Kauffman Commentary

We knew it was coming, but the deafening explosion of the first fireworks shook the windows and threw us out of bed. There were 5 barges in the river shooting off the best display of fireworks that we had ever seen.

As the new year came in we watched the first half of the Sugar Bowl on our phone. K-State played their hearts out, but Alabama prevailed.

This morning we drove by the Grand Palace. It was built over a span of 44 years starting in 1782. It was built as a home for only the King until 1946 when the King built another palace and opened it to the public.

Then we went to the Temple of the Emerald Budda, by the Grand Palace. Green emerald Budda was covered in plaster and hidden away from enemies. In 1434 it was found and eventually after the movement of the capital; it was placed in the temple and has been there ever since. Pictures are not allowed of this Budda. Below are photos of the temple area.

Wat Pho, the oldest temple in Bangkok is within walking distance of the green Budda. It is a giant compared to the green Budda. Since we were there on new Year’s Day there were many local worshipers and it was very crowded.

Those of you that know me know that I dislike big city traffic, but I love my husband and so off we went this evening on a Tuk Tuk food tour.

First stop was Chinatown. It is a huge area downtown. Tom, our Tuk Tuk tour guide served us a fried pork and shrimp appetizer from the street food vendor. They were very temperature hot, and quite tasty. The smells were always changing, some good and some not so good. Lots of coconut sweets, which were colorful and had lots of texture.

Just about 10 harrowing minutes down the road was the Golden Mountain. When construction started they were not successful with the design and it fell down. They tried again and all was well. It is about 300 steps to the top. Beautiful views of the city.

This took us to the back alleys of Bangkok. There you can buy weed, food and hang out with tattoo artists. We tried several dishes at a local restaurant and then went to the flower market. Lots of imported flowers all being made up and shipped out. Mostly Myanmar workers, they get a better wage here than in their country.

Fun fact: There is a 200% tax on all luxury import cars in Thailand.