Pattaya City in the distance.
Sunrise.
We couldn't find any place to sit in the buffet, it was packed, but we could walk out to the pool and there were some small tables there.
Many tour buses to pick us up and a ton of pickups to be sent.
There were no signs to tell us which way to go for our tour bus, but one of the cruise employees out here told us it was to the right.
There it is.
We sat in the back so another couple could have the front seat with the good view.
Cute cartoon character.
More here.
This looks like a castle, but I think it's a church.
A school with many dinosaurs painted on the sides.
We didn't see too many American chain stores in Vietnam, but Thailand has many of them.
A couple more.
They even have Simon Premium Outlets, which has multiple outlet malls in California, one in Hawaii, and others around the world.
Jamiul Izhar Mosque.
A cool overhang on top of this building.
A split building.
Many large trees on top of this one.
The Pearl Bangkok looks like The Gherkin in London.
This one looks like an outer layer was partially peeled off.
I can't read that at all, but the audio in Google Translate makes it so we can say it correctly.
There are many pictures of the royalty around the city.
Statue with four elephants.
Arriving at our first destination.
To buy elephant pants for all of the tourists who didn't pay attention to the info to not wear shorts to the temples.
We had read the rules and wore pants and a dress that goes below the knees, but we bought some pants for ourselves because they were very cheap.
They had multiple different patterns, but they quite obviously different from what the locals wore.
Another tour group doing the same. That woman also has bare shoulders, so she's going to have to buy a shawl or something.
Our first destination was the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.
It was across the street, but instead of using a crosswalk, we went below ground into the huge structure. It was nice here, though, because it was air conditioned and had bathroom. Our tour guide walked with three fingers in the air because we were bus three.
More tourists in elephant pants.
And we're back up.
Dress code. I don't really understand the traditional dress difference on the top, though.
Photography rules.
Us in front of a spire.
There were many buildings and spires.
Guardian statues.
Gold pyramid.
With many small statues.
The main hall had a lot of purple on the front.
And a lot of gold on the sides.
Us in front.
Looking up a side.
Some large guardian statutes.
Multiple small shrines were around it.
You weren't allowed to wear your shoes inside, but they had many racks on the sides to store them.
The entrance.
Always look for noses on statues that are a different color from being rubbed by all the people wanting good luck.
About to go in. You can't take pictures inside.
White and blue building.
Long murals on the walls.
Intricate paintings.
A srhine with lots of green.
A white side building.
And a gold one.
A monster guardian.
Water lillies.
A golden character.
Another one.
Ogii with multiple spires.
The multi-headed snake is a naga, a symbol of protection, love, and prosperity.
Next door was the Grand Palace. This was an entrance gate.
A side building.
The main palace.
From the front.
Decorated window gratings.
It had a nice lawn.
Me beside it.
A building on the other side.
Outside. Many people were staying in the shade.
Cute mural.
Cute penguin milk tea.
The electrical wires look pretty crazy.
We had lunch at the Tinidee Trendy Bangkok Khaosan hotel's buffet.
They had a decent variety of food.
A mix of Thai and American.
Funny statues outside.
Some shops across the street.
Mask shows and kickboxing matches seem to be a big thing here.
The hotel's pool.
Driving by small shops.
Even more. I think OGii would like to get out here and shop for a bit, but we have to get to our next destination.
It's 86 degrees out and quite humid. Good thing our bus had A/C.
The Ministry of Defense.
Statue of King Rama IV.
A neat building.
Our next stop was a motorized boat tour on the Chao Phraya River and Bangkok Noi Canal.
The boats had super-long cylinders leading to the propeller.
And large engines.
It was a bit difficult for some people to get into the boat.
But we all made it.
Us with the driver.
Looking the other way.
Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn.
It sat pretty low in the water and sometimes the people in front got splashed by a wave.
We passed by multiple temples.
Another one.
Huge pictures of royalty high up on these buildings.
Colorful pillars.
Cool structure.
A large bridge.
There were multiple popes discharging water into the canal. I don't think it'd be a good idea to swim here.
Windmill and water tower.
