\nP.S. With baggage in both hands and mom’s nagging in both ears, there’s no time left for photos.<\/p>\n
Since anyway that’s a train station, so we stood on the Now it’s official February 7th.<\/p>\n It’s Chinese New Year Eve, also our first full day in Bangkok. I was eager to see how a foreign festival was celebrated in Thailand. Morning, we took a taxi on the main street near our hotel to the Grand Palace. It seemed that taxies waiting in the alleys never used the meter, and named whatever price they could imagine.<\/p>\n I found this in the taxi to Grand Palace (though in Thai), excited as if meeting an old acquaintance. By the way it\u2019s such a painful wait for the new series from Amazon Prime<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n Sculptures of three elephants outside Grand Palace<\/p><\/div>\n Due to traffic jam, our cab driver dropped us off not far from the Grand Palace visitor entrance. Yet I failed to manage Google its entrance, instead we tried to walk its perimeter. Unfortunately we tried the wrong direction, so after 7\/8 of its perimeter we finally reached its visitor entrance.<\/p>\n Ministry of Defence<\/p><\/div>\n East to Grand Palace, this seems to be some sort of Thailand Trade Committee<\/p><\/div>\n Contrary to North Thai a couple of days ago, Grand Palace was swarmed by people, a majority of which belonged to Chinese tour groups.<\/p>\n This is basically how buildings in Wat Phra Kaew look like, gorgeously ornamented<\/p><\/div>\n Entrance to the Grand Palace, with lots of people.<\/p><\/div>\n On my entrance to the Grand Palace one guard pointed at my shorts which barely covered my knees and led me to a small but equally swarmed room to borrow a designated trouser provided by Grand Palace I shall say that the Grand Palace stated that photographs in it should only be for \u201cindividual or educational\u201d purposes.<\/p>\n The main attraction of Grand Palace is its affiliated temple Wat Phra Kaew, plus only a few palace buildings.<\/p>\n Murals in Wat Phra Kaew<\/p><\/div>\n Murals in Wat Phra Kaew<\/p><\/div>\n Crowds outside Wat Phra Kaew<\/p><\/div>\n Phra Si Rattana Chedi in Wat Phra Kaew<\/p><\/div>\n Even the corridors could be made so shiny in Wat Phra Kaew<\/p><\/div>\n Ho Phra Nak in Wat Phra Kaew<\/p><\/div>\n Beautifully decorated roofs in Wat Phra Kaew<\/p><\/div>\n Phra Mondop in Wat Phra Kaew, also the King Rama Memorial in the foreground<\/p><\/div>\n Models of Angkor Wat in Wat Phra Kaew to stress Thai Kingdom\u2019s once reign over Angkor<\/p><\/div>\n Models of Angkor Wat in Wat Phra Kaew to stress Thai Kingdom\u2019s once reign over Angkor<\/p><\/div>\n Phra Mondop<\/p><\/div>\n Phra Mondop<\/p><\/div>\n Wat Phra Kaew<\/p><\/div>\n Phra Si Rattana Chedi and models of Angkor Wat<\/p><\/div>\n Models of Angkor Wat in Wat Phra Kaew to stress Thai Kingdom\u2019s once reign over Angkor, also Phra Sawet Kudakhan Wihan Yot in the background<\/p><\/div>\n Golden Chedis in Wat Phra Kaew<\/p><\/div>\n Phra Sawet Kudakhan Wihan Yot in Wat Phra Kaew<\/p><\/div>\n Ho Phra Monthian Tham in Wat Phra Kaew<\/p><\/div>\n Lotuses decoration in Wat Phra Kaew<\/p><\/div>\n Ho Phra Monthian Tham in Wat Phra Kaew<\/p><\/div>\n Details of Golden Chedis, each one of them dressed differently<\/p><\/div>\n Golden Chedis in Wat Phra Kaew<\/p><\/div>\n Half-human-half-bird creature in Wat Phra Kaew, which is quite prevalent in Thai culture.