Bangkok Oriental Setting / The City Don't Know What the City Is Getting

Lots of river taxis plying the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok.

One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster.  Well, then, I'm in luck.  I got four nights in Bangkok.  And after the first night's sleep, today was "take an organized tour" day.  Three stops.  The three most renowned and, therefore, most tourist-packed, sights for seeing in Bangkok.

But, to get there, we got to take a river taxi.

But even on the mile-long walk to the meeting point for the tour, there were photogenic temples waiting to be photographed.

But soon we were being borne by the waters of Bangkok.

That's our taxi pulling into the dock.

But there are boats of all sorts and sizes plying the Chao Phraya River.  The taxis go up and down the the river.  The ferry-boats go across the river, since there are very few bridges over the river and, the few that there are, are pedestrian-difficult, meaning you have to ascend a fairly high concrete staircase -- remember the bridges have to be high enough for real ships to get under -- to walk across the bridge.  A ferry is easier.

Yes, the river is somewhat mucky.

It's not really muddy, contrary to Murray Head and the Chess musical, where the chess game is more gripping than a muddy old river.  Maybe it's muddy in the rainy season, a season most of us tourists tend to miss.

In the background there is Wat Arun, which will be visited later in the day's tour.

When the water taxi arrives at the intended destination -- Pier 7 I believe -- there is fruit for sale.  Including stinky durian.

My hotel in Chiang Rai had signs all over the place, in the lobby and in the room:  2,000 baht fine (about $70 U.S.) if you bring into your room cigarettes, a dog, or durian.  I've never seen signage putting eating fruit in the same category as smoking cigarettes.  But the durian is, apparently, something special.  They don't even allow you to handle it with your hands.  Plastic gloves only.

But no fruit allowed into the first sight of the daily sightseeing.  Speaking of which ...

We have arrived at the first stop on the day's tour:  the grounds of the Grand Palace.