We slept late last night after hanging out for some beer and chat with Rene's officemates and our new gal pals Mae, Orfa and Anne. Since the gals do not have work today due to the holiday, they planned to go to the Grand Palace for the day and invited me to join them. They also invited all of us to join them on the Dinner river cruise. It's great because I would not have to stay in the hotel during the day and we will get to experience something new in Bangkok.
The girls and I left around 11am for Bangkok. We took an aircon bus this time (can't remember if it's 29 or 39) and it cost us THB20 each (not flat rate for aircon). We got off at Victory monument station and ate our lunch there.
Victory Monument
The Victory Monument is a major intersection as most buses and MRT stations stop here. It is actually a rotonda. So if you ever find yourself lost, might as well go off here and you will most likely get a ride to anywhere else in Bangkok. I suggest one always carry a map (which I got upon arrival at the airport) and it already has a map of the MRT/Skytrain stations. Fortunately it is written in both English and Thai so you can ask a local in case you don't know how to get to a specific place. And if you want to take a bus, (which is considerably cheaper than the MRT/Skytrain) just buy a bus map available in most bookstores like the one I got for THB69.
The 4 of us took a taxi to Grand Palace but unfortunately we passed by a road passing through several intersections so we got there around 2pm already. The Grand Palace supposedly closes at 3pm or earlier depending if there are any official functions taking place there. When we arrived it was already closed. So we just took pictures around the area.
It seems there indeed was an official function because while we were taking pictures around the area, there was a sudden hush. It was dramatic sort of like the "Happening" when everything turned quiet and even the roads cleared. It was only after some time that we realized that the Royal Family was actually going to pass (probably came from the Grand Palace itself).
The above picture is where we were standing before the Royal Family passed. But unfortunately we crossed this road to the other side of the Monument. So when we realized that this is where they went we were really disappointed. We should have seen them upclose. We only saw them from afar. But I think it was intentional that they let us cross 1st so that no one could come close to the Royal Family. We were actually just standing here when the policeman suddenly told us to all cross the road because we just came from the other side. We didn't understand then what was happening. We were just curious. At one point I even tried to record a video (when we were already at the far side) and we finally saw the police escorts arriving (that's when we knew it was the Royal Family). A traffic policeman saw me and told me to stop (just a hand signal). What I just saw is a boy inside the car (probably sitting on someone's lap) but I didn't see how many people were in the car. O well it's one of those unusual but fascinating tourist moments.
Since we can't get in the Grand palace we just asked a local guy what places he suggest we go to. After marking some places on the map I was carrying, he called a Tuktuk driver and told him where to take us. The fare he quoted for us was just THB40 for the 4 of us! My thought was maybe there is a catch.*
We only stopped by one Buddhist temple where we made a wish (as a local guy told us it is called the Lucky Buddha) after which we were brought to the Chin Jewelry Factory outlet. I guess that was the catch. I read somewhere that tuktuk drivers get gasoline allowance for bringing tourists here. It's not a bad deal I guess for people who like jewelry. At first you enter this place with a bit of demonstration on how they make jewelry. Once you get to the main store you will see a lot of choices of gold and silver and all kinds of gemstones. I find the prices here reasonable although I didn't buy any as I was on a tight budget. All my companions though bought something. One of them even told me that the prices are so low that one of her aunts who bought an item here pawned it in the Philippines and got more than the price she bought it for!
That wrapped up our day and we waited for awhile at the reception for their ordered rings to be resized.
* I saw this website talking about a scam taking place in Bangkok: http://www.into-asia.com/bangkok/gemscam/
It sounded very similar to what happened to us although we were not approached, instead we asked someone who was sitting in what looked like a guardhouse/stand (although he was not a guard but just an ordinary guy). I have yet to confirm with my companions there if what they bought were fake or real. Good thing they're all in Thailand and they can get back to the store in case they would like to have a refund. I was lucky I didn't buy any or else I could not get back there anymore.
The girls and I left around 11am for Bangkok. We took an aircon bus this time (can't remember if it's 29 or 39) and it cost us THB20 each (not flat rate for aircon). We got off at Victory monument station and ate our lunch there.
