A quick blast down the Chaopraya river on the express boat took us first to the Grand Palace, where we wandered outside the gates through the nearby amulet market before entering with the rest of the tourist hordes. The palace was as grand as the name suggests, we spent time visiting the various opulant temples in the complex including Wat Phra Kaew, the temple of the emerald Buddha.
On leaving we took the short walk to Wat Po, a smaller but more peaceful temple containing a huge golden reclining Buddha, after which we stopped at a roadside cafe for lunch - Thai omelette for Nicola and my first taste of Tom Yam Kung soup.We then took the ferry across the river to Wat Arun, the temple of the dawn. This is a much older temple, we scaled the steep steps up the Wat for views back over the city.
With time to spare we continued on the river express boat for a quick look downtown, including popping into the grand Oriental Hotel for a look how the other half live. Outside we passed a lady selling dim sum which Nicola declared as the best she'd ever tasted !
Back up the river and grabbed a table at a riverside cafe for a couple of beers, we killed some time writing postcards and watching the sunset behind Wat Arun. On the way back to the river boat we tried some incredibly spicy meat kebabs from a street vendor, then sped back up to the Khoa San Road.
Walking back to our guesthouse we passed a hairdressers, and as I was in need of a haircut I popped in - probably the cheapest cut I've ever had !! Just time to sample some spring rolls from another street vendor (OK, we spent half the day eating !!) before home for bed.
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