We had a good breakfast and were at the cab stand before 9 a.m. Wat Po Temple opened at 8 a.m. and we wanted to get there early. We found the same cab driver and negotiated a price for the ride to the temple, THB 150.
Wat Po Temple is famous for its Reclining Buddha and traditional massage school. The Reclining Buddha is the major attraction and draws thousands of tourists each day. It's 46 meters long, gold-plated with mother-of-pearl eyes. It has very impressive feet, with 108 inlaid good-luck scenes and marvelous toe swirls. The layout of the building is such that it narrows at this point, causing a constant bottleneck of visitors trying to get a good look at the feet while circumnavigating this massive statue. I stood off to the side, waiting for the crowd to abate so I could get an uncluttered shot, but after a half an hour I gave up.
Another annoying thing is that as a sign of respect you have to leave your shoes out front. That's fine, but there's no security and they take no responsiblility for lost or stolen footwear. That means your shoes are vulnerable for at least a good 20 minutes.
Travel Tip: If there's more than one of you, I suggest that one of you goes inside, while the other stays out and guards your possessions; then switch. It might only happen one in a million times, but it's a bummer to have to walk around in your stocking feet looking for a new pair of shoes.
Wat Po's massage school is supposed to be the epicenter of Asian massage, or at least that's what the PR says. It's the place where serious students come to learn and standards are set. The massage studio is on the north side of the east entrance, while the office where you buy tickets for a massage is on the south. We went inside and selected the reflexology treatment for our feet. We then followed two masseuses over to an air-conditioned studio, where we took off our shoes and socks and pulled our pants up over our knees. It took 40 minutes for the whole treatment; I totally zoned out for a good 20 minutes.
On the way out of the temple, we were stopped by an official-looking gentleman dressed in a dark suit. He asked to see our tickets, to verify we had paid the entry fee. We showed our stubs, and then he asked where we were going. We said that we were going on to the Royal Palace. He looked at his watch and said that it was closed for lunch from noon to 3 p.m. While we waited for the palace to reopen, he said, we had time to visit the Lucky Buddha and the Standing Buddha. He waved over his friend, a tuk tuk driver, who could take us to both locations for THB 30. Being extremely gullible, we agreed and climbed aboard.
The ride over to the Lucky Buddha was a fun ride through heavy traffic. He parked and we walked in. The Lucky Buddha temple compound was empty; Ann and I were the only visitors in this wonderfully serene and visually interesting place. I found the temple that housed the Lucky Buddha and peeked in. The attendant saw me and waved for me to come on in. I pointed to my boots, but he said that it didn't matter. The temple walls were a deep red, very similar to images of Himalayan temples I'd seen in books. I found the patina of the walls to be in stark contrast to the very gold surface of the Buddha itself. I loved this place, and being here by ourselves was a real plus.
Out in the tuk tuk the driver told us that because our ride was so cheap, we were obliged to stop at a couple of tourist shops so he could get free gas. We argued for a few minutes, but it became apparent that if we didn't agree he wasn't moving on. Not wanting to be stranded, we gave in and he fired up the machine. It was regrettable to have this happen after just experiencing the Lucky Buddha, which I guess wasn't so lucky for us.
We suffered through getting dropped off at a couple of jewelry stores and a men's custom tailor. Inside they were upset that I didn't wear suits. I asked if they could make a custom scarf. I had always wanted one that I could tie French Foreign Legion style, but because my neck is so big I could never find one long enough. To accommodate the size I wanted, I needed to purchase two meters of silk. The salesman pointed out that the silk was almost a meter wide, so they could make two scarves for almost the same price. Ann said she wouldn't mind getting one of them, so we split the $100 cost. We chose a nice black textured silk and finalized the purchase. They took down my name and hotel information and promised delivery for tomorrow afternoon.
Back at the tuk tuk we told the driver that we wanted to go to the palace with no more stops. He started to argue, but there was a lot of transportation here and I said we'd just grab another taxi if he wasn't going to take us straight back.
We got dropped off at the corner of the palace and had to walk half a block down to the entrance. Halfway there another dark suit approached us, saying that the palace had closed early today, but that the Lucky Buddha and the Standing Buddha were open. We said that we'd just come from there. He just smiled and said that the palace was open for another hour, and then walked away.
Ann and I looked at each other and smiled, thinking we'd almost been screwed again.
Travel Tip: Make sure not to listen to anyone who doesn't have an official laminated ID badge, otherwise there's a good chance they're "shills" for some tourist trap.
We knew that we didn't have time to see the whole palace that day, but we paid our entry fee and went through the combination ticket-taker/security booth gauntlet. They asked lots of questions about our equipment and my photo-vest, wanting to know who made it. It looked more expensive than it was because I was wearing a Cambodian silk scarf to protect my neck from chafing.
I loved the palace. There were storm clouds overhead, giving the place an other-worldly look and feel. We shot for the full hour, then were escorted out as the place was closing. On the way back to the hotel, we decided to come back first thing tomorrow morning and give the place all the time it deserved.
We had a half-hour rest in our room, then suited up again and walked down to the corner mall. Ann needed some things from the pharmacy and I decided to get some more supplies from the market.
Back in the room, we set about reviewing the day's shooting and doing maintenance on our equipment. Thank god I purchased the aqua shield; it was working as good on this trip as it had last year.
Spaghetti dinner at 8:30 and to bed (or sofa) at 9:15.
