DID: Day spent on and around the river (the Chao Phraya but we think Chow Phraya is more apt for its aroma of lemongrass, curry and rice).
But first, got off on the wrong foot by listening to hotel concierge’s advice on where to take our laundry. Sent us again to that area with the tailors/tourists/women of questionable repute. Not much different in the light of day, except that in addition we got to see drug deals being made. Delightful. And the two laundries we tried were complete rip-offs, so we ended up just bringing our stuff back to the hotel. False start!
Taxi to the river. Another misstep, he took us to a private pier where they wanted to charge $60 to get to our destination. We bailed and walked 10 minutes to the public ferry, which costs 60 cents.
Ferry from Oriental Pier to Tha Tian. Ate lunch with a view of Wat Arun, then spent a long time walking around Wat Pho. Lots of gorgeous colorful architecture, an enormous Buddha (the Reclining Buddha, as big as an entire building), and plenty of statues of small animals for GnR to ride. Was so hot even Reclining Buddha had a sweaty back (or it could have been paint bubbles, but still!) Two highlights, one a group of 14-year olds doing research on Christmas interviewed me. Lots of yes/no questions, like have you hung up socks on the chimney, would you like to be Santa Claus, have you ever sung a Christmas carol (fortunately they did not make me perform!) Other highlight, they are renovating on of the temple buildings, including installing a new tile roof. They set up a donation booth where you could buy, decorate and donate tiles to be placed on the roof. We donated two, with Gavin and Rhys handmade designs on the back.
After the Wat we’d intended to go to the Royal Grand Palace but missed opening hours (it closes at 3). As it turns out this might have been a good thing because I read later that we were all dressed inappropriately (you need long pants and long sleeves) and it is a very serious environment, not suitable for young children. I think we got about all the culture we could handle at the temple anyway.
So instead we hopped a boat back south and alighted at Tha Sathorn. From here we chartered a long boat (a very long canoe looking thing with a monster truck-sized engine on the back). GnR had seen these boats going up and down the river and were not going to be satisfied until we rode one!! Our 1-hour tour took us back up the river to Wat Pho, but then turned into a residential canal. Saw lots of homes, laundry, kids swimming, people fishing, loads of temples, etc. Wide range of wooden shacks (that may as well have been made from popsicle sticks and glue), to mega-mansions. Joined the river again a bit further north where we finally got a view of the Palace. Gorgeous!
After the boat we attempted to have a drink at the top of Bangkok (Sirocco Bar at the top of the Lebua Hotel) but were denied because we didn’t meet the dress code. Off to dinner but experience was not great thanks to poor advice from taxi driver (see Ate).
Squeezed in a bit more shopping after dinner, back at the Central Chidlom Department Store. Went intending just to check out their sports store but came away with a new work bag for Jason, a pair of trainers for Gavin to go with his sports uniform, plus a few necessities since we weren’t able to get laundry done.
Walk to hotel, shower, bed, crash.
ATE: Breakfast in the room, pastries we’d bought from Central Chidlom food market on Saturday night. Pretty good, especially considering they were day-old.
Lunch at The Deck in the Arun Residence (www.arunresidence.com). Called Thai fusion but really a collection of some western and some Thai dishes rather than hybrids. Starter of roasted spicy cashews, Gavin had scrambled eggs on a hashbrown, Jason had fried softshell crab, I had spicy grilled pork salad. Also fresh lemonade for Gavin and me, and Thai iced tea for Jason (Rhys was asleep through lunch). Gavin and Jason’s meals were excellent, mine was not worth the calories. Mine came out late, was not hot, and the pork was not a nice texture. I filled up on cashews and rice.
Side note: restaurant is part of a small, boutique B&B. Rooms are about $90/night including breakfast. Looks like a nice place to stay if you want to be in the midst of temples, plus a great view of the river.
Dinner at a local place near Ratcha Thewi skytrain station. We’d selected a restaurant from our Luxe guide, the doorman at Lebua told the taxi driver exactly how to get there, but en route we had troubles. First the driver claimed he didn’t know how to get there (we gave him the phone number but either there was no answer or he never actually made the call). Then I tried to just get out when I saw a couple of good looking restaurants out of the window, but the driver told us all the restaurants in the area weren’t clean and we would be sick. Of course not being sick is a priority so we stayed in the cab and pressed on. At this point we explained to him we just wanted a good, local noodle place. He assured us he had the perfect spot. But as we drove along, it became clear that we were being brought again to the dreaded Seafood Market! Once Jason realized this, he told the driver we did not want to eat any seafood. The driver changed course and dropped us off at a restaurant that actually looked like the right kind of place. Except there were no noodles on the menu. Plenty of other interesting things though, so I talked Gavin into chicken and rice and we were in business. Jason had holy basil chicken and stir-fried morning glory, I had spicy pork salad (still craving it since the bad one at lunch). And I’m still craving it now because I ate my 3-bite minimum (that’s our house rule) and that was more than enough. Jason, Gavin and Rhys all enjoyed their meals. Maybe there’s just something wrong with my tastebuds, but that’s 3 meals in a row that I haven’t enjoyed. Hrmph.
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