Last weekend we took the kids to see the Grand Palace in Bangkok. Rob and I have been before, but this was the first visit for the kids. We decided to go by water taxi, so we got on a bus and headed down to the pier in our town, Pakkred. When we arrived we saw a woman selling snakes and various sizes of turtles. Buddhists believe that you receive merit if you release animals back into the wild. The kids were interested in trying this, so we purchased three small turtles for them to release in the river. After releasing the animals we asked which boat do we get on to get on to go to Bangkok they just laughed at us. After waiting and searching for a while a very nice woman called us over and explained the boat doesn't stop here on weekends only weekdays. We needed to go to the main pier in Nonthaburi, so we jumped in a taxi and were soon at the right pier.
The boat ride into Bangkok was pleasant, as we got closer and closer the boat filled up more and more. When we got close to our stop we had to fight our way through all the people to the back to get off, fortunately we began our trip to the back a few stops early or we might not have made it. The boat drops you off right at the Grand Palace, so we ate lunch at a riverside restaurant and then headed over to see the sights.
Rob and I had to buy tickets for 350 baht, the kids being Thai were free. They went through a separate entrance. Once inside everyone was amazed by the beauty. All three kids took lots of pictures. As we walked around we kept seeing the same two novice monks. They were about Chet's age maybe a year or two older. We think they may have been following us around. They kept looking at us, smiling and laughing and then running away.
After sightseeing we promised Chet we would buy him a book he wanted at the bookstore in Siam Paragon so we headed over there. This was Rob's first time this trip to this part of Bangkok, the kids and I went to the bookstore a week ago to buy books for school. This is the area where a lot of the protests were and you could still see the damage. After the bookstore we went to Mac Donalds for dinner. It was very strange, they sat us and took our order at the table and even brought us our food. Siam Paragon is right on the Skytrain so we took it to the last stop and got a taxi home. It was a very busy and tiring day, but lots of fun.
Nell with the turtles before we released them
Nell with the turtles before we released them
Nonthaburi Pier, if you look close you will see the light posts have Durian fruit hanging from them Nonthaburi is famous for it's Durian fruit.
Rob and I at the Grand Palace, photo by Chet
What is left of ZEN department store after the protests
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