Day two in Bangkok

(A slightly delayed posting :-)

We only spent three days in Bangkok, since we'll be back there again before we leave. On Sunday, we set out for the Vimanmek Mansion, which is believed to be the largest teak home in the world. According to our map, we should have been able to easily walk there. As it turned out, the walk became one of the more interesting activities of the day. When we started out from our hostel, the streets were filled with businesses catering to us. A few blocks out and the signs contained more Thai than English. A few more blocks and we started to comment on how the English had disappeared completely and that it was very nice to see a more local area of the city. After a while, though, we realized we hadn't seen another foreigner in a long time and people were starting to look at us like a bit of a curiosity, rather than a meal ticket. We'd been looking for our cross street, but hadn't seen it, and thought the landmarks we'd crossed matched up with our map. As it turns out, we'd overshot our cross street by miles and had walked off our map completely. While it was an extremely hot day for such a error, we didn't mind much as it wasn't hard to turn around and make our way back, and we got to see part of Bangkok that we otherwise wouldn't have.

We finally made it to our destination, the Vimanmek Mansion. It is a massive 74 room, three story building built in Victorian style. The Mansion was constructed for King Rama V to live in while his palace was being built. He only lived there for five years, and for the majority of the next 75 years the house saw very little use. It is now a museum filled with his treasures collected from around the world. King Rama V was a fan of the modern European world and is credited with opening Thailand up to the rest of the world. His collections only further prove his love of all things international. Inside the rooms are displays of furniture, china, dishes, silverware, and decorative items from all over the world.

We were provided with a English speaking tour guide who explained the history of this beautiful house. The house and grounds were gorgeous, and we both were glad we'd made the trip to see it. We were not allowed to take pictures at the mansion, but you can see it here: http://www.vimanmek.com/exhibit/vimanmek.php

We could have seen more, since our tickets allowed us entrance into a number of other buildings and exhibits, but we decided it was time to call it a day. We hadn't completely adjusted to the heat and time change, so we headed back to the area of our hostel and planted ourselves in a quiet restaurant for cool drinks and good food. Food, much like everything else in Thailand, is approached with a slower pace. Sitting down for a meal is one of my favorite times here, since you're never made to feel rushed or unwelcome. Most places allow plenty of time for browsing the always ample menu and then do not care how long you stay after the food has arrived. We usually have to call for the bill, rather than having it arrive at our table before we've even finished our food. Meals are peaceful and enjoyable, something to savor, rather than the heartburn inducing grab and go that we all to often fall victim to.

Besides the sleep issues, we're both very much enjoying exploring Thailand and look forward to more. The southern provinces appear to be next on our stop, so I may have lovely pictures of beaches to share next time!