Bye Bye Bangkok - Part II

Marilee had to work in the morning, so she sent me to a place she had been to and enjoyed, the Suan Pakkad Palace. This was another set of teak houses with a large collection – sort of a cross between the Jim Thompson house and the National Museum. There was a house of prehistoric artifacts, a royal barge, some Ramayana puppets, a house of pottery and a house of jewelry. I then went on my own to a mall, where I ate lunch and looked for books on Java and Bali.


I had planned to meet Marilee at our next destination and was running short on time, so I took a taxi – my first one by myself. Pointing on the map got me only so far – the road was blocked – and I found myself walking the rest of the way, right by Parliament, where there were a bunch of red shirts, protesting the new government. Once the airport was opened, things had been quiet but not resolved. Marilee had said that the only place to avoid was Parliament and there I was, right there! But the protest was not violent – a smattering of people listening to a speaker. I have kept up with the news and things are still not resolved. Can’t we all just get along?


The next destination, where I met Marilee, was Dusit Park – could have spent all day there! Our main purpose was to see the world’s largest golden teak mansion (which begs the question, is there a larger one made of a different kind of teak?), a former royal palace. We had some time before our tour, so we went to an exhibit of textiles and one of photographs taken by the King (who has quite an eye; in the photographs of him he often holds his camera). The tour of Vimarnmek Mansion was well worth it, too. It’s a combination of Thai. Victorian and Italian styles. King Chulalongkorn was the first to travel to the West, in 1897, and he furnished his mansion with things from there.


Then we had to rush off to meet another Morocco RPCV – a friend of one of the first-year SBDs. We met at Starbucks – not very unique, but a good place to meet. I had a java chip something-or-other (mochaccino? Frappucino?) and realized I could not have any of those when I return to the States where Starbucks are more plentiful. Too many calories! And so far, I haven’t had one.

I then had a farewell one-hour foot massage – with the same person I’d had for my last three massages at Bodytune – when I told her I was leaving the next day, she insisted I come back so she could give me a present. I made a friend! I also went by the internet café to say goodbye – it’s nice to think I made an impression in a short amount of time.