Day 69 - Tuesday March 7 - Bangkok, Thailand Day 2

Bangkok Day 2 photos

We slept in to about 7am. Clay woke up this morning with "the cough". We were told this was a virus. The first sick people and the first we heard about it was Hong Kong. There were a lot of people onboard sick with it by Hanoi and all through Vietnam. We sat in front of a woman on a bus tour that could scarce draw breath and sounded like she would hack up a lung. She seemed far to ill to spend a long day on a bus, but she did. By the end of our stay in Vietnam even Jacquie, the fitness instructor, had it. Debbie was very ready to get off the ship to minimize our exposure and hopefully continue avoiding getting it. The people who have had it did not feel well and said it was a really annoying and productive cough but that they never felt really sick. Then there are the people, who took to bed for a day or two and skipped tours and meals to nurse it and when they reappeared said they felt better. Presumably, the same virus could have different effects on different people and it is all one virus working its way through the population here. Clay will start on Airborne when we get back to the ship.

The Grand Palace complex opens at 8:30am and we have no need to be standing in line outside for it to open, so we are taking it slow this morning. We went down to the Hospitality Desk to find out where our breakfast was being served. Then, we headed down 2 flights to the River Cafe for the buffet. We walked in and were seated at a big window-view table set for 2. Clay ordered hot tea and Debbie got another cup of very strong, but very good coffee. Our neighbors on the ship were sitting at the table next to us here and before they left, they told us to be sure to go outside where they were cooking eggs and had the hot food buffet with lots of Thai dishes with noodles, rice and fish. OK. Clay had already ordered 2 eggs over easy by the time he realized what else was available. He did go get a bamboo steamer of dim sum though. It was good. There was a fluffy version of the BBQ pork bun that we had crisped at lunch yesterday, so Debbie is looking forward to that again at lunch today. She ate a normal breakfast. While she likes the rice and noodle dishes, she can skip them at breakfast. By the time we had scouted our food and returned to the table, we had new neighbors sitting at the next table. While we were dining, a fellow cruiser came up to them and they started comparing stories of our time in Cambodia and the exit from Vietnam and their plans for today. It turned out the man wanted to do the same things we were doing today and was going to go to the Hospitality Desk and hire a car and drive for it. The couple told him not to take a cab across the river. It would take too long and cost too much. That started a conversation about the Peninsula shuttle boats and how to get around easily, quickly and inexpensively. We told him what we were going to do and pointed the piers and boats out to him through the window. Later that morning when we got on the Chao Praya Express Boat, there he was. We lost sight of him at the Royal Palace but it was a mob scene at 9:30am when we arrived.

We got packed up and checked out. We took our bags to the bell captain and he took the checked bag to the pile going to the ship and Clay's laptop went to secure hotel storage. We will pick it up and hand carry it on the bus back. Then we were off to the shuttle boat. We walked right on and caught an Express Boat at the next door pier under the Sky Train station pretty quickly. It was 22 Baht for the 2 of us to Tha Chang pier, or #9. We should note here that every time we appeared at the shuttle boat pier, the staff there were very helpful. They asked where you wanted to go and then brought out maps and made sure that you knew how to get there and what it should cost and which direction to walk and to avoid the touts and con men, etc. They were exceedingly thoughtful and courteous and helpful. It was a very nice touch and made us feel a lot more confident each time we set out for them to confirm and provide helpful details for us to make our own way.

