One Night (and a Day) in Bangkok

Em and I had a great day together. We (she) slept in and then we had a leisurely breakfast, followed by a taxi ride to the Royal Palace, also home to Wat Phra Kaew, you know the one with the Emerald (actually Jade) Buddha. (It was originally covered in plaster til a monk noticed some green where it had flaked off on his nose.) This place was massive and beautiful!!Em took advantage of the dripping flower water blessings. We walked around there for a while and then had our first Tuk Tuk ride. It was crazy, weaving in and out of traffic on this little thing with a loud buzzing motor. It dropped us off at Wat Po. Em was just going to sit and wait since she was tired and feet were hurting (swollen =( ). But when I saw how awesome and ginourmous this reclining Buddha was I went back and had her come in. She was glad. His feet are inlaid with various mother of pearl scenes and designs.Em found us a yummy restaurant on the next street and did her first bits of shopping with the street vendors.

We then took a long traffic jammed taxi ride back to the hotel and relaxed until the Dinner cruise on the Chao Phraya River. This was so much fun. It had a live band that was actually not too bad. The river was beautiful at night with the temples and palaces lit up. It was a very romantic and fun way to celebrate Em's birthday, valentines and especially Chinese New Year. Royal Palace at night. Wat Arun or Temple of the Dawn. My favorite one on the river. (Rama (or King) VIII Bridge, I guess he was assassinated and they build it in his name. I love having my new travel buddy!!! (My picture count for today was 172! Mostly used to get good night shots that weren't blurry. Grand total so far is 894.)