On our last day in Bangkok we went to the Grand Palace. The palace was the home for Thai Kings from 1782 to 1925 and now is used for official events and the king now lives in Chitralada Villa in the Dusit Palace which is north of the Grand Palace.
You have to pay 500 baht to enter which is about 14 USD so it is a little expensive but I thought it was worth it. From the pictures below you can see how beautiful it was. It was also so hot. I would be just standing there dripping in sweat. Everyone had warned me to be prepared but it was crazy hot.
Advice: do not believe anyone who talks to you outside of the palace. On our first day in Bangkok we planned on going to the palace but we were told it did not open till 3 by a local outside and then they gave us advice on what to do till three. We decided instead that we would just head back to the hotel and go the next day. In reality they were telling us this because they wanted us to use their tuk tuk and take us around and pay them. The next day as we were entering we were told we couldn’t go in for an hour because there was a Chinese tour group inside and we were skeptical so we went in. Once again they just wanted us to use them as a guide instead of going in the Palace. Also don’t buy clothes outside if you don’t have covered shoulders or a skirt, they will provide them. Anyone who talked to us was kind and accepting when we walked away but we almost missed the Grand Palace all together because of them. Keep this in mind.
After the palace we enjoyed beers in the park across the street before heading to the airport. We had our traditional bloody Mary’s and McDonalds in BKK before heading to Chiang Mai. There wasn’t anything too crazy on the McD’s menu but I did try the corn pie. It tasted like how corn bread would taