Days Seven through Nine: Bangkok Temples

The remaining two and a half days at the resort were fabulously relaxing and not at all productive (which was my goal!). I read almost non-stop, chatted with my new cooking friend L at the pool, roamed the beach, took photos and managed another visit to the spa before flying back to Bangkok.

I had two days in Bangkok before heading home. Saturday was "temple day." On my last visit, I didn't make it to Wat Arun, the Temple of the Dawn, so that was definitely on my list. The grounds of the temple were filled with schoolchildren, saffron-robed monks (who were somewhat incongruously carrying digital cameras), and tourists getting their pictures taken in the rented garb of traditional Thai dancers.

I climbed the incredibly steep sides of the temple, hauling myself up the 14-inch risers using the railing and dodging the tourists coming down the narrow Up stairs. From the temple's heights, I could see across the Chao Praya River to the Grand Palace, my favorite place in Bangkok. I could make out the tiled and gilded roofs, but I had to venture onto the river taxi and into the massive complex to see my favorite sights: the gold towers and painted giants, mirrored mosaics and golden statues, stone dogs and gilded murals.

The palace is incredibly ornate, in a style that anywhere else might seem tacky, but since it's Thailand, it's fabulous and exotic and wonderful. I spent hours absorbing the details.

As I was leaving the palace, I was ambushed by a schoolgirl who asked me a ton of personal questions in fractured English. She was observed by an older woman, probably her teacher. I sat down on the sidewalk with the girl and tried to communicate with simple sentences, sound effects, and hand gestures that I love Fourth of July because of the fireworks. Some schoolgirl in Thailand also knows my name and age, my father's name, that I don't have children, and my favorite color is red. I made sure to say I was from America because nobody in Thailand got it when I said "United States."

That night I listened to a jazz singer in the top-floor 360 degree lounge and started to think of home.