<\/p><\/div>\n Prasat Phra Thep Bidon in Wat Phra Kaew<\/p><\/div>\n Ubosot in Wat Phra Kaew with the Emerald Buddha<\/p><\/div>\n Ubosot and the Emerald Buddha behind leaves<\/p><\/div>\n Ubosot and the Emerald Buddha holds the Emerald Buddha, the photography of which is not allowed. By museum description, His Majesty routinely changes the Emerald Buddha.<\/p>\n Prasat Phra Thep Bidon in Wat Phra Kaew<\/p><\/div>\n Colorful plantations beneath Golden Chedis in Wat Phra Kaew This should be Chakkrawat in Wat Phra Kaew<\/p><\/div>\n Prasat Phra Thep Bidon<\/p><\/div>\n Prasat Phra Thep Bidon<\/p><\/div>\n Half-human-half-bird creature surrounding the Ubosot of Wat Phra Kaew<\/p><\/div>\n Phra Mondop<\/p><\/div>\n Phra Si Rattana Chedi, Phra Mondo, and Prasat Phra Thep Bidon<\/p><\/div>\n Thotsakhirithon and Thotsakhiriwan seen from the Ubosot<\/p><\/div>\n Some minor Budda towers in Wat Phra Kaew<\/p><\/div>\n (Banana?) Trees by the entrance of Ubosot<\/p><\/div>\n Ho Phra Khanthararat and Gandhara Buddha Viharn<\/p><\/div>\n Ho Phra Khanthararat and Gandhara Buddha Viharn<\/p><\/div>\n Ubosot of Wat Phra Kaew<\/p><\/div>\n Ubosot of Wat Phra Kaew<\/p><\/div>\n Chao Mae Kuan-im and Golden Chedis. The leaves of (banana?) tree provided the perfect balance of color.<\/p><\/div>\n The Bellfry in Wat Phra Kaew<\/p><\/div>\n Guardians of Wat Phra Kaew<\/p><\/div>\n Wat Phra Kaew, from the passage to the Grand Palace<\/p><\/div>\n Then we passed through a narrow doorway out of Wat Phra Kaew, into the perimeter buildings of the Grand Palace.<\/p>\n Phra Thinang Boromphiman in the Grand Palace<\/p><\/div>\n Details of Phra Maha Monthien group in the Grand Palace. The two neighboring buildings have very different architectural styles.<\/p><\/div>\n Part of Phra Maha Monthien group in the Grand Palace<\/p><\/div>\n Well decorated plants before Chakri Maha Prasat Hall<\/p><\/div>\n Plants and Phra Maha Monthien group<\/p><\/div>\n The \u201cofficial\u201d gate to the Grand Palace<\/p><\/div>\n Sculptures of elephants before Chakri Maha Prasat Hall<\/p><\/div>\n Chakri Maha Prasat Hall<\/p><\/div>\n Chakri Maha Prasat Hall and Phra Maha Monthien group<\/p><\/div>\n Chakri Maha Prasat Hall<\/p><\/div>\n Chakri Maha Prasat Hall<\/p><\/div>\n Chakri Maha Prasat Hall<\/p><\/div>\n Details of Chakri Maha Prasat Hall, the balcony on the third floor should be where the King addresses his subjects<\/p><\/div>\n Chakri Maha Prasat Hall<\/p><\/div>\n Two interesting Guardians to Phra Thinang Aphorn Phimok Prasat<\/p><\/div>\n Phra Thinang Aphorn Phimok Prasat<\/p><\/div>\n Phra Thinang Aphorn Phimok Prasat and Phra Thinang Dusit Maha Prasat<\/p><\/div>\n Upon seeing this I immediately related to the half-human-half-bird creature in Wat Phra Kaew, was I being too imaginative?<\/p><\/div>\n Gateway to Phra Thinang Dusit Maha Prasat<\/p><\/div>\n Phra Thinang Dusit Maha Prasat<\/p><\/div>\n The roofs in the Grand Palace are pretty much in uniform.<\/p><\/div>\n There\u2019s a museum next to the palaces about the history about the Grand Palace, and a museum about royal coins near the entrance of Wat Phra Kaew. The former one is inside Grand Palace \/ Wat Phra Kaew and is thus free, the ticket to the second one comes along with the ticket to Wat Phra Kaew \/ Grand Palace. Seems more crowded when we left the Grand Palace<\/p><\/div>\n The central spires of Wat Phra Kaew, viewed from outside.