Royal Grand Palace - Wat Phra Kaea

 

These guys stand guard in front of every wat. In fact, they stand in front of every single entrance to every single wat in Bangkok, so we became good friends.

 

The Royal Palace had a very strict dress code. It appears that nothing short of draping a tarp over yourself is acceptable. Traci had to rent a long skirt because her capri pants were considered too short. I had convertable pants, and whenever I had to enter a wat, I quickly zipped up my pants like Batman, or is that Watwoman.

 

The Grand Palace was like walking around the Lost City of Gold. Everything glistened in the sun, until it suddenly poured for 15 minutes as it does every day during the rainy season. The Royal Palace is home of Emerald Buddha which is a rather tiny jade Buddha enclosed in a glass case, surrounded by about a hundred other gold Buddhas. We weren't allowed to take photos of it, but don't worry, you're not missing anything.

 

In my defense, I did ask him if I could take the photograph first, and I think I detected the slight hint of a smile.