The next morning, we went to a big department store to shop around and did a lot of “American Touristy” things, such as eating dinner at Planet Hollywood of Bangkok. The following morning was doing a city tour, visiting the grand palace, the art museums, and the large golden Buddha. These 3 or 4 hours of touring, we used the transport of a tuk-tuk, at the going rate of $.75. We bought the driver’s McDonald’s after our tours and they were very much excited. Tuk-Tuk is definitely the cheapest way around Bangkok, but also it’s difficult to breathe–Bangkok is very polluted, and tuk-tuks have no guard against the foul air. That night we went out for a nice seafood restaurant, that allowed us to pick what we wanted to eat–as in go to the aquarium, pick which crab you like running around, and they’ll cook it for you! The palace in the center of Bangkok is amazing. The architecture and lines of the temples are gaudy, but with its own unique charm.
Gold is definitely the style, along with green, orange and blue. At the palace, we met a group of English students who were doing an “interview” consisting of what my name was and where I was from. They were very excited to meet us, due to being American, and we all took pictures together. Another incident at the palace was running into one of our friends–who we didn’t even know was going to Thailand!! She was from our university in Tokyo, and we knew her from the Judo club. That was an interesting experience! The world really is a small place!