Day Two touring in Bangkok proved interesting. We saw some of the things on our list
but also learned a valuable lesson about being a wary traveler.
I’ll preface my story with the facts that Thailand people, from
our brief experience, are extremely friendly and pleased to have tourists
form the centerpiece of their economy.
The city of Bangkok even has a dedicated Tourist Police force. The existence of the police force and
the various public signs and announcements, clearly demonstrate how much they
care but scammers are in all cities and countries.
After a huge breakfast/lunch we set out for the Grand
Palace. The Skytrain to Riverboat portions
went without a hitch. We did get
on the more expensive riverboat but in the end it made no difference since we
never bought a ticket. We felt unintentionally
fortunate getting off at Pier #9 and headed for the Grand Palace. A huckster approached us offering a
ride to the Palace entrance 100 meters away. I simply replied “no English” and he left us alone.
As we approached the Palace gate a man in uniform told us
the palace was closing for an hour.
I had read that the Palace had regular noonday closing and it was 11:30
so it made sense to us. It was at
this time that a young man approached and offered some advice in English. He disarmed us immediately by stating
that he was a volunteer/teacher from the university and he did not want any
money. He said that we since we had
to wait an hour we should take advantage of the time to see the Smiling
Buddha. Before we knew it he escorted
us across the busy street, arranged and negotiated a cheap price on a Tuk Tuk,
and away we went. Red flags were
rising in each of our minds but we weren’t saying anything. As we began motoring away from the
Palace we looked at each other and immediately knew something was not
right. At the first stop light we leapt
from the vehicle and screamed out “changed our minds”. I threw him 10 baht for his
trouble. Maybe it was legit but it
didn’t feel right and it was only after that Deborah mentioned she had noticed
the “volunteer” making a cell phone call as we pulled away. We assume it was to one of his cronies
saying, “we got two more.”
Later in the day our suspicion was further confirmed. We were walking by an entrance to the
Palace we knew was unused because a tourist policeman told us the day before
not to go there. As we walked by a
man approached us wearing a Tourist Police badge but not police shirt. He had a piece of paper (looked like a
bookmark) with “Tourist Police” sticking out of his pocket. It was the same piece of paper I had in
mine. He intercepted us talking as
if we were headed to the unused entrance.
He stated emphatically that we could not enter because it was a Buddhist
holiday and only Thai citizens could enter. Before we could say a word… you guessed it, he suggested
that we should … visit the Smiling Buddha and that he would arrange a ride. We walked on.
We never did go into the actual Palace. We did wander the Palace grounds. Unnerved, we visited the Wat Pho temple
next door instead. It was
beautiful and while wondering the grounds we came across the WatPo Thai
Traditional Medical Massage School.
Feeling a little stressed we went in. Deborah opted for the Foot massage and I the full body. My massage was relaxing by the end but
difficult during. Being a little
larger that the average Asian citizen, they brought out the largest young man
they had. For a full 30 minutes he
pounded me with his hands, ground me with his knees and elbows, and stretched
my joints to degrees I didn’t think possible. I have never had a man's hands all over my butt but this guy squeezed and ground my butt with his elbow (at least I think it was his elbow) for at least five minutes. He pulled my joints to a point I felt
they were coming apart. Later, Deborah
was pleased to hear that there were no embarrassing incidents as a result of
him pulling each of my fingers.
 |
Enjoying the Grand Palace Grounds |
 |
The Tranquil area at Wat Pho |
 |
Note the New Buddha Deborah is Sporting! |
 |
Way Pho Temple Grounds |
We were finished with touring by the end of the massages and
returned to the hotel to put in some pool time relaxing in the sun. Karma got us on the return trip when we
got on the wrong riverboat again.
This time we were asked for the tickets we didn’t have and it cost us 40
baht each instead of the regular 15.
 |
Beers and Pizza Back at the Ranch. |
Our time in Bangkok ended with a trip to the night market
and a little shopping. Tomorrow is
the final leg of flying to New Delhi and a reunion with Team India.
Don’t know when but more to come.
Ps. I just
remembered something noteworthy. During our
last evening we were in the Skytrain station at 6 pm. The public address system played a short bar of music and
everyone froze in his or her places.
It was rush hour in Bangkok so this represented a large number of frozen folks. I thought it was the start
of some kind of flash mob but then the music started again. The people in uniform stood at
attention and everyone else just stopped moving. We think it was the national anthem. It lasted about a minute and as it
ended, everyone else started. Kinda
cool and weird.
