Tuesday was a busy day. We visited a local market (with veggies, fruit and fish and a train running through the middle), the floating market, had a ride on the Tai version of a roller coaster (actually was a speed boat trip – more about that later), had our first elephant ride, visited the Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha, then sat in Bangkok traffic for an hour on our way to the ship.

Our first stop was a town about 110 km from Bangkok. We visited a local market – a lot of the same produce we have at home, but also some new ones. Meats, fish and veggies all stacked beside each other, often with a lady squatting beside fanning the flys away. The fruits here are fabulous especially the mangos. I have it every chance I get. The most unique thing about the market is that it is built right on a train track and the train comes through twice a day. The stalls are on wheels Ora small track. When the train is coming everyone takes down the swings over their stall, roll the stall back and sit back until the train passes. They then jump up and everything is back in place in a flash. The only ones in any danger are the tourists who don’t realize how far aback they need to stand. There is literally only inches to spare.

The next adventure was a ride through canals on a “speedboat” this is a boat snapped like a gondola but larger and with a very powerful motor. We wound through a series of canals. The speed varied from a gentle ride to as fast as possible. A few traffic jams thrown in for good measure. The trip lasted about a half hour and ended at the floating market – major traffic jam there. At the floating market you can buy just about anything you want. Now it is mainly tourist stuff, but it used to be where locals did their main shopping.

After that near death experience we moved on to the elephant ride. For a half hour we rode through a forested area and through small stream. The Asian elephants are smaller than their African relatives. These elephants grow to about 2500 kilos, the African ones will get as big as 4 – 5,000 kilos. The ride was fun but uncomfortable. We sat on a plank set on a pile of blankets, a small wooden backrest. The mahoot sat on the elephant’s neck. He was barefoot and used pressure from his feet and some sounds to direct the elephant. A mahoot will start training the elephant when it is 2 or 3 years old. They are a team from then on, one mahoot works with the same elephant. During the ride our mahoot fed the elephant from a basket of bananas we had bought. The bananas here are small and come in big bunches. The elephant would reach up behind her head with her truck, take a whole bunch put it into her mouth and immediately reach back for more ( greedy bitch!) 

We then returned to the city. On the way we passed miles of salt ponds. They use windmills to pump the seawater into the ponds and then over 40 – 45 days of evaporation harvest the salt. There were piles of salt bags by the side of the road. Bangkok is about 30 – 35 kilometers from the ocean, so they are pumping the seawater a long way. We also passed miles of rice fields and sugar cane. Thailand is still mainly a farming country and most of the farming is still done by annual labour. For this reason large families are still the norm outside the large cities. 

We had lunch by the river, we asked the guide for something not too spicy. Our idea of spicy is different from theirs. It was still very good. Tad pai, squid and sticky rice with mangos.

Next was the highlight. The Grand Palace. The outer corridor is a series of murals depicting the war between King Rama and the King of Demonds. Rama wins with the help of the White Monkey. There are Hugh highly decorated statues of the various forms the  Demonds take. Several buildings with guilt, jewels, mosaic. Everywhere you turned, another fabulous decorated building, chedi or pagoda. Gary was overwhelmed with the photography opportunities. We could have spent several hours there. The main feature of this area is the Emerald Buddha. It is quite small and on a high alter. It is believed to be over 1,000 years old. It is actually carved from jade. It has 3 costumes and was wearing it’s winter costume. The costume is changed each season by the king. It is impossible to describe the beauty of this whole area. I will post a couple of pictures over the next couple of days.

We then went to see more buddhas at the marble temple. This is the only temple constructed of marble. Italian marble with some European influence designed by King Rama v after he visited Europe. Inside the main temple another big gold Buddha with several bronze cast buddhas surrounding the courtyard. Oh and one monk asleep in the corner.

Then after spending A couple of hours in a Bangkok traffic jam we got on the ship, unpacked, ate and went to bed – we are still a little jet lagged! 

Having problem up pictureswill send some pics later