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Stayed in the hotel till noon….i was supposed to go down and meet my guide at 12.30 pm…..i wasn’t hungry so, had a piece of bread as lunch….but I be came late or that was what I thought when it became 12.30. so, I ran out and when I reached the lobby, I realized the trip reservation slip is missing. But I was sure that I took it…so one more rushing up and there it is on the floor…..and a few feet away stands the housekeeping lady……luckily she did not take it….otherwise it would have been a lil difficult job to make her understand what exactly I am looking for…but the guide did not turn up…..and my agent made a couple of calls…..usually, his service is prompt……so, I sat in the lobby for 20 minutes or so and then came a van…….there wasn’t any guide but just a driver and he don’t know English ….so, he had a talk with one of the hotel staff….i was watching all these and I thought he is not looking for me….then comes a man with a placard ‘JAYARAM’ …..so I boarded into the van….he did not speak anything and we were (me and son) the only passengers……he drove for about 20 minutes and I thought it is better I ask him…but that time he entered another hotel and stopped….after 10 minutes, there comes three people.
One was our guide, a Thai lady who was carrying an umbrella and a foldable fan and a couple in their 50s, they looked very much south Indian……and they were from Bangalore….but I did not show much interest and did not even ask his name……I saw enough Indians in Bangkok by now and it is a normal thing.
We first went to the Wat Traimit Temple or Temple of the Golden Buddha (Wat means Temple)…..comes after the China Town, the largest Chinese settlement in Bangkok. This is the largest golden Buddha in the world weighing about five and a half ton……here I found some future telling machines…..its all printed and kept ready based on number 1 to 12 (it seems) when we put a coin (Bt 5 or 10 ) the LED in the circular dial ‘starts moving’ and it ends at some number ……mine ended at 3 and it predicted that it can not find any good luck in the near future..............
Beer was sold outside the temple!!!
Then to the Wat Pho or Temple of the Reclining Budha……The entrance fee was Bt.20 ………….oh man, this is a BIG (loooooooong) Buddha idle……It is 46 metres long….feet had ‘mother of Perl’ illustrations and there was a request to not to touch the feet….
Here we get a genuine traditional Thai massage at a reasonable rate (below Bt.500)….They have a school that teach Thai massage……Our guide took rest and told me I can look around and meet her at a particular point (near entrance, where many tourists and cats were sitting together!!)…. reclining Buddha is the largest temple in Bangkok and I lost my way inside the temple…..after doing some circles, I met the other Indian guy……then we moved as a group and when reached the meeting point, our guide was missing!
Then we started looking for the guide and finally found out…she was looking for us, since we took long time than expected……She looked unhappy with our escapade act and told us she walked all around……the other guy was a smart guy and he dared to tell her ‘once in a while its good even for you to have a look around the temple’
When we sat inside the van, she said there ends our tour! We were told that we will be visiting three temples …..so, the other guy reminded her of it and she said ‘you want to visit one more temple? I don’t know whether it is closed or not’ …..but her face told me that she is not telling the truth…but we all said we will check it out and she said ‘OK’…and started telling something in Thai to the driver…..that was an animated talk and from that I understood that she was talking about her long walk inside the temple….
The third one was Wat Benchamabophit or The Marble Temple……by this time we were tired….
The greatest mistake I did was not taking an umbrella or cap or even my sun glasses…it was terribly hot outside….sun was at his best…..my water bottle got emptied just like that……..
I saw some small ceremony going on and my guide told me that one boy is becoming a monk…….in this temple there is a place where there are 52 idols of Buddha are kept….they are from different provinces and had different significance…..I did not note down anything, but my son was a curious visitor here and I saw him standing in front of all the 52 idols….
There was a long drum. Longer than what we think when I say long……then there was one guy selling Nestle ice cream and guide said she is going to have one….so me and son joined her. I paid for all but she tried to give her share…..
Then started the City tour….we passed parliament and she said that is parliament….we all nodded our head. ..then the palace where the King lives……we passed that too and reached at an interesting place, The Gems Gallery. There were lots of Indians and I heard some talk Malayalam, my mother tongue….let them talk and let us go inside….
Thailand is world’s largest producer of Gems, and this is the world’s largest gems showroom. There were armed security guards…..hospitality was great…they gave welcome drink (soft drinks)….then I was taken to the presentation room and shown a video about what is happening in there factory…..from mining till polishing….then I was taken through the factory where men actually work……then I was individually attended by a sales executive to show the ornaments….there is no need to buy, if you are not interested…..did I buy? It’s a secret
Then each visitor will be dropped by them to their respective hotels free of charge!! We can see lots of vehicles (they said abt 300, including Benz for business clients) for this purpose. Mostly it was Toyota Van. I think if there is enough number, they might even pick us from our hotel, free of charge (I did not confirm this since I wasn’t interested)…
I was dropped back in my hotel in a Van, and we (me and son) were the only one to this hotel.
At night we went to our old Thai restaurant….We informed the lady who used to attend us, regularly, that we are leaving……she gave a smile which wasn’t false and said ‘God bless’…..
We are suppose to leave tmrw but wife told me that we may have to extend our stay and I could not help saying ‘Oh, not again’,……..
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