TRIP DAY: Friday, November 4th
POST DAY: Saturday, Nov. 5th, 2022, at 4:30 PM GMT+7 / Saturday, Nov. 5th, 4:30 AM CST
I want to start off by saying that my original plan to post this bog was set for yesterday at 11:00 PM GMT+7 / 11:00 AM CST so that everyone could have a nice read for lunch time. Let me just tell you, that plan went out the window. I am currently sitting in my room, eating ramen, and editing this post because I was literally dead to the world after the long day I had. I could not look at a screen or open my eyes, but I’m jumping the story, lets get into it.
After yesterday’s blog, I had all intents and purposes on getting a few hours of sleep before we had to be up to start exploring the city. My body had other plans. I stayed up all night trying to do thing to exhaust my body and trick my mind to go to sleep. I reorganized my suitcase, I took a shower, I laid out my outfit for the day and welcome dinner. None of these things worked and I found myself watching the beautiful sunrise from my bed. I had finally decided at 8:00 AM it was time to get ready to head downstairs to eat breakfast, go to the store and do my other morning routine thing. Breakfast is provided by the hotel, and it included tangerine juice, ham and cheese sandwich and a banana. Obviously, I didn’t eat the sandwich so went to Starbucks, which is just outside of the hotel in front. Yes, Starbucks is truly everywhere. Another 2 places that I feel are everywhere and I have seen these stores in other countries are McDonald’s, 7/11, and surprisingly KFC. I am completely unsure why other countries love their KFC, but I digress. At Starbucks, I had a Toffee Nut Cold Brew with almond milk. It was quite delicious honestly. I also have every morning, especially when on vacation, make sure I get all vitamins and nutrients in to make sure I set my gut right for the day. My vitamins included B12, D, multivitamin, iron, C and my other supplements included an Arbonne Gut Health: Microbiome Gut and Digestion (helps me with making sure my gut health is in order) and an Arbonne green shot (which helps me get other vegetables and fruits that I may miss through the day). After all my breakfast goodies and some personal morning gratitude and reflection, we were ready to leave for the city tour at 10:00 AM.
Now the way I will review the day is by copying the itinerary EF provides and making comments on each thing. I’ll add if we did other excursions. Are your ready for my long and full day?
EF GUIDE:
“Explore the city with your Tour Director the way it was meant to be seen: by river. This city isn’t called the “Venice of the East” for nothing. “
- Get to know Bangkok on a guided sightseeing tour of the city.
- Coast down the Chao Phraya River on a boat tour and see why gelato has nothing to do with Bangkok being referred to as the “Venice of the East.”
To get around Bangkok, we were either on a bus or on the river. Bangkok truly does have multiple ferries to take you placed to placed. Because the city was built around the rivers, the prefer method is by water for some areas on the city. “Venice of the East” is a
good description as to how active the rivers ways are in Thailand. Some rivers were used for markets, some crossing points and others sightseeing. I believe we traveled on a total of 3 ferries and 1 boat tour cruise. To get to the Temple of Dawn, we needed to cross a river. The river of Chao Phraya is home to several large catfish. I did not ask they can be caught and eaten. My favorite boat ride was the one that we took to get to our welcome dinner. As we were on the boat ride to go to the welcome dinner there was a firework show that begun. The firework show was very beautiful over the backdrop of the beautifully light buildings.
“Today, you’ll visit some of the most important Buddhist temples in Thailand, including the Grand Palace.”
- Visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, located on the grounds of the Grand Palace, and say hey to a very famous green figurine that many believe protects the Kingdom of Thailand.
- Soak in some ancient history at the Temple of Dawn, a colorful sanctuary on the banks of the Chao Phraya that’s been around since the 17th century.
The temples were beautiful! We visited two temples, the Grand Palace, and the Temple of Dawn. For starters, both temples you are required to cover your knees and shoulders completely. They have booths outside the temple for people who do not have the correct clothing to purchase. The first temple, Grand
Palace, use to be the home of the King of Thailand for centuries before it became a visiting sight. The Palace is over 200,000 square meters and contains 3 different sections to the layout. The palace is still used for very special ceremonies like coronations and national dinners when hosting a special guest. Within the palace, there is a temple dedicated to the emerald buddha that was found in upper territory of Thailand. It is referred to as the traveling buddha because it had many homes before its current location in the temple. This temple is sacred. You are not allowed to wear shoes into the temple, nor can you take pictures instead. The Buddha itself has their costumes as they route them through each of the 3 seasons Thailand has. When in the temple you are allowed to pray and leave offerings for the Buddha. This was a very spiritual experience. Though my faith is in Christianity, it is always interesting and cool to experience other religions and their practices. Seeing others come into the temple and pray to the Buddha and bow versus those who simply came to experience the art, story and beauty of the Buddha was
a great showing that everyone can have respect for others regardless in their belief. What I did participate in was the Holy Water that was blessed by monks. There was a huge gold goblet outside the temple before you entered. Visitors are allowed to take a lotus leaf, did it into the water and tap it on their head and shoulders. While doing this you ask and pray for best fortunes and good things in your life. Both temples were beautiful constructed and had so much detail to them. Every crystal, stone, rock, ceramic was put into its place individually hundred of years ago and still looks beautiful today. The colors are amazing and it very surreal to think all of this was built by hand.
“Welcome Dinner of local cuisine and drinks with fellow travelers at an authentic local spot”
The food today was quite good. Here is the rundown of all I ate today (besides breakfast mentioned):
Lunch: Basil Shrimp over steamed rice – This was really good. I added some spicy chili oil that all local restaurants serve at their sauce, and it was good, but man did the heat intensify. The more I ate the hot it was. I regret noting though 😊
Lunch (again): I ate in the mall that our hotel is connected to. I had shrimp rolls, chilled noodles, and of course fried potatoes (which is French fries). This meal was nice and simple and held me over enough to dinner.
Welcome dinner: The welcome dinner was quite good. It included for appetizers fried chicken wings, shrimp cakes, shrimp soup, for main course steamed vegetables, cashew chicken, green chicken curry, steam rice and for dessert watermelon. The cashew chicken, rice, and watermelon were my favorite things of the night. I really could have eaten the cashew chicken all night. It had a good, sweet taste and a mild kick at the end.
We also had the opportunity to visit a beautiful plant farm. Here are some pictures of the flowers.
“Afterwards, you’re free to take the party elsewhere”
Now we are to the part where I can explain how I had no energy. After our welcome dinner, I was completely exhausted. My body finally caught up to the time difference and lack of sleep I had the day before. Several people from the group want to the bars and clubs and I really wanted to go but for the life of me I could not make it. Like I said I was completely dead to the world. I immediately came back to the room and went to sleep, hence why you are receiving this blog the next day.
I really hope you enjoyed my adventures yesterday. This is only the beginning and a lot more is to come.
Cool facts learned today:
It’s illegal to leave the house without underwear
Thailand has 2 seasons Summer, and Winter – raining season is also known as monsoon season. While here I am currently in winter season which tickles me because the high was 92 with a low of 78.
Bangkok’s real name is “Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit.” It is the longest name in the world. The short version is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon.
Like Los Angeles, it is known as the City of Angels
Alcohol can only be sold between the hours of 11AM to 2PM and 5 PM to midnight.
See you next adventure!
PS. Mommy if you are reading this, yes, I was eating ramen in my bed the whole time. Sorry 😐
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