At about 2 PM, we finally were able to set out for the top sights we had intended - prebamboozlement. Wat Po, giant golden reclining Buddah. The thing is housed in a dark shelter and is breathtakingly shiny and huge. We complied with the mandatory shoe removal to enter, but carried our shoes with us, instead of putting them in the cubbies ouside, from which people's shoes have been known to disappear. Alex noticed an interesting ritual in the temple. The wall was lined with a long row of 100 or so black bowls the size of soup tureens, into which people were dropping coins - perhaps offerings - and making an echoing "clink'" sound. It was quite simple and beautiful. We never figured out what it was.
Next we took a tuk tuk (carefully negotiated in advance) to the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddah. Wow. Wow. And Wow. The structures in the complex are encrusted with shiny mosaic tiles of gold and metallic sheen, looking like humungous gemstones, jewels sparkling in the sun. We snapped lots of photos, and Alex hammed it up for the camera. We found people lining up imitating his poses for their own photos. I am sure he is not the first person to strike those poses but it was funny to see Germans, Japanese, Brits, all doing the same thing.
We took a tuk tuk to the National Museum to look for, among other things, an explanation of two rooms (which we never found and are not on the floor plan map).
We took a ferry to Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn, complicated because it was across the river and required different boats to cross and to transport down river. Scavenge was to climb the tall skinny-stepped tower and snap a pic. Always looking to get in some cardio, we enjoyed the scenic and spiritual stairmaster. Looking down and across the city was lovely!! Took two boats - across and down river to get back to the hotel. We had 20 minutes to shower. We were completely drenched and have been drinking north of 2 liters each to keep up with the heat. It is over 100 but I don't know exactly. Around 3 PM, someone noted that it was 103.
Alex made plans to meet his friend Pote for dinner. Pote lives in Bangkok but went to college with Alex. Alex had asked Pote to choose from a list of about 7 restaurants for our mandatory food scavenge. Pote only knew one of them (Cabbages and Condoms), so we made plans to meet him for dinner. After very quick, very essential and extremely enjoyable showers, we took a water taxi to the sky train station. Taking advantage of the hotel's launch service, we rode in comfort for the short ride to the sky train stop. The sky train is an above-ground subway that relieves serious traffic congestion in a very crowded city. The cars are pristine, have flat screen TVs showing ads, and digital displays of upcoming station information. We changed trains at Siam (the former name of Thailand, and the only intersection between the two sky train lines). Pote told Alex that we should meet him in a mall, at the Nautica store. Amazing how interchangeable malls are. He was waiting for us and we walked together to the mall garage to get his car. He drove us to the restaurant Cabbages and Condoms. The place is festooned with all kinds of things fashioned out of condoms -- decorations on the light fixtures, and mannequins outfitted in clothes made from condoms that reminded me of RISD Fashion Show projects. The restaurant concept is to promote understanding and acceptance of family planning and raise funds for a related organization. Thai food - and it was very good. Pote ordered for all of us: chicken satay, gai hor bai toey (excuse the spelling but it is chicken wrapped in a Pandan leaf), white rice, red jasmine rice (more nutritious than white rice and resembles brown rice except it's red), kao glong (no recollection what it was) and Thai green curry - with vegys and cocoanut milk. Interesting conversation! His family business involves commodities. He was sent to the US for a New England boarding school education and college and he is going back to the US for graduate work. His Thai friends went to US, Australia, Singapore for their educations.
His tip on street food: fried in oil is fine, but go for the clearest oil you can find. We talked about the recent riots, what led up to them, etc. Then, looking at the list of scavenges we hadn't done yet, we asked him about how to find someone to price a "nasty" and he told us, but ultimately Alex preferred not to do that scavenge. Certainly I was not going to do it. Mapped out the next day and went to bed.