Mr. & Mrs. Vandebilt + kids

We eventually arrived in Bangkok Thursday evening after switching between a bus, a pickup truck and a minivan. We didn’t accomplish anything other than finding a place to sleep and eat after that.

Friday we had hoped would be a little more successful. We walked down to the Grand Palace to check out the King’s grounds. The palace was beautiful if not a little over the top. Everything is covered on gold and jewels. There are so many buildings and people in tight quarters that it’s hard to really appreciate just how spectacular the buildings are.

Next we headed down to see the massive reclining Buddha at Wat Pho. The golden statue measures 45m in length. Unfortunately though I think I’ve become a bit jaded after living in Asia for so long. I’ve seen a lot of temples by now and just as many buddha statues that they are all starting to look the same.

We tried to do some shopping for the rest of the day. There were a couple of things I wanted to pick up and since Bangkok is supposedly the cheapest and best place to get clothes I figured it would be easy. Either we didn’t find the right place or we have just become really cheap but I didn’t find the shopping that spectacular. They definitely have more selection but the prices are higher than other places we’ve been.

I wasn’t disappointed by Bangkok as I didn’t really have that big of expectations for it. It certainly isn’t as bad as you hear. It wasn’t dangerous or seedy. Sure we were asked If we wanted to buy drugs or see a sex show but that happens in most big cities. I can definitely see why people would like BKK, especially if you were coming straight from home. It is busy, bright and has a very Asian feel but like I said I think I’ve become desensitized to it. I don’t notice the big crowds or touts. I’m not really that concerned with a language barrier or eating food that I don’t recognize. At times I envied the other people who were wowed by these things. In the end though I’m not a huge fan of cities, given the choice take me to the beach. And that’s just where we are headed for the next two weeks.

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