Our whole family was up by 4am. By the time we left at 8am for the Grand Palace we had eaten breakfast, visited the 7-11, taken showers, done laundry and watched an Avengers movie. We left to visit the Grand Palace via Grab (their version of Uber and DoorDash in one). When we arrived we found out it was closed because the princess had passed away that morning after 3 years in a coma. There were mourners all around the palace.
Princess Bajrakitiyabha
A kind man stopped us to explain why the palace was closed and helped us get a tuk tuk to the river where we got on a boat and took an hour long cruise on the water. We saw the homes along the river, giant monitor lizards sunning themselves, and Wat Arun the large golden Buddha. The buildings we saw along the river seemed in juxtaposition to each other…new construction and dilapidated buildings, large and small, fancy and simple, modern and ancient. We saw people cooking and getting ready for the day. We even saw a large purple school and Annabelle asked how the students got there. It was eye opening to see how people on the river lived.
Wild tuk tuk ride…Liam absolutely loved it and keeps asking to do it again
Chao Praya River “River of Kings”
Our boat took us through the river to a smaller canal to see homes and the golden Buddha
Great monitor lizard
After our boat tour we made it back to the palace as it was opening again. We toured the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Pra Kaew) and the Grand Palace. We did not have a tour guide, so to be honest a lot of it was lost on us, but we took in all the intricate artwork, mosaics, and gorgeous flowers. It also led to good family discussions of culture and religion.
By this point we were very tired, hot and cranky. Even the heat and humidity of a Florida summer barely prepared us for this weather. Thankfully we also visited the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textile. Annabelle and I loved looking at all the silk and designs of the Thai clothes, while the boys enjoyed the AC.
As we were leaving the palace area we were talking to the kids about what they learned. Liam (in his loud kid voice) declared “I learned…THIS IS BORING!” An older Thai woman in front of us turned and although I was ready for a glare, she thankfully laughed. I’m so grateful when people are gracious with my kids and have a good sense of humor. It was both a rough and good day of exploring.
One of Dave’s favorite places to eat when we lived in Japan was Coco Ichiban’s. And we found out they’re in Thailand as well! We ate tonkatsu (pork curry) and it was as delicious as we remember.
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