It took us about 35 minutes total to get from the Peninsula Hotel to the Grand Palace. We walked in following the throngs and looking for a ticket booth. We must have stood out! :) We were definitely in the middle of Chinese tour groups and that probably made us more noticeable. We had avoided all the bad advice that we received coming from the Express Boat pier, turn left here, come with me, you need a ride, too far to walk, etc. and arrived here in the middle of chaos. As we tried to read signs and stay out of the flow, a small man with a photo ID hung on his chest approached. He told us he was a government licensed guide and he would guide us through the Wat Phra Kaeo complex with the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and through the Grand Palace complex and public buildings for one hour for a certain price. Knowing that our time was short and we had not even found the ticket booth yet and were not likely to enjoy fighting the crowds to find our way around, Debbie reiterated to him 1 hour, no more. He said yes, and she confirmed the price was for both of us for one hour. Yes. Clay intervened and offered him $10USD for the hour. He countered that he would take $12USD if at the end of the hour we were pleased with his tour. We would have tipped him anyway, so we agreed. (We wound up giving him $15USD at the end of the hour, so we were pleased with his service.) As we were agreeing, we heard a drum beat approaching. He hurried us along for a place to watch the procession for the changing of the guard that happens at 10am. Between the hoards of tour groups and the guard changing, we were hustled through to the ticket booth (250 baht per person) which is pretty well buried in the center of the walled compound and through the entrance gate to the Temple complex within. Anyway, here is a tip. The gift shops are both outside the ticketed entry. One is right at the entrance gate to the walled complex and the other is after you buy your ticket but before it is taken. We never backtracked and so we exited through a different gate and never got to visit the shops. Debbie was very disappointed as she was taken by a charming cotton blouse with elephants printed on it that a fellow guest was wearing and told her she had bought on tour here. Oh, well, presumably if we had told this guide it was a priority here he would have made sure we got to the shops but once we got here and it was so chaotic, we just wanted to be pointed in the right direction and have what we were seeing explained to us and he did an excellent job. We would never have gotten through there in an hour without him. So, more amazing sights and architecture. Too overwhelming to the senses to describe. It was all color and gold. The gold leaf is being constantly reapplied.

At the end of our hour, the guide offered us a boat for a klong tour with Wat Po and Wat Arun. He said we could walk with him to the river to meet the tour group that he had out on the boat now and he would set us up to do all three things and return to the hotel. He said it would be a 50 minute klong tour. This seemed overly ambitious to us and we would rather focus on the sights than seeing the poverty around the klongs. We know it is there, but that is not why we came. So, we declined and he pointed us out to Wat Po and warned us not to be mislead by the touts and con men working the streets around the Grand Palace and Wat Po complexes. We walked down to Wat Po (about a 10 minute walk) and found the ticket booth much more easily (50 baht per person). We wandered around and used the toilets, then looked for the Thai massage school, but there was not much to really see. Then we returned to the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. This was another amazing sight. The Buddha is 140 feet long and 50 feet long. It is made of brick, covered with plaster and covered in gold leaf. It was enormous. Debbie did an offering of flowers at the Emerald Buddha. At this one, she traded a 20 baht note for a cup of coins and dropped one in each of the 108-bronze bowls that run along the back of the Buddha for luck, good karma and good fortune. We want to cover all our bases. We decided to head back to the Pensinsula Hotel since it was no about high noon and we did not want to climb the tower at Wat Arun. When we got to the river here it would be directly across from us and that would be a good photo spot anyway. We headed out and got a cold bottle of water to take with us. Debbie was headed directly to the river, as we had done at the first river pier. There were signs to it and it was clearly marked on our map. Clay engaged in conversation with "the helpful men" on the streets as we waited to cross roads and was told that it was that way, not ahead and that it was too far to walk, etc. Debbie just kept pulling him away from them. We walked through a market area and towards where Debbie had seen this pier on the boat ride up. After we had made some purchases, Clay asked the shop girl about the pier and she walked us right to it. It was right where it was expected to be, Clay is easily distracted these days. He has lost his ability to focus and concentrate from too many days of doing nothing or else being herded. We waited in the shade and then went back and looked at the other stalls. We made some more purchases trying to spend all our baht before returning. We tried to keep just enough for the boat fare. We knew there were different boats and we had decided against the "tourist boat" because we just wanted speed and value. Well, the next boat was just announced as to what stops it would make (they don't all stop at all the piers). Our pier was called so we got on. As soon as we sat down, a guy up front with a microphone started describing the sights along the river over speakers. Debbie told Clay, we made a mistake, this is the expensive boat. We should get off at the next stop. The ticket lady came to collect. They ask you where you are going and collect a fare based on the zone you are traveling to and the type of boat it is. We never did find a fare schedule and suspect it depends on the person. Anyway, Debbie pointed out the Central Pier and she wanted 18 Baht each. Fortunately, Clay had 2 20 baht notes on him and we did not get booted off! It was interesting to hear the commentary, but everything was labeled on our maps anyway. He did add value by telling you where to walk when you exited to see the sights nearby and what kinds of things to look for at each. This one for gold jewelry, that one for Chinese food, go up this building for a good view, etc. It was still inexpensive and quicker than driving or walking. We think about 38 baht equal a dollar.

