un~

The palace is at a considerable distance from my hotel. I decided to walk anyway. It is required to wear long pants and sleeved shirts, so I was already drenched in sweat when I got there. You can buy and rent elephant pants for the duration of your visit from one of the many vendors outside the entrance. Well, at least I do know that now.

Speaking of entrance: we had to walk through a park, down through a subterranean foyer and through a gate to finally be able to buy the (quite expensive) entrance ticket to the palace. It is well worth it, don’t get me wrong. By the time we arrived in the foyer we were a big crowd of visitors, but the lines for the ticket sale moved quick.

It’s crowded everywhere. I take off my shoes to go into the palace temple. No photos allowed inside. It is full of people. I barely find a place to sit. Everyone seems respectful. Don’t point your feet at the Buddha. I stay for about 20 minutes observing the foreigners and locals praying.

I get why it is such a popular place. It felt very exotic : Symbols, figures, ornament, and gold everywhere.

After a couple of hours wandering around the palace grounds I went to buy some water and onto the next destination. Wat Pho. I posted a picture of Wat Pho before. I might post even more pictures in the future. It has many aesthetically pleasing spots. The main attraction is the reclining Buddha. Yep, it is… big. In all honesty, I was even more impressed by the amount of shear Buddha statues here.

Full of these new impressions I decided to also walk back the 3 km to my hotel. It didn’t rain. A great day.