Lazy Buddhas, Sacred Lawns and Schoolchildren

Today the People's Party of China sent ALL of their schoolchildren to the Imperial Palace....or so it felt.

Last night we went to bed stuffed on lovely Thai food and slept soundly (well Alex did - Julia, not so much) and overslept even more soundly!  So up we (Royal we) popped and husband cooked wife a lovely breakfast to kick-start her motor into functioning with all the energy a tourist about to be subjected to hordes of other tourists needs.

Unfortunately no amount of breakfast shields you from the heat, but such is life and for that you have the SkyTrain which is a joy....well actually the air-conditioning is.....oh and the fact people actually form orderly queues to get on;  how civilised.  Then the boat trip; traversing BKK much more pleasant on the river than in the sea of fumes and stench that are the roads.

When we arrived we realised the mistake of leaving an hour and a half later than we'd planned.  The place was heaving.....like an overturned ant-hill.....school kids everywhere, Savile J in his element - damn you oversleeping!

Those two blokes even brought their own ladder to escape the onslaught of kids

Friends had previously mentioned that for two people that hate crowds, living in central London was a bit silly.  Others predicted that South East Asia was perhaps not for us, but really - does there have to be THAT many people here at once?  Ridiculous!  Maybe those two guys on the ladder were simply following one of Confucius' lesser known teachings, roughly translated as - "Bring stilts, avoid the crowds".

Speaking of teaching, travel broadens the mind (another mindless cliche) and so what did we learn?  We learned that the crop top was BIG in ancient Thailand and that the Wicked Witch of the West bought her Monkey Soldiers from a Thai pet shop......strange what you learn.

Fly my pretties!

(Green Top) You'll nevah guess wha' dat slag just said Gary.....
(Yellow Top)  Whateva'!

Further we learned that even the very smallest lawns in Thailand are not only tended by ridiculously oversized lawnmowers, but they are sacred and one must NOT set foot on them.

I think we can all agree, the "Keep off the Lawn" sign is a trifle unnecessary

Our turfophilia offended by this, we headed off to the lazy Buddha.  You know the bloke, huge golden one, lying down at rest......reclining if you please!  Actually he was (is?) pretty amazing to see - massive feet and we all know what that means......massive shoes (though he would certainly have to leave them outside like the rest of us, less than golden, types).  A fiver each dropped, literally, on making wishes and buying luck (suckers!) we left the monument to wander the grounds, where there was even a real-life Monk making notes, or doing the crossword.....well he was writing something.

At least here there were fewer people, certainly fewer school kids.  Serenity, space and a sense that there wasn't a current of humanity pushing you along helped us enjoy and appreciate this wonderful monument for what it is, something the Imperial Palace didn't do.

Here, boys, we learned that when the missus says you are a lazy b*gger, you can reply that you are "reclining"; good enough for Buddha good enough for me love.  Good luck with that by the way.

Another husband cooked meal and a short nap, before writing this entry by the pool and a night out at Vertigo will wrap up today for us.  Our first sights of the trip and first real exposure to the hordes of Asia.