We arrived and headed to lunch in the ballroom again. We stopped off at the restroom and then to the buffet. It was similar to yesterday's but not as diverse and laid out in the center, instead of 2 identical buffets on either side of the room. Since the departures by bus here were ticketed at either 11am or 2pm, they must only be feeding about half of the group today. Debbie missed the BBQ pork buns of yesterday, but that was made up for by the warm caramel banana bread pudding today. After lunch, we checked in at the restrooms again and then Debbie told Clay she could hear a bus. We walked outside and were in the first 10 or so to board, happily. Boarding was very slow going for some reason and there was a line of people standing in the sun that exceeded the number of seats on the bus. We heard Roger ask for the 2nd bus now, because there were also people waiting and lined up at and outside the main lobby of the hotel, but he was told that the raised area between the lobbies could only hold one bus at a time. They had ordered 4 buses, so it must have been a long time for some people to get on a bus. (Debbie learned the next morning at exercise class, that many people did not wait, they got cars or taxis from the hotel staff and came back to the ship.)

The bus ride was a wild one. Debbie got very nauseous. The highway looked fairly new and it was a 4 lane road, but it was full of dips and bumps and leaned this way and that. Then the driver drove past our exit at Laem Chabang and slammed on the brakes and pulled over the stutter strips and into the line of traffic that was in the right lane to exit. We had about a 2 1/2 hour drive and that woke everyone up. Debbie had pointed out that either we were not going to Laem Chabang port or the driver knew a short cut, when he passed the first 2 signs and did not change lanes. At the last sign, he must have had it pointed out to him or he finally realized. Maybe this was his first time driving to Laem Chabang port.

The ship was docked on the starboard side when we returned. We toured the shops set up in the terminal building before reboarding the ship. Prices have really increased since we were in Phuket in 2001. The silk skirts and shirts that Debbie bought for $7 each on the pier then were $22 and $20 here as well as in Bangkok. We should note here that we encountered the same reluctance at vendor stalls and markets to negotiate that we have experienced since we hit Hong Kong. And the prices have been higher than we expected to start with. Again, not high prices, but higher. A $20 silk skirt is a bargain, but when we bought in Phuket in 2001 because we were not coming to Bangkok, we heard about how much cheaper these things were in Bangkok and then we get here and they are much more expensive than they were in Phuket 5 years ago. We were hot and exhausted when we got back to the cabin and would have loved to get that nap now. But, as Debbie pointed out it had been a long time and a lot of clothes changes since she last did laundry and she needed to get ready to try to do it after dinner again tonight. The ship sailed as scheduled about 5pm. So, we got organized and unpacked and then showered and changed for Informal night and it was time for dinner. We got a window table and the sun set while we were there. There was a lot of traffic here in the Gulf of Thailand. We had 3 courses each and were out scouting the laundry rooms by 8:30pm. We found 2 machines empty on deck 8, the last place we checked.

Tonight we got a placard saying that we had to ADVANCE the clocks by one hour. This was not a happy surprise. We are used to falling back an hour and that is easy. But, it is hard to lose an hour when you just want to catch up on your sleep or laundry or journal or all three. Oh, well. Debbie was done with laundry by 10pm or 11pm since Clay had already adjusted all the clocks before bed. (Of course, when Debbie first returned it was as if no time at all had passed and there was some discussion before Clay figured out that he had just moved the clocks the way he always had. Debbie said that is the green placard, this one is white and says move forward. Clay set them all again and got it right.) Also, we had on our bed a copy of the bill for this segment. We had a $56 charge for visas to Vietnam. Now we know that all our visas were prepaid in our fare, so we puzzled over this one for a while and will have to check it out tomorrow because that charge should not be there.
Clay had taken his first dose of Airborne before dinner and he thought he felt much clearer and drier already. Debbie had out all the other cold-type medicines she had stockpiled and brought along anyway, just in case. We learned from the waitstaff at dinner that only about 20 passengers had remained on the ship and so they had lots of leave time. They did almost all look refreshed, so they must have really need a break from us! Happy they got it and they deserved it. Tomorrow we hope for some rest too. It is one of this segment's rare sea days before it ends in Singapore.

Bangkok Day 2 photos