<\/p><\/div>\n Lots of traffic on the streets outside<\/p><\/div>\n Having left the overcrowded Grand Palace, we headed for the nearby City Pillar Shrine.<\/p>\n City Pillar Shrine<\/p><\/div>\n City Pillar Shrine interior<\/p><\/div>\n City Pillar Shrine<\/p><\/div>\n Compared with the previous Wat Phra Kaew, which is more for tourists taking photos than for pilgrims seeking solace(By the way, who could visit a royal temple if it\u2019s not open to the public as a tourist attraction?)(And by the way, not far from all the clamoring photographers, there\u2019s a corner in Wat Phra Kaew reserved from nannies chanting Buddhism Bibles), City Pillar Shrine pretty much lived up to its name of a shrine. To be honest, I thought the people were drawn more to the shrine than to the not-so-splendid city pillars. Maybe it\u2019s Chinese New Year Eve, and the choir service of nannies were attended by many, mostly local patrons. <\/p>\n It\u2019s half past 2 when we came out of City Pillar Shrine. Having enough of the spicy \u201cThai Salad\u201d in Chiang Rai, we knew what our lunch would be after spoting a Subway across the Grand Palace.<\/p>\n Maybe it\u2019s due to the location, Thai Subway wasn\u2019t much cheaper than in China, which is to our surprise.<\/p>\n After lunch, we walked along Chao Phraya River to Wat Pho.<\/p>\n The palaces of the Grand Palace, viewed outside<\/p><\/div>\n We passed an Army Wives Association, with their lovely statues<\/p><\/div>\n Flowers blossoming beneath the Grand Palace<\/p><\/div>\n Chao Phraya River passing through Bangkok<\/p><\/div>\n I found these long boats quite powerful. It must be quite an exciting ride, unless you\u2019re following one\u2019s tail.<\/p><\/div>\n Wat Arun across the river. We forwent it since it\u2019s under renovation.<\/p><\/div>\n Entrance to Wat Pho<\/p><\/div>\n It was Chinese New Year Eve, there\u2019s some festival stuff going on among the monks.<\/p><\/div>\n Sculptures guarding the Wat Pho entrance, definitely borrowed from China<\/p><\/div>\n The reclining Buddha in Wat Pho(temple of reclining Buddha)<\/p><\/div>\n Before our trip, I thought maybe the only attraction of Wat Pho is the reclining Buddha, then we found the reclining Buddha only consists of a small portion of the overall Wat Pho. (Although most visitors seem to be only interested in the reclining Buddha.) Phra Chedi Rai in Wat Pho<\/p><\/div>\n I\u2019m really fond of Phra Chedi Rai\u2019s in Wat Pho<\/p><\/div>\n I\u2019m really fond of Phra Chedi Rai\u2019s in Wat Pho<\/p><\/div>\n Phra Chedi Rai in Wat Pho<\/p><\/div>\n Phra Chedi Rai\u2019s in Wat Pho<\/p><\/div>\n Wat Pho shares the beautiful decoration of its roofs with the neighboring Grand Palace<\/p><\/div>\n Wat Pho<\/p><\/div>\n Wat Pho<\/p><\/div>\n Cute squirrel in Wat Pho<\/p><\/div>\n Cute squirrel in Wat Pho<\/p><\/div>\n Cute squirrel in Wat Pho<\/p><\/div>\n Cute squirrel in Wat Pho<\/p><\/div>\n Rockworks as decorations in Wat Pho<\/p><\/div>\n Phra Viharn Kod in Wat Pho<\/p><\/div>\n Phra Chedi Rai\u2019s in Wat Pho<\/p><\/div>\n The north-east corner of Wat Pho where cats gathered. I guessed this is the spot where the temple routinely feeds its cats.