Day Four--canals and more

Rumor has it I TOTALLY missed out on a great jazz club last night after the group dinner.  At midnight the jazz switched to a DJ, and...well the photos Lee sent me tell the story.  Wild, crazy fun.  But I was so exhausted (I call it being “tired sick”) that I had to turn in early.  Glad nearly everyone else went clubbing and had such fun. 

Clubbing

With a group this large, we’d gotten smart and asked for a breakfast area separate from other diners--guess we could call this the “Hellie” section--so we could all belly-up to the table together.  Fun to try new food at breakfast (Lee and I tried chopsticks).  Naturally I ate slower, since it took coordination to maneuver anything to my mouth.   I continue to marvel at the flavors and variety.  Love using my five senses.

Our private breakfast room.  We feel pretty special

Again the activities of the day found thegroup splitting up--those who’d ordered tailor-made clothes stayed at the hotel for a second fitting (we figured after last night they’d need a larger size), and six of us women followed Tak around like ducklings to the river for a canal ride. We retraced the steps we sweat sisters had taken yesterday, and, via the train, found ourselves at the Central Pier.  I hadn't noticed until this morning how everyone queues up while awaiting the train.  Lines form behind markings on the floor, and as passengers emerge, others can file aboard.  Efficient--I so love this! Tak negotiated a long-boat ride for the seven of us--2 hours for the price of 1, and the ensuing hours mesmerized us.

Here they queue up for the metro train.  My kind of orderliness.   

Tak negotiating our long-boat ride

We took back canals (albeit with one lock into the canal and one out) and glimpsed a bit of Thailand not usually seen if one focuses strictly on downtown city life.  Cruising on this colorful long boat, we saw fabulous and fussily-kept homes directly next to forlorn and seemingly forgotten ones.  We glimpsed morning glories being grown for that great Thai “morning glory” dish, as well as small boats selling their wares.  Several low boats cooked onboard and sold their dishes to occupants of other boats.  I found all this fascinating. So different from life at the lake in Minnesota.

Tak at the head of the long boat

We bought bananas (and a beer for our driver) from this woman who paddled up along side of us.

These morning glory greens become Thai "morning glory" veggies.  Delicious

Cute--right? 

Along the smaller canal

Needs some lovin' 

Cooking on the boat

Our long-boat tour at an end, we were dropped off on a pier near Wat Arun--The Temple of Dawn.  We’d walked right past it by yesterday in our frenzy to find the express boat, but now we could enjoy it. Again with shoes off, we entered the temple, and I was humbled by the prayerful people who came offering gifts to the monks.  In return, they received his blessing.  So very reverent.

Exquisitely inlaid tiles--found in most temples

We ferried across the river to the old city and docked at the very pier we sweat sisters had found yesterday.  There’s a certain pride in feeling, “hey, I know my way around here,” especially after being so totally confused yesterday.  Our destination, Wat Pho, lay across the street from the pier.  Again, we’d totally missed this yesterday, and Tak, our patient and generous guide, led the way.

The focus of the Wat Pho complex is a gigantic, reclining gold Buddha, housed in an ornate temple.  Followers prayed and gave offerings.  The rest of the area glistened with shiny tiles, and I loved seeing the gallery of Buddhas that lined the structures.

Artist restoring paint at Wat Pho

Love the Buddha gallery at Wat Pho

Mama Hellie and me--we want to find replicas of these dogs

We again took the express boat back to the train, the train to the hotel.  The day had been so warm--not one of us seven women needed a bathroom--can you imagine?  It was so hot/humid that the water we continually drank simply sweated out of us and evaporated.  We again were puddles when we arrived back at the hotel.  And once again a “beverage” at the bar was exactly what we needed to refresh.

Dinner was an adventure. The “kids” had chosen a craft beer joint as a preprandial to a meal.  Only trouble was...after a train ride, we needed a taxi to get us to the place.  Since we were 12 people, we needed several taxis, and Tak, Dan, Irene and I were all together in one with neither phones nor cellular data.  This wouldn’t have been a problem, but the locale was so isolated that the taxi driver couldn’t find it.  Tak had given her phone to Alex who was the only one with the exact name of the place and the address.  So...what to do?

Finally got to use one of these fun pink taxis, only to find ourselves eventually completely lost
 

After paying the driver, we were dropped on a corner, and we found a kind soul who loaned Tak a phone to call Alex.  He gave Tak the exact name and address of the bar.  Imagine Saturday evening around dinner time.  Few taxis are unoccupied, let alone willing to stop for us four.  We used our heads and marched up to the Marriott, pretended to be guests, and asked that a taxi be ordered.  Worked like a charm.

With detailed info, the second taxi dude plugged the address into the GPS and...we finally arrived.  We had 30+ beers to chose from and by that time, all sounded superb.

Finally the second taxi driver got us to this obscure place.  And yes...immediately refreshed ourselves