Victory Monument
The Victory Monument is a major intersection as most buses and MRT stations stop here. It is actually a rotonda. So if you ever find yourself lost, might as well go off here and you will most likely get a ride to anywhere else in Bangkok. I suggest one always carry a map (which I got upon arrival at the airport) and it already has a map of the MRT/Skytrain stations. Fortunately it is written in both English and Thai so you can ask a local in case you don't know how to get to a specific place. And if you want to take a bus, (which is considerably cheaper than the MRT/Skytrain) just buy a bus map available in most bookstores like the one I got for THB69.
The 4 of us took a taxi to Grand Palace but unfortunately we passed by a road passing through several intersections so we got there around 2pm already. The Grand Palace supposedly closes at 3pm or earlier depending if there are any official functions taking place there. When we arrived it was already closed. So we just took pictures around the area.
One of the gates to the Grand Palace and the City Pillar Shrine
Grand Palace border and Policemen controlling traffic for the Royal Family
It seems there indeed was an official function because while we were taking pictures around the area, there was a sudden hush. It was dramatic sort of like the "Happening" when everything turned quiet and even the roads cleared. It was only after some time that we realized that the Royal Family was actually going to pass (probably came from the Grand Palace itself).
The Elephant monument in the middle of the rotonda near the Grand Palace
The above picture is where we were standing before the Royal Family passed. But unfortunately we crossed this road to the other side of the Monument. So when we realized that this is where they went we were really disappointed. We should have seen them upclose. We only saw them from afar. But I think it was intentional that they let us cross 1st so that no one could come close to the Royal Family. We were actually just standing here when the policeman suddenly told us to all cross the road because we just came from the other side. We didn't understand then what was happening. We were just curious. At one point I even tried to record a video (when we were already at the far side) and we finally saw the police escorts arriving (that's when we knew it was the Royal Family). A traffic policeman saw me and told me to stop (just a hand signal). What I just saw is a boy inside the car (probably sitting on someone's lap) but I didn't see how many people were in the car. O well it's one of those unusual but fascinating tourist moments.
Since we can't get in the Grand palace we just asked a local guy what places he suggest we go to. After marking some places on the map I was carrying, he called a Tuktuk driver and told him where to take us. The fare he quoted for us was just THB40 for the 4 of us! My thought was maybe there is a catch.*
Our tuktuk ride and a stop at a Buddhist temple
Some interesting sights along the way before arriving at the final Pit stop =)
We only stopped by one Buddhist temple where we made a wish (as a local guy told us it is called the Lucky Buddha) after which we were brought to the Chin Jewelry Factory outlet. I guess that was the catch. I read somewhere that tuktuk drivers get gasoline allowance for bringing tourists here. It's not a bad deal I guess for people who like jewelry. At first you enter this place with a bit of demonstration on how they make jewelry. Once you get to the main store you will see a lot of choices of gold and silver and all kinds of gemstones. I find the prices here reasonable although I didn't buy any as I was on a tight budget. All my companions though bought something. One of them even told me that the prices are so low that one of her aunts who bought an item here pawned it in the Philippines and got more than the price she bought it for!
That wrapped up our day and we waited for awhile at the reception for their ordered rings to be resized.
* I saw this website talking about a scam taking place in Bangkok: http://www.into-asia.com/bangkok/gemscam/
It sounded very similar to what happened to us although we were not approached, instead we asked someone who was sitting in what looked like a guardhouse/stand (although he was not a guard but just an ordinary guy). I have yet to confirm with my companions there if what they bought were fake or real. Good thing they're all in Thailand and they can get back to the store in case they would like to have a refund. I was lucky I didn't buy any or else I could not get back there anymore.
Related Entries:
Welcome to Bangkok! (7/15/2008)
Day 2 in Thailand (7/16/2008)
Day 3 in Thailand: Shopping galore! (7/17/2008)
Day 4 in Thailand: Grand Palace (7/18/2008, part 1 of 2)
Day 4 in Thailand: Dinner River Cruise (7/18/2008, part 2 of 2)
Day 5 Ayutthaya Day Tour: Bang Pa-In Palace (7/19/2008, part 1 of 2)
Day 5 Ayutthaya Day Tour: Wat Mahathat (7/19/2008, part 2 of 2)
Day 6 in Thailand: Inside the Grand Palace (7/20/2008)
Day 7 in Thailand: Future park, Patpong and Suan Lum in one night (7/21/2008)
Day 8 in Thailand: University Life (7/22/2008)
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