Bangkok is a beautiful city, you gotta give’em that. There is barely a corner not adorned with Thai culture. Wondrous wats, small shrines, all a pleasure to see. It probably helps that the Thai language has its own script, making everything feel much more exotic *LOL*.
The EAMSC organizing committee treated us to selected essential Bangkok sights. Amazing sights + wild friends = we’re making scenes everywhere.
We all went for a dinner cruise on the Chao Praya river on the second night. Exceptional food followed by pounding music got the river rockin’! Thank goodness we were on an exclusive boat; can’t imagine how other tourists would have reacted to the riot we cooked up. For a night, there was Lady Gaga on the Phraya!
By the way, the title of this post obliges me to tell you that the cruise passed by the Grand Palace, Wat Arun, several bridges, and … some other buildings. They looked so elegant at night, but alas, my camera (or rather my photography skill) wasn’t enough to capture all the glory.
The third day was spent in the Grand Palace complex, which includes Wat Phra Kaew or the Temple of Emerald Buddha. Everything inside does the word “Grand” justice; totally marvelous. The temple itself was closed for visitors because apparently there’s a mass prayer for the King of Thailand’s health that day. It was touching how hundreds of monks and laypeople come together to wish him well. I don’t even dare to imagine such thing happening here.
Another bit of info, all 30ish Indonesian delegates wore batik that day because we had a country exhibition session. Our booth, showcasing traditional customs, snacks, arts, and crafts, was a hit! A friend even brought a batik-making set.
After the exhibition, we batik-ed up the Grand Palace and … the ladyboy cabaret show later that night o_0 Let’s all come clean, everybody enjoyed the show (although I would prefer a beter word rather than “enjoy”. “Enjoy” simply doesn’t sound right in this context) because we knew they were ladyboys and we were ready to accept their shortcomings in the, let’s say, female anatomical proportions. Otherwise it would’ve been a cheesy batshit-crazy show.
Our last sightseeing trip took place on the last day. After the closing ceremony, we went to the Bang Pa-In Palace in Ayutthaya, which is supposed to be the summer palace of the Thai royalty, if I’m not mistaken. Apparently, it is a sprawling complex full of various magnificent buildings of different styles. A Chinese palace (or a temple, really couldn’t tell) on one corner, a Thai building on another, and European houses here and there; complete with a lake, a lookout tower, and a bridge with Roman statues . Stunning place, but sadly not enough shade from the scorching sun.
A good thing about the heat was that we decided to rent golf carts to explore the vast area. I took a turn driving it, Jakarta style!! And I assure you, we didn’t have to do CPR on my passengers – or reconnect anyone’s limb, if you are wondering.
Thank you for putting up with my less-than-perfect economical photography ;p and here is another group picture, this one in the Grand Palace court.
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