A Day in Bangkok

"Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of Education; in the elder, a part of experience."

If you EVER have the opportunity to Study Abroad, do it. (You don't really study much) but you learn a lot just by experiencing new things. It is especially fun because I am with my type of people: Music therapy students.

On Day 2, we spent the day in the capital of Thailand, Bangkok! Hui, our amazing tour guide, and her husband picked us up from our apartment in Salaya and we bussed over to Bangkok in the CRAZY traffic. We have to cross the Chao Phraya River! 

 Our first stop in Bangkok: The Grand Palace. Please excuse me as I now just post a ton of pictures because there was SO much to see! 

The Non-KU students! Me, from Utah State, Hailey from University of Missouri Kansas, and Dr. Register who will be starting a new job at West Virginia University in the Fall. 

 Lilly and Alyssa imitating the "demons" that hold up a spire. 

 Outside of the temple where the Emerald Buddha sits there is a giant bowl of Holy water. Thais use big flowers, dip them in the holy water, than tap each other on the head three times for good luck. Me, Becca, Jamie and Lily not only appreciated the luck, but also the cool water. 

 Cara bought milk from the Royal Project, where the King funds the research for agriculture. 

 That's Colby and Rayna photo bombing my picture! 

 In order to enter temples and the Grand Palace, ladies must have their shoulders covered and a skirt that covers their knees. What a great opportunity to buy a Sarang, a traditional 

Lunch time next to the river, so of course it was delicious sea food! 

The Snakehead fish is native to the Chao Phraya River, and it was my favorite dish of the day. The Thai place the entire fish on the plate, and everyone picks at the part they want to eat. No one wanted to eat the head for some reason...

The next stop after lunch was the Wat Pho temple which has the 3rd largest reclining Buddha in the world. Even after Hui told us that I didn't expect it to be so huge! 

Elephants are very sacred in Thailand, and white ones are considered royalty. 

For dinner Hui arranged for us to have a dinner cruise on the river. This is the view of the Royal Palace from the cruise ship. Obviously, this picture is not an accurate representation of the beauty. The band on the cruise ship sang "Happy Birthday" to Colby and the serving staff brought out a cake. 

At the end of the day, we were all exhausted. But it was absolutely worth the fatigue, sweat and sun burn. Hui and Pat take SUCH good care of us, always providing water and cool towels. Not to mention helping us get around a place where we are naive to the language and culture. They have planned all the fun places we go and delicious places we eat. Plus, they are just super fun! Can't wait to see what they have in store for us tomorrow!