VACATIONS FROM HOME: LAST DAY IN BANGKOK

Friday, March 7, 2025

LAST DAY IN BANGKOK

EMBRACING THE DEVIL IN THE DETAILS
at Grand Palace

Our final day in Bangkok was a whirlwind of destinations that our touring company, Overseas Adventure Travels (OAT) deftly handled by sprinkling in little details that made the day even more adventurous. To personally plan such a day would require a lot of time and effort on our part and being led by the hand through the day by OAT makes the devil in the details much less nerve-wracking.

The Grand Palace, a necessary destination for all those visiting Bangkok. It is a sprawling complex of ornately decorated temples and ceremonial halls and the current home of the Emerald Buddha which is carved from jade and adorned with gold. To enter the Convocation Hall to view this venerated statue one must be properly dressed and barefooted or else be turned away.

the Emerald Buddha

The Grand Palace is a crowded place and everyone visiting Bangkok should go and any touring company is sure to take you there, but will they also take you to the Old Siam Plaza for lunch at the Bamrung Mueang Market?

We were the only westerners in the sparkling food court on the upper floor of this quiet mall that is around the corner from our next destination of the day, the Royal Theater.

To get food you must first go to a booth and tell them how much Baht you want to put on an internal credit card. Then go to one of several stalls in the food cart and order. They swipe your card for the allotted fee, deducting the amount. We shared a lunch of fried chicken breast with rice and soup that was just 55THB.

Bamrung Mueang Market

When finished with your meal(s) simply take the card back to the booth and they refund you in cash the balance not spent.

THE OLD SIAM MALL

Without OAT we would not have experienced this detail.

HANUMAN WHITE MONKEY

There are several stories in the Hindu/Buddhist mythology and our guide showed us panels depicting a number of tales including Hanuman at the Grand Palace.

the Royal Theater

After our lunch we attended a show about Hanuman at the Sala Chalermkrung Royal theater. It was just a half hour long, but there was live music, apsara dancers, water nymphs and armies clashing and Hanuman himself rolling and hopping about the stage.

A description of the “events” was aired on the proscenium arch above the stage, so it was easy to understand what was going on. At one point Hanuman ran into the audience in pursuit of a water nymph and the actor was asking kids where the nymph went. Don’t ask about the details of the story, but the show was highly entertaining.

Hanuman in the house

WHO KNEW?

Evidently the Hanuman show was a part of the 500THB entry fee to the Grand Palace, but we didn’t know about it and would have been pleased to simply take in the Emerald Buddha and the rest of the palace grounds. That’s another reason to trust OAT.

Apsara dancers

ONCE AROUND THE PALACE THEN HOME

Later that evening OAT treated us to a very nice Thai meal at Anya a restaurant they reserved for us. This very high-end restaurant is worth a visit; it’s much better than the renowned street food of Thailand.

ANYA RESTAURANT BANGKOK

ANYA BANGKOK

Anya was near the Grand Palace, but after the meal rather than taking our bus (which, by the way, had wifi), OAT reserved a number of Tuk Tuks to transport us back to the Bizotel.

BIZOTEL BANGKOK

Tuk Tuks are motorcycles with a partially enclosed carriage for passengers. We rode them in Vietnam and Cambodia, but here in Bangkok they were bright with flashing colorful lights and the mayhem of the drivers and other traffic on the streets just didn’t seem as dangerous.