Bangkok

Today we took the 2 1/2 hour drive into Bangkok.  We were very impressed with the many modern skyscrapers. We expected terrible traffic jams but it wasn't too bad though. We first visited the Temple of the golden Buda. It was made out of 5 1/2 tons of gold and was very impressive to see.  We then visited the Royal Palace, which houses the Jade Buda. The palace grounds were amazing and are shown in a separate post..  We also took a boat ride down the river before a fantastic Thai lunch.. It was very informative, but tiring trip.

The Temple of the Golden Buda was an active Buddhist monastery 

and a very large complex consisting of several buildings

We had to climb several steps to get to the golden Buda

There were dedications to the memory of the late King Rama IX everywhere

 

The Golden Buda was very impressive and worth a lot of money

 

This is an active temple and people came to pray

This monk was in deep thought and prayer

Buda statues everywhere

Another dedication to the King

The river was a a very active channel for commerce 

with large barges being pulled by tug boats

These 'speed boats" have 357 Chev engines driving the propellers

Very modern bridges and sky scrappers

Another dedication to the late King who was revered by the Thai people

The old with the new is ever present, like this old French Embassy building

Street life in Bangkok is very congested, including the cabling systems

The "jitty taxis" are everywhere in Bangkok

Yet more dedications to the King