Bob on a Valley Spokesmen Ride in Thailand 2005

Guards at the National Museum


Wat Phra Kaeo


Wat Phra Kaeo

February 4 - Bangkok - I had good intentions today to do a lot of sightseeing, but I only saw a couple of things. I got up at 06:00 because I forgot to turn off my alarm. So I ate breakfast and then packed my bicycle into its suitcase. After that, I found a book store and bought a Bangkok tour book along with another novel. I haven't been able to stay awake at night to read much, but I have finished three books. I read the tour book section about the royal palace and the national museum. I decided to do the museum and then the royal palace.

I took the sky train to the river and the commuter boat to the stop near the museum. I had a little trouble finding the museum but once I did it was fairly interesting. Not a 4-star, but worth a stop. The royal palace and the jade Buddha, on the other hand, were magnificent! It's worth coming to Bangkok just to see them. They are what we have imagined Thailand to look like. The only negative is the dress code. You have to wear long pants and real shoes. I knew about this before I went, so I wore my tear-away pants and packed my shoes and socks in my backpack. I got a few curious glances when I was changing in front of the dress inspector, but I felt vindicated when he turned some people for wearing shoes with no covered heels. I rented a audio guide which was really good.

My trip back to the hotel was the reverse. I'm getting to know the transportation system.

Cabbage and Condoms Restaurant

I managed to hook up with Barbara for dinner. We went to a restaurant called "Cabbage and Condoms". Believe it or not, it was really good. We had an appetizer of corn in a waffle cone and main courses of deep fried fish with mango sauce (very spicy) and veggies with prawns and chicken. When the check came, we thought the little packages with the bill were after-dinner mints, but we were wrong.

Food at the Market

February 5 - Bangkok - I went to the Weekend Market today. There were 8,500 booths and they sell just about anything you would want. In the three hours that I was there, I focused on handicrafts and animals. I didn't buy either but it was fun looking. I saw better handicrafts in northern Thailand so I didn't really appreciate the local ones. There were a lot of animals for sale, though. I saw dogs, song birds, countless varieties of aquarium fish, rodents, bunnies, reptiles, hens and roosters. I even saw a cock fight in progress. Even though I didn't find anything to buy except some good food and Thai iced coffee, I enjoyed the experience. I got back to the hotel at about 2:30 and sat by the pool for a while. Barbara and I went to a Vietnamese restaurant tonight.

Wat Arun - The Temple of Dawn

February 6 - Bangkok - I took the Sky Train and a couple of boats to Wat Arun - The Temple of Dawn. The tour book said that it is what everyone thinks that temples in Thailand look like. It is spectacular, but it is not typical. When it was built, they ran out of porcelain so the king asked his subjects to contribute broken crockery to complete the structure. You can see plates, cups, etc. in the concrete. After that, I crossed the river and walked through China Town. Sunday in China Town is a real experience. The sidewalks are more than crowded. One of the sois on my route was so narrow and crowded, people could hardly pass each other especially when someone was standing in front of a booth to buy something. It was very hot and stuffy, too. I got out of there in a hurry.

Lumphini Park

February 7 - Bangkok - I ran an errand for one of my neighbors this morning. I went back to the hotel for lunch and then did some more exploring with Kaman. We went to a local bicycle shop to get Tour de Thailand jerseys. Then we walked through Lumphini Park which is one of the largest parks in Bangkok. After browsing through Jim Thompson's silk shop, we headed back to the hotel. Barbara, Kaman and I went to the outdoor booths/beer hall/stage in Lunphini Park for dinner tonight.

February 8 - Bangkok - We got up very early this morning, drove to the airport and flew home to SFO. What a terrific trip!