Tried again to see The Grand Palace

The first day we tried to see The Grand Palace we were rained out. Today we tried again but still did not make it. We donned the appropriate clothing required for visitors (long trousers for men and skirts below the knee or long pants for women and with upper arms covered, with regular shoes and no sandals), and hailed a taxi. The taxi deposited us at a side entrance where a uniformed man instructed us to walk down the street to another entrance to purchase tickets. When we reached the other entrance, another man (not in a uniform) told us that a special function was occurring and that visitors would not be allowed until after 1:00 p.m. and suggested we go visit another temple. I did not believe him and figured he was just trying to be our guide to another place, so we kept walking towards the corner with intentions to go down the next street and see if tickets could be purchased at another entrance. We ended up going across the street to a market area where a vendor also told us that there was a special function in the palace today and that visitors would not be allowed until after 1:00 p.m. The vendor suggested we not walk down the street towards the main entrance to The Grand Palace and told us that it was not a safe area. That sounded strange.

Next we talked to nearby policeman and he confirmed that "loyal faithful people" were having a special function inside the palace today and that visitors would not be allowed until afternoon. The policeman also suggested that we not walk down the street towards the main entrance as it was not safe. Ok; that made 2 people telling us that it was not safe to be near the main entrance to The Grand Palace on this particular day. Given the Red Shirt demonstrations of the past few months, maybe these local people knew something that we did not. Possibly another demonstration was planned. Whatever the reason that we were being advised that the main entrance was not safe, we took the warnings to heart and moved on.

Elisabeth was complaining that it was too hot and wet and she just wanted to go back to the hotel room. Zach was beginning to agree with her. Not one of us wanted to go see the huge 750-year-old Buddha statue that the tuk-tuk drivers were trying to sell us on visiting. Then Elisabeth had a good idea. We had driven past the National Museum in the taxi and it wasn't too far away. She suggested we go there; maybe it would be air-conditioned and we could hang around inside the museum until after 1:00 and try the palace again then if it wasn't raining. That sounded like a plan.

We hailed a tuk-tuk for the short drive to the National Museum. Turned out it was not air-conditioned, but the gift shop was and we cooled off in there. For a national museum, this was a disappointment. We would not recommend it unless you are just looking for a place to waste some time like we were. By the time we finished the museum, none of us cared to try again to see the palace. We just wanted to go back to the hotel.

After a late lunch we hung around the hotel room and the kids played DS and read books while Bill caught up on the news online. After this rest period we walked to the Thewet boat stop #15. We were going exploring on the river on what can only be called a boat bus. There are 3 colors of flags on the boats and they travel up and down the main river ferrying passengers between 30 stops. We had been advised to use the orange flagged boats; I don't know why orange rather than red or blue; but we did as told and rode the orange one. The nearest stop to our hotel is stop #15, a/k/a Thewet. We bought tickets for 14 baht each (less than 50 cents) and rode to the northern end of the line at stop #30. We walked around that area of Bangkok for awhile; then boarded another orange flagged boat for the ride back to stop #15.

We saw many more colorful temples along both sides of the river. Neither Zachary nor Elisabeth care now if they ever see another temple or another Buddhist statue. They reached overload on temples and statues rather quickly on this Thailand trip. These boats are a great way to see different parts of Bangkok. We definitely will travel by boat again, maybe to the southern end of the line next time.

When we returned to Thewet #15 the kids wanted to feed the fish congregated around the pier. There were millions of large catfish and the vendors had large plastic bags of bread crusts for sale to feed the catfish. This seemed to be popular with the local people. The fish would go crazy swimming over one another trying to get to the bread crusts. Cheap entertainment.

There was a small Thai boy picking up tiny eels and small fish from buckets on the boat pier. The eels kept slipping through his fingers and he would giggle. Very cute.

We walked a short while and stopped for ice cream and beer. You can guess who of us had which. Then back to the hotel for showers and another brief rest before dinner. No ghost stories tonight. Bill, Zachary and Elisabeth were all unusually tired. We watched 3 episodes of M.A.S.H. and they fell fast asleep. Being the night person that I normally am, I played on the computer for hours.

Earlier this afternoon we discussed it and decided that we would try again tomorrow afternoon to see The Grand Palace. But now none of us cares if we see the inside of it. We saw enough of the exterior wall as we walked around it this morning. There is a valuable old small emerald Buddha that is a big tourist attraction, but none of us cares if we see it or not. We might just give The Grand Palace a miss.