<\/p><\/div>\n The north-east corner of Wat Pho where cats gathered. I guessed this is the spot where the temple routinely feeds its cats.<\/p><\/div>\n The north-east corner of Wat Pho where cats gathered. I guessed this is the spot where the temple routinely feeds its cats.<\/p><\/div>\n Phra Viharn Kod in the north-east corner of Wat Pho, judging by the plants I guessed this is more like a living quarter of the temple, where they fed the cats.<\/p><\/div>\n Details of Wat Pho roofs<\/p><\/div>\n A tiny plaza in the east of Wat Pho, which is far from the entrance and was visited by few.<\/p><\/div>\n Buddha\u2019s in the inner cloister.<\/p><\/div>\n Some well-decorated plants in Wat Pho.<\/p><\/div>\n East Viharnn of Wat Pho, lanterns were hung in celebration of the Chinese New Year.<\/p><\/div>\nexpress<\/del> way (in traffic jam) and started hailing taxies. After about 10 taxies refused to take us because the drivers didn’t read our hotel location in Google Maps, or was not willing to take us there (not very likely) or didn’t understand English<\/del> we finally boarded a taxi. After a brief 2 minutes, the driver took us to the airport departure hall, stopped and asked as seriously where we were heading.
\nP.S.We finally resolved this problem by calling the hotel.
\nP.S.P.S.Our very friendly taxi driver welcomed us to Bangkok and asked where we are from. Having been told “China” he asked us: “Thaiwan”? #HowIWishedICouldAnswerYes
\nP.P.S.S.There seemed to be a 100THB “Taxi Tax”(I admit I invented the name of this tax) at Dun Muang Airport, since we hailed that taxi outside the airport, no extra fees.
\nP.P.P.S.S.S.Given the cost of taxi, the price advantage of Dun Muang Airport to Suvarnabhumi is really negligible ok, that’s because domestic flights in Thailand are all that cheap<\/del>, for the latter has much cheaper metro connection.<\/p>\n
\nWe were to spend the day visiting sites like Grand Palace, where any other holidaymaker would visit. For the night, my mom had been complaining about the lack of shopping malls for days.<\/p>\n![\"\u53bb\u5927\u7687\u5bab\u7684\u51fa\u79df\u8f66\u4e0a\u770b\u5230\u4e86\u8fd9\u4e2a\uff08\u867d\u7136\u91cc\u9762\u5168\u90e8\u662f\u6cf0\u6587\uff09\uff0c\u50cf\u662f\u9047\u5230\u4e86\u4e00\u4e2a\u4e45\u8fdd\u7684\u670b\u53cb\u4e00\u6837\u6fc0\u52a8\u4e07\u5206\u3002\u8bdd\u8bf4\u7b49Amazon](\"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/IMG_20160207_100129-copy.jpg\")
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a> which looked utterly terrible<\/del>. So that day I need to painstakingly instructed my mom to keep it out of the photos.<\/del> More importantly, there\u2019re no packets in that trouser.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>made more colorful by Photoshop<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>In fact, we were attracted to the museums by air-con, avoiding the Chinese tours is another plus.<\/del><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\nI was quite fond of the Phra Chedi Rai (which by Wikipedia is a kind of tower for the ashes of the royal Thai family), which come in various sizes, all beautifully decorated.
\nPlus, we witnessed how Chinese New Year\u2019s celebrated in a Thai Temple. The whole Wat Pho is filled with speakers broadcasting festival speeches from the monks.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>