.