Bangkok. Full day 1.
The day started with a 2 hour massage. Thai massage. Awesome. The massage school is at a wat (temple) and although we no longer go upstairs (where the ceiling above is made of frescos of the Buddha), the massage on the ground floor is phenomenal. Two hours, plus a tip is $10. Thai massage is about manipulation and stretching. I love it. Although I may walk away from the first one bruised and battered, they get better and better with time.
From there, we went to Chinatown. It is Chinese New Year, year of the Horse. It is very different than 2 years ago- that was the year of the Dragon, AND, there was not political unrest as there is here today. It looked quite tame, and we were told the parade was at 5pm. Nope, that was the arrival of the queen mother. (Wife of the king, not mother of the king). People lined the streets. And then she went by. And then the crowd dispersed. We had eaten dinner (A whole other story of nasty looks and an inablity - or selective ability- to understand what we wanted- needless to say, it was not a very satifying meal). So, after walking a bit, and hearing that the parade would be at 8pm, we looked for a cafe to sit and wait. We found one, ordered some food and drinks and parked for 3 hours. Watching the crowds grow. The parade of people was amazing. All walks of life, tourists from Europe, Asia, America....commerce and lots and lots of police. finally, early, at 7:30 the motorcade went by. No parade, the motorcade of the queen, and her people.
yep. that was it.
And the peanuts? From the restaurant. You need peanuts for a parade....maybe we will save them for next year......
The day started with a 2 hour massage. Thai massage. Awesome. The massage school is at a wat (temple) and although we no longer go upstairs (where the ceiling above is made of frescos of the Buddha), the massage on the ground floor is phenomenal. Two hours, plus a tip is $10. Thai massage is about manipulation and stretching. I love it. Although I may walk away from the first one bruised and battered, they get better and better with time.
From there, we went to Chinatown. It is Chinese New Year, year of the Horse. It is very different than 2 years ago- that was the year of the Dragon, AND, there was not political unrest as there is here today. It looked quite tame, and we were told the parade was at 5pm. Nope, that was the arrival of the queen mother. (Wife of the king, not mother of the king). People lined the streets. And then she went by. And then the crowd dispersed. We had eaten dinner (A whole other story of nasty looks and an inablity - or selective ability- to understand what we wanted- needless to say, it was not a very satifying meal). So, after walking a bit, and hearing that the parade would be at 8pm, we looked for a cafe to sit and wait. We found one, ordered some food and drinks and parked for 3 hours. Watching the crowds grow. The parade of people was amazing. All walks of life, tourists from Europe, Asia, America....commerce and lots and lots of police. finally, early, at 7:30 the motorcade went by. No parade, the motorcade of the queen, and her people.
yep. that was it.
And the peanuts? From the restaurant. You need peanuts for a parade....maybe we will save them for next year......
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