Trouble at the Grand Palace

Wat Prah Keaw

Wat Prah Keaw, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, holy of holies and most sacred site in Thailand is found at the Grand Palace compound in Bangkok. The palace was the official residence at one point or another of all nine kings of the Chakri Dynasty (although the current king now resides in Hua Hin).

As soon as we arrived at the palace, I realized that I had made a huge mistake. Shorts for men or even short skirts for women aren't allowed on royal grounds. I had to resort to doing something I swore that I would never do...

Outside the palace, smart entrepreneurs have set up businesses renting out long skirts for women and the dreaded "fisherman pants" for men. So I've stooped one step closer to looking like one of the backpackers that we English teachers in Thailand tend to look down upon. Just don't expect me to be sporting long hair, a bandana, or prayer beads anytime soon!

Thais can get in for free since it's the site of an important temple, but foreigners must pay a steep 500 baht for entrance! Tuktun and I decided to bypass the crowded palace for now and go find something to eat. Even after a year in Thailand there's a lot of Thai food that I haven't tried, since I'm not comfortable enough with my Thai language to be able to order much.

lunchtime

My friend led me back across the Chao Phraya to the Wunglang Waterfront, a market area with lots of hidden little hole-in-the-wall family owned restaurants. Places like this are common throughout Bangkok, and probably other cities in Thailand as well. I'm note sure this restaurant even had a name!

delicious noodles

Thai food is often served in courses. We started with a delicious hot bowl of noodles. Eating noodles is really the only time in Thai cuisine where you'll see chopsticks! After the noodles, Tuktun scribbled an order in pencil on a little slip of paper to hand to the waiter, who soon brought us some type of green tom yum, chicken, a little wicker packet of sticky rice, and som tam. Called "papaya salad" in English, som tam is another of the most popular Thai dishes (after tom yum kung soup and pad thai). It's famous for being very spicy. I think that Tuktun ordered it "farang style" for me. She insisted that it wasn't spicy at all, not even a little bit. I still drank two bottles of water, and I had to avoid the dangerous chilies.

famous papaya salad

Even though we didn't make it to the Grand Palace, I still call it a successful day