National Museum and More Buddhas

We went to the National Museum and the National Gallery and along the way were almost scammed by some seemingly nice guys at our neighborhood Wat, Wat Chana.

The National Gallery

National Gallery  

There were more at the National Gallery, but we will move on the the more impressive National Museum. 

Kerry showing off at the Museum 

I love Fasting Buddha

That's not me on the bus on the bad tour to the cool location. 

We made our way to The Ancient City of Ayutthaya on a tour that was, well, not so great. but it is a cool site. Ayutthaya, is about 50 miles north of Bangkok. It was founded in 1350, the city was once one of the largest and most powerful urban centers in the world, thriving on international trade until it was destroyed by the Burmese in 1767. 

Our tour bus 

The Reclining Buddha

Buddha in a tree

 Thai Cooking Class

We scheduled a cooking class with an amazing chef Angsana. Had us decide on three dishes, and then took us out to the market and back to her place to prepare them and have a late lunch. 

No, we didn’t eat turtle or those skinny little eels. 

What you’re seeing below is a sign explaining how many of a specific animal you should buy and release into a local stream or lake to gain good karma or luck. For instance, the lines on the chart represent the days of the week, with Wednesday divided into before noon and after noon. The number indicates how many of the creatures you need to purchase and release. The days of the week correspond to your birth date, and for Wednesday, it refers to the time of day. 

Angsana says that this chart was made up to encourage more buying in the market. She releases fish that she doesn't like so that she won't have to eat it in the future. 

We purchased our ingredients and made our way to her house. 

We made Ho Mok Talay, Stuffed Steamed Squid, and Pad Thai. The first was Ho Mok Talay, seafood wrapped in banana leaves with a coconut cream.  

A full package of banana leaves.

Kerry kneaded out the coconut milk for the paste

Ingredients for the paste, which included whipped fish meat. 

The final product, it was delicious. 

Here are all the dishes we made in their final form. 

            

 

 Grand Palace and Wat Pra 

Wat Phra Kaew, which is located within Bangkok’s Grand Palace complex, is Thailand’s most sacred temple and home to the Emerald Buddha. 

Despite its name, the statue is carved from a single block of jade and dates back to the 14th century. The Emerald Buddha is considered the spiritual heart of Thailand, symbolizing prosperity and protection for the nation. 

Only the King (or a royal appointee) is permitted to change its seasonal robes, a ritual performed three times a year to mark Thailand’s hot, rainy, and cool seasons.

The Royal Palace is connected to the Wat Pra, you enter it through the Wat and then kind of follow some maps, we think that we missed some of the Royal Palace which is ok, as I think we walked another marathon on this day. 

Part of the Royal Palace exhibit showed the many dresses that the Queen has worn throughout the years, here are a couple. 

We went and had some coffee after the Palace and as part of the ticket we got to see a traditional Thailand dance production at the Royal Theater. It was very good. They had a free shuttle that took us there. 

After the show, we started the trek to ChinaTown which is one of the largest and most vibrant Chinatowns in Asia.

We found a cool lunch place called the LaoTeng where we were able to try Sea Cucumber, and Jelly Fish among other dishes. 

One of the fun things to do in Bangkok is to find the fun little alleyways which are a little scary and find neat little cocktail bars, well, maybe that is just us. Well we found the motherload. We found Opium Bar which is one of the top bars in the world. 

And then you try not to get hit by a passing scooter. 

Anyway, we found the bar and had to take a tiny little elevator to the bar floor. The elevator was so small, you needed to stay on the away from the side or it would stop. because the side was open and it was a safety feature. 

The bar was amazing. Here are some of our drinks. 

After drinks, we had a walk down chinatown's main drag and caught a taxi home.