Continued from Bangkok Day 1.

Bangkok feels hectic to us compared to Chiang Mai. Everything we’ve done and seen is already starting to blend together. We kind of miss the small town feel of Chiang Mai.

The day starts with a long walk to the BTS station.

Their crappy machines only take coins. But other than that, the system is simple to use.

As you can see, it’s 8:18am, and it’s the morning rush.

So many people, but not the most cramped I’ve been on a train.

Road traffic snarls. Surprisingly, same with the train traffic, which is a first for me. There are so many people boarding and disembarking from the trains that our train had to wait a while before the previous train cleared out of the station.

Pizza Hut. That looks so delicious to me. I am starting to miss American food. I need to get my fix soon.

Connect to a river ferry to go up the river.

Boat express for us, the ferry I believe just crosses the river to the opposite bank.

Just missed the boat, so very few people waiting here. It would soon fill up while we waited for about 15 minutes.

Our orange flag boat(different colors for different routes) is here!

The boats are long and narrow, kind of like a snakehead fish.

Some of the fancy hotels are along the river.

A lady comes by so we can pay her 15 baht each for ticket. She shakes her little metal tube full of coins to let you know that she’s coming by and you need to pay her.

You’ve got these run down houses right on the river with some leaning sideways.

Then you’ve got these giant expensive apartments/condos that’s also on the river. This one with some misguided architecture flares I think. Greek and Catholic church stained glass window mixed together??

Wat Arun, we’ll be heading there later in the day. Did I mention that it’s already getting hot as hell out here?

The Grand Palace, where we are heading to right now.

Got off the pier, and of course there is a whole line of shops.

More durian.

Mangosteen!! I love these fruits! I know they grow them here in Thailand, but this is the first time for me to see them sold. Must buy some later. Not cheap though, $5 for 1kg.

Walked by this place. I haven’t had breakfast yet…I am hungry. I couldn’t resiste, so decided to grab a bite to eat here.

Eggs, pork and I think some sort of squash. Everything was very spicy, and very delicious!! Good thing I like spicy food because many of the dishes in this country are spicy.

The condiments on the table. Lots of sugar, peanuts and peppers in this country.

Now that I’ve got some fuel in me, time to make the short walk to the entrance of the Grand Palace. It is super fucking hot out here. The dress code for the Grand Palace requires that we wear pants, so both RL and I are in jean…it’s really hot.

Also super sunny. More sunblock!!

Gaggles of tour groups, mostly from mainland China. RL and I have decided, along with probably most of the world, that mainland Chinese tourists are the worst. They are really rude. They shove you around and break rules everywhere. There are swarms of them, and because they are all on tour buses with a schedule, they rush through everything quickly and shove everything in their path to move ahead. I guess the only consolation prize is that Americans tourists no longer seem lame.

Remember my rant about only tourists buying these loose fitting pants with elephants on them? Seriously dude? Neon green shirt to match with those pants? I think they are a Russian or Eastern European tour group.

This is the ticket line for individual travelers. There are maybe 10 people in this entire area. Almost everyone comes here with a tour group, at least at this time and at this hour. The hot weather makes this the low season, all the Westerners have gone to the beaches down in South Thailand.

Elephants and more elephants. Then let’s make sure that they clash. AAAHHHH!!!

It’s seriously hot out here. I can barely stand the heat, even in the shade. This is easily the hottest I’ve felt for years.

Dying from heat.

It’s so hottttt!!!! Unhappy!

Hurry up and take the picture so I can get out of this hot ass place.

RL deals with this heat much better than me. Lucky her.

Sigh, it’s always a hit and miss when you ask someone else to take a photo for you. Why’d you cut off the top of the temple!!

Taken outside the bathroom, hah.

I miss my dog.

Within the Grand Palace is the temple Wat Phra Kaew, which contains a jade Buddha statue, the most venerated Buddha statue in all of Thailand. Because you know, all Buddhas are equally venerated, but some Buddhas are more equal than others.

No photos allowed inside, but you can zoom in and take a photo of it from the outside. It’s quite a small statue, only about two feet in height.

No entry. This grounds worker is cleaning up glasses pieces from the palace that have fallen. In fact, we found and kept a piece of broken glass tile that have fallen down on the ground. Shhhh.

This building is off limits to tourists. I believe one of the past Thailand king either shot himself or had been shot in this building.

OK, it’s too damn hot, and there’s way too many people here. It’s time to jet. Look at all these tour groups still streaming in as we are leaving.

If it’s this crowded in the low season, I wonder what it’s like in the high season.

That was a hot and hectic experience. Glad that we left the grounds. Searching for an 7-Eleven to resupply our water.

To be continued at Bangkok Day 2 Part 2.