Wednesday, November 27
After breakfast we went to the Grand Palace via the river. We were headed to what looked on the map to be the entrance. A man approached us and told us we were walking in the wrong direction and that we needed to turn right. Fortunately, we ignored him and went straight. It was a scam to get us to go shopping. Someone else along the same street told us the Palace was closed which, of course, it wasn't -- it was another scam to get us to go shopping. Once inside the gate we hired a personal guide for 400 baht for the two of us. She waited patiently for us to take our numerous photographs.
We then headed to the massage school at Wat Pho. Along the way a really smooth guy tried to scam us into going shopping. His technique was definitely more refined than the others scoundrels. Again, we did not go shopping. At Wat Pho we each had a one-hour massage for 250 baht ($6) each. This is not luxurious by any means. We were in an unair-conditioned room with fans blowing and many other people also getting massages. This was my first full-body Thai massage and I found the experience interesting and, at times, painful. I think I'll stick to hot stone massages in the future. A little spa music, too, would be nice.
We skipped lunch yesterday and today was on the run with a bag of almonds -- just too much to do. Getting a taxi back the hotel turned into a chore. Taxi drivers make commissions by delivering tourist to stores (here's that shopping thing again), and our driver wouldn't budge until we agreed to go to one. We were too hot and tired for shopping, so we got out and finally found a driver who would take us to our hotel, but at a high price. Suggestions: when taking taxis, have someone at your hotel write down in Thai the name and address of where you're staying, and be sure to take metered taxis or negotiate the fare before getting into the vehicle.
