Day 2 - Bangkok

We woke up early and took the river taxi to Wat Po. We saw the giant reclining buddha. It was really large!!!

We walked to the Royal Palace. At the first gate, they said it was closed for Buddha day and a guy with a gun walked up the gate. We walked down the street and eventually found the real entrance. We were not dressed appropriately so I had to rent a sarong to wear. Jeremy walked across the street to buy some bright purple elephant pants. Drew also had to borrow some pants. The entrance fee was more than I had read (350 baht). The emerald Buddha was smaller than I expected. The Royal grounds were large and it was hot. It was quite grand!

After the palace, we took a tuk-tuk to the train station and bought tickets for Ayuthaya. It was a 1 1/2 hour journey. The ticket was 15 baht for adults and 8 for kids. It is a nice train station and the journey was great even though the train is not air conditioned. Once we arrived, we got a tuk-tuk for 3 hours for 700 baht. He drove us around to many temples.

We took the train back to Bangkok and called it a night.

Day 1 - Bangkok

We traveled from Singapore to Bangkok (2 hours and 20 minutes) with Tiger Airlines. It is a "budget" airline but the flight was fine. Once we arrived we ate downstairs. It was difficult remembering the conversion rates. (Wait, why is my spring rolls 55 baht? OK, that is less than $3). We didn't know we needed coupons (bought by the door until after we ordered). We needed a taxi and tried to follow the signs to the public taxis. I don't think we ever made it. We got to a desk outside and she said 400 baht for each taxi or 700 for a large one. (We did not take another taxi ride during our stay for over 120 baht.) I don't know if it is possible to use a metered taxi from the airport but that is what you want if you can find it.

We checked into our guesthouse called Roof View Place. It looked a little scary based on the surrounding street but once we checked in, we really liked it (except for the terribly uncomfortable beds).

We walked to the river taxi and took it from 14 (Rama 8 bridge) to 8 (by the Royal Palace) for 9 baht (although the next day the same trip was 11 baht). We then walked up the pier and down the next one where we took at ferry across the river for 3 baht each. We went and explored Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn). It was very cool and we had fun walking up and down the steps.

We then got back on the ferry and back on the river taxi and took it down to central. We walked around and tried to find the skytrain but couldn't. We eventually found a good place to eat (after being taken by a tuk-tuk to an expensive restaurant and having to walk from there). We found the skytrain and took it for a bit but it was not so exciting after having a MRT in Singapore. We took a tuk-tuk back to our guesthouse and called it a night

SE Asia trip (with three kids)

We are traveling through Asia and I would like to share some details about our trip over the next 15 posts.

Adventure

We took Drew to a church camp this morning. It lasts until Sunday afternoon. I believe he is the only kid who is not a local Singaporean. Please pray that he finds some friends, eats some of the food, and learns more about God.

I leave for Cambodia in the morning with 2 other adults and 15 high school students. We will be painting 2 orphanages. Please pray for our safety and for the students to see that they can make an impact on the poverty. Pray they the orphans (who have been raised by the church) make an impact on our students.

Jeremy will have the kids by himself all week. Pray that they have a great week.

Thank you.

Sabrina