There were many stairs down to the canals for boats to dock.
A temple with a large snake sculpture.
Decorated pillar.
People working.
We were in one of the small side canals.
Many of the boats had garlands of flowers hanging from the front in honor of the spirits of the water.
Old building.
Many of the buildings had small shrines.
Another one.
More flowers on the front of a boat.
Wat Kai Tia.
We only saw a few people fishing in the canals.
Many clothes drying on balconies.
Many birds sitting on this multi-headed snake sculpture.
Royal Barge National Museum.
A short video.
All done with our canal tour. You can also take city ferries up and down the canal.
Shops.
Fruit drinks.
Our next stop was a temple with a massive reclining Buddha.
They had clothes you could borrow if you weren't dressed appropriately.
And bags...
... to put your shoes into.
Us at the front of the reclining Buddha.
A small shrine.
Another one.
From a bit farther in.
Very detailed paintings on the walls.
Even farther.
Without us.
And feet at the end.
With us.
The feet.
Walking around to the back side.
You can buy a bowl full of coins.
And then drop one coin to each pot along the side of the temple for good luck.
A video.
All done.
Detailed carving.
The back of the head of the Buddha statue.
Outside.
More temples to the side.
A large gong.
A smaller area to the side.
A shrine with candles.
Statues inside.
Women preparing flowers.
Ogii lighting a candle.
Placing it and a flower at the altar.
Incense.
Some people painting a roof nearby.
Food on sticks on the sidewalk.
More.
And more.
Many trucks have Michelin Man dolls attached to them.
Looking down a side street.
I'm Chinatown shopping mall.
A big dragon on front of the building.
Colorful archway.
And another one.
And another.
This building looks to be in pretty bad shape. I wouldn't trust those balconies.
Big skyscraper. A few of the balconies have huge trees sticking out of them.
There were multiple massage parlors with the employees sitting out front waiting for customers.
Another one.
So many on this block near our hotel.
We had to put our bags through an x-ray machine to get in.
We stayed at the Shangri-La.
Our room.
Bathroom.
It had a tub and a shower.
View from our window to the left.
And to the right.
A church.
A temple.
Custom tailers and massage, both popular here.
We went to Sky Bar, a rooftop cocktail bar on the 63rd floor.
Well, we wanted to, but they turned us away because we didn't have nice enough shoes.
As we were walking, the employee at this tailer in the same building said we could rent nicer shoes from them.
So we did.
Taking the elevator up.
Many things in Thailand are very cheap, but not the drinks here; they were $35 a glass, and each person had to buy one.
Ogii's wine.
Pouring.
My wine.
Pouring.
Cheers!
One of the bars.
A dining area and another bar.
Us.
The other bar.
Looking to the south.
Southeast.
Us with the canal.
From the other side.
After getting our shoes back from the tailor, we walked back towards our hotel, which was only a few blocks away.
There were still many massage parlors open at 7:30pm.
The massages were only $10 a person for an hour.
A Christmas tree in our hotel.
A boat on the canal from our hotel room.
Then we headed out for the Pratunam Night Market. A rideshare there was only $3. You could also get a motorbike ride for less.
It was still 88 degrees out at 10:30pm.
Passing some decorated buildings.
At the night market. There are many of these in the city, but this one was fairly close.
A little passenger bike going through.
Lots of street food.
There were multiple rows of vendors both inside and out.
Wandering through.
This corner has food and a UFC match on the TV. I could just stay here while Ogii shopped.
Outside again.
Unfortunately, the items here were very cheaply made.
So we walked over to the Palladium Night Market, which was supposed to be a bit more upscale.
We had to cross this busy street, but there was a walkway across.
The shopping mall itself was closed.
But the night market was busy.
With many vendors and shoppers.
Wrapped around the building.
These items were a little nicer, but still not brand name. If we had arrived earlier before the mall itself closed, maybe they'd have better ones inside.
One the ride back to the hotel, we passed many gay nightclubs.
For dinner, we went to Fresh Harvest Farm.
A steakhouse where you could pick your steak out of the freezer.
It was $35 for a wagyu steak dinner.