Russian, Wat?

After an over-stimulated first day in Bangkok that left us down and jaded, we woke up refreshed at 3AM after 9 solid hours of sleep on Monday morning with nowhere to go. We creatively killed some time, strapped on our sandals, and headed towards the river to start our day by catching a ride on the commuter ferry.




The first stop was the Grand Palace, a huge walled complex housing filled with impressive monumental architecture, both religious and secular. A sign at the entrance reminded me to put on my pants (I vote that such signs be made commonplace throughout the world. One can never have too many reminders to put one's pants on).



    

The place was filled to the brim with visitors of all color, race and creed. Most, like us, were wandering around a bit aimlessly just soaking it all in. Others donned numbered namecards around their necks and joined organized guided tours lead by flag-wielding Thai guides, picking their way neatly and in single file through the crowds, in a way reminiscent of grade school field trips. We heard Thai guides speaking many European languages, including English (not so surprising), Spanish (a bit more surprising), and German (really?).

Always on the lookout for our Slavic brethren, we did a double take when we heard fluent Russian being spoken. Our jaws hit the floor when we saw the source - a petite Thai woman under a protective umbrella, as is the custom for Asian women.

"Ej, Aga. Slyszysz to? Ona gada po Rusku!" (Hey Aga. Do you hear that? She's speaking Russian!).

Of course, Slavic languages being largely mutually intelligible, I quickly grabbed the attention of not only the guide, but the entire entourage of imposingly chiseled men and their overly dressed high-healed female counterparts. The awkwardian strikes again, and quickly scurries off with his own female counterpart.

After the Grand Palace, we went across the street to visit Wat Pho (a Wat is a Buddhist monastery temple), which houses an impressive 43 meter long sculpture of a reclining Buddha ...



... and many other Buddhist sculptures and artifacts.





We then took a tuk tuk to Wat Intharawihan, which has the biggest standing Buddha in Bangkok.







After that, we wandered home, tired, exhausted, sun burned, and got lost along the way.

All in a day's fun. :-)

The Rest of the Photos

If interested, click here check out the rest of the photos of this leg of the trip.