First day of sightseeing in Bangkok

Our first afternoon in Bangkok was spent relaxing in the hotel and walking the neighborhood. Dinner in the hotel was wonderful and later in the evening we watched a few episodes of the old TV series M.A.S.H. Both kids enjoy watching Hawkeye and it gives Bill and me some quiet time. We were all tired from the 2 long train trips, and planned to start sightseeing the next day. Our first tourist attraction would be The Grand Palace.

A travel agent from Sweden was in the reception office of the hotel when we checked in. She spoke English very well. She chatted with Bill and provided some great tips for both Bangkok and Chaing Mai. One tip was to use the boats instead of taxis to get around Bangkok. Thewet Boat Stop #15 is about 4 blocks from our hotel and could take us right to The Grand Palace. That was our plan.

Unfortunately, good plans often go awry. Heavy weather moved in during the night. It lightninged and thundered loudly for hours and the rain sounded like rivers flowing down from the sky. At dawn it was still raining and looked like it would continue all day. This would require a change of plans. We were not going to go down the river and tour those large palace grounds in the pouring rain. A good alternate for a rainy day would be the Museum of Siam. This museum was built in 2008 and has many interactive exhibits geared for children aged 10 and above. The focus is on the anthropological history of Thailand, with minor focus on the political history. We grabbed the umbrella and hailed a taxi......with the name of the museum written in Thai to use to tell him where to take us. The hotel clerk had written 2 words in Thai. The taxi driver pointed to each word and said "here? or here?"

Uh-oh. The only thing that was supposed to be on that paper was the name of the museum. Bill pointed to the second word written in Thai and said "here." So off the taxi went.

We arrived at a very large brightly colored temple complex with all words written in Thai. This did not seem like the museum we had read about online, but maybe the museum was spread out between these buildings. We bought tickets and entered.......only to find that this was indeed some kind of large temple complex. Of course no one spoke English. Well, okay; we will visit a temple instead of the Museum of Siam.

There were golden Buddha statues all over the place. Every building was filled with them; and there were a lot of buildings in this complex. When walking out of one of the largest buildings near the center I overheard a female guide speaking English and quickly asked her if this complex was the Museum of Siam. She explained that we were in the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. There was a long Thai name for this temple complex, of course; but that was the English translation. She said the Museum of Siam was down the road a few blocks. So off we went.

When we got near the Museum of Siam a tuk-tuk driver told us that the museum was closed to tourists today until 1:00 p.m. It was only 11 a.m. and he would take us around the city in his tuk-tuk for 2 hours for 40 baht. We said that all 4 of us could not ride in a single tuk-tuk, so he arranged with another driver to accompany him for the same price -- only 20 baht each for 2 hours. That is about 66 cents each for 2 hours work. How could we turn that down? There was a reason it was so cheap. They would take us to places that give the tuk-tuk drivers tokens for gasoline for bringing tourists to shop in their establishments. What did we care about that? We just wanted to waste a couple of hours. Both kids loved riding in the tuk-tuks. (Bill gave them 50 baht each at the end of our rides since we didn't buy anything at any of the shops where they would have received a kickback. We know how this game works.) I had figured that the tuk-tuk drivers had lied about the museum being closed to the public until afternoon, but we did see a bunch of army soldiers leaving the museum as we arrived in the early afternoon.

The first stop was a brand-new Buddhist temple. In fact, construction was not yet quite complete. This was a very modern temple with several levels and very stark architectural design. Very unusual temple.



Then we visited the Temple of the Lucky Buddha. I think that little Buddha statue was lucky because he had a fan inside his room. It was so humid and hot. The rain had almost stopped altogether and the city steamed.

Next stop was an export jewelry shop. They had a pair of ruby earrings that Bill thought I should have. They were very pretty, but I thought I could live without another pair of earrings. What do I need jewelry for given our current lifestyle? All my jewelry is back in a safe in Houston since we will be going through Somali pirate waters next year. Why buy more now!

Since we did not buy any jewelry at the first shop, the tuk-tuk drivers next took us to a larger jewelry shop. Elisabeth bought herself a necklace with a small elephant pendant. Zachary bought his parents a gift (I won't spoil his surprise by tell what it is -- but it is not jewelry). Then we visited a Thai silk shop where the salesperson tried desperately to talk Bill into having custom suits or shirts made. He guaranteed delivery to our hotel that night. Sorry; Bill does not need any silk clothing; and neither do I.

Finally it was time for the museum to open again. But it was also time for lunch. We visited a restaurant on the museum grounds and enjoyed a great lunch before entering the museum. Children are admitted free. The admittance charge for foreigners was 300 baht each. However, since Bill and I are each over the age of 60 we were admitted free of charge. How nice was that!! We spent hours wandering through the air-conditioned museum. The kids had a ball and might have learned a few things about Thailand.

When we exited the museum the sun was finally out. Maybe we would make it to The Grand Palace the next day. We grabbed a taxi back to the hotel (again thanks to our directions printed in Thai). That night we discovered that the hotel will make pizzas. Hurray!!! Definitely pizza for dinner. It was very thin crust and very good. Zach chose plain cheese; Elisabeth ordered chicken with baby corn topped with basil; and Bill and I split a pineapple and ham. All were excellent.

After Bill and the kids had all showered and were ready for bed, Elisabeth wanted to tell ghost stories instead of watching DVDs. They gathered in a circle in the big bed and started telling scary stories while I enjoyed a long luxurious shower. By the time I was ready for bed everyone was beat and ready for sleep. Elisabeth had managed to scare herself about ghosts but she calmed down laying next to me and we were all soon asleep. This day did not go as planned but it was a great day.

Here is a photo of one of the temples we saw when riding through southern Thailand in the train from Malaysia. Seems like you run into another temple every few blocks in Bangkok, and they are also plentiful in the rural areas. Buddha should be very proud.

Train from Johor Bahru to Bangkok

The past 4 days have passed in a whir!!

Tuesday morning the marina shuttle picked us up promptly at 06:30 and delivered us to the train station in Johor Bahru. We arrived at the train station at 07:30, just 10 minutes before our reservations would have been automatically canceled for the 08:47 express train to Butterworth at Penang. The train ride was pleasant. We were booked in first class, but Zachary insisted that he been in first class in airplanes and this train coach was definitely not first class. The train is "tired" but still nice enough. We reversed the seats to face one another. Both Zachary and BeBe were good on their first long passenger train trip. There was too much motion to allow them to read or play with their DS(es) -- trying to avoid motion sickness. We played poker and war instead until the adults were sick and tired of cards.

Zachary is very flexible for a child of his size. One does not normally expect the large or ample sized person to be flexible. Several times we noticed him relaxing and resting his head on his foot. He insisted this is a comfortable position for relaxing. Sort of freaks me out. Then, to burn off excess energy, he started lifting himself by his upper arms and sitting above the seat. BeBe tried hard to do the same positions but she did not have the upper body strength to do it. She also could not do the half-lotus position on top of the arm rests that he managed so easily. On the other hand, she can squat and sit comfortably on her heels like an Asian; but he can't get his butt down onto his heels and remain upright.

After a thirteen hour trip we pulled into the Butterworth terminal. It was only a few minutes walk to the ferry across to Penang where our hotel awaited.

The onward train to Bangkok was scheduled for the next afternoon, so we would be in Penang for only one night on this segment of our vacation. We had booked two rooms in a cheap hotel, one for the girls and one for the guys. This cheap hotel was fine.....the air conditioning worked in both rooms; there were hot showers; the televisions worked and had a couple of English speaking channels; and the complimentary breakfast included foods that both kids would eat. What more did we need? We walked around a bit, but it was too hot to enjoy it very much. Elisabeth wanted a head scarf like the Muslim women and girls were wearing and she found a pretty one from a sidewalk vendor for about $3. I would not let her buy a hijab, but the pretty scarf met my approval. She plans to wear it in her room when playing with her stuffed animals and her brother, baby Damien. (It is so funny to us that she always calls him baby Damien, never just Damien.) During our shopping walk we passed the Cititel Hotel and stopped in to see their facilities. We probably will book a room there for a few nights in Penang on our return trip in a couple of weeks. Then we took the ferry back across to Butterworth to await the train for Bangkok. The ferry terminal is adjacent to the Penang marina. This provided us an opportunity to see for ourselves how rolly this marina is with the ferries constantly coming and going. It was rolly but not unbearable. We probably will be visiting this marina when it is time to obtain advance Thai visas before we sail to Phuket in December. The advance visa will allow us to stay in Phuket for 30 to 60 days rather than the normal 15 days allotted to those who arrive without visas.

We were early so Bill walked around the area and found fried chicken and rice for lunch. I had brought a cooler bag filled with all sorts of delights for our train ride the previous day; but we were now down to yogurt, apples, cheese & crackers, and peanut butter with a fresh loaf of bread purchased from the local 7-Eleven near the hotel. Oh, we also had leftover toll house cookies and a couple of small loaves of breakfast breads. We had no idea what to expect regarding food that might or might not be available for sale on the 22 hour train ride to Bangkok. You have to be a little more prepared when there are 4 mouths to feed instead of only 2.

It turned out that the Thai State Railway does sell meals on this particular route. And they were pretty darn good meals, too. They even sell beer, so Bill was happy. Zach and BeBe had just finished eating PB&J sandwiches and apples when the attendant delivered menus for dinner and breakfast selections. These were set meals and seemed like a lot of food so we ordered only 2 dinners thinking that the kids could eat part of ours if they were still hungry. Whatever Bill ordered for dinner was too spicy for either of the kids, but both of them enjoyed my vegetarian meal. They especially liked the soup. Zach wants the recipe for the Thai vegetarian soup so his parents can cook it for him at home. There were also several food vendors who boarded the train at various stops and wandered through our coach hawking selections of local foods. Some of the items looked delicious, but we had more than we could eat in the dinners purchased from the railway.

Shortly before dinner we reached the Malaysia/Thailand border. Clearance formalities were very simple.....just stand in one line and have the passports stamped out of Malaysia....then walk to the other side of the same building and have the passports stamped into Thailand. We did not have visas for Thailand but that was not a problem. As US citizens we were allowed 15 days within Thailand. If one arrives at an airport 30 days are granted; but only 15 days are allowed in one arrives in Thailand via train and does not have an advance visa.

On this train the upper berths are folded up during the day. And the 2 lower seats face one another. There is a removable table that is stored in a floor compartment between the seats. At night the 2 lower seats move down to make a bed. A thin foam mattress is placed over the seats. An attendant does all this and also makes up the beds with fresh linens; then curtains are hung for privacy for both the upper and lower berths. We had decided that Bill and I would have the 2 lower berths and the kids could take the upper berths. This worked until Elisabeth found a tiny cockroach crawling on her bed.....and that was the end of her staying in that bed. Can't really blame her. Roaches make my skin crawl too! My lower berth was wide enough for the both of us. Thank goodness she is a calm sleeper and doesn't thrash about all night like her cousin does. The next morning I woke her up so she could see the beaches along the Gulf of Thailand that were only 100 meters from our window. She tried her best to be grumpy about being awakened, but you can see by the corners of her mouth that it is all she can do to keep from smiling.

We left the tables in place after breakfast and let the kids watch movies since there was an electrical connection on the wall next to our cubicle of seats. We were lucky because these were the only electrical outlets in the train car. Glad we were fortunate enough to be assigned seats right next to them. This also enabled us to play games on the laptop and to charge their DS(es).

Bill thought the trains we had been traveling in were "tired" until he saw how the local trains looked. This train was one of the better local trains. The people looked hot in that non-air-conditioned train.

Our train arrived on schedule around noon. Bill found an ATM machine while I went into the advance booking office to collect our tickets for the trip to Chaing Mai next week. While there I also purchased return tickets to Penang; but I did not have my calendar out and bought tickets for the wrong date of travel. We should be able to pay a penalty fee and obtain tickets for the correct date when we return to the train terminal for the trip to Chaing Mai. Then we found a taxi and headed to the hotel.

We are staying in a family room at a small hotel that was highly rated on Tripadvisor http://www.phranakorn-nornlen.com/ and the hotel had emailed us a map and driving directions written in Thai. Without the printed map and written instructions in Thai, the taxi driver would never have found this tiny hotel. The taxi drivers speak only a few words of English, if any at all. And they do not read English, so you need everything written in Thai. Our little hotel is down an alley and then down a side alley off the first alley; it is not on a main road. Our room is on the 3rd floor and there is no elevator. It is a family room and is really 2 rooms with 2 bathrooms, with a wide opening separating the 2 rooms. We have a bathroom for the girls and a bathroom for the guys. One room contains several pieces of simple wooden furniture and the other room contains 2 queen-size beds pushed together to form one huge family bed. We put Zachary against the wall, then Bill, then me, and then Elisabeth on the outside edge. There are no televisions in the PN Hotel but they do have WiFi. Actually, there are dozens of televisions in the PN Hotel.....they are very old and definitely don't work. The entire small hotel is very artsy and there are many classic and old items throughout. We brought a few DVDs and can lie in bed for our evening entertainment. On the ground floor there is a restaurant and a raised floor building (Japanese style) with all kinds of toys, seating, computers (Apples unfortunately) and lots of vegetation and small ponds filled with tiny fish and tadpoles. Guests can book a traditional Thai massage in this little building. A perfect little hotel for traveling families but also very popular with young couples and singles.

The Thai food is wonderful. I have enjoyed every dish tried thus far. The kids are happy with fried rice with prawns as they both love shrimp, and they both love the vegetarian Thai soups. Almost everything else has been too spicy for them. I could eat vegetarian Pad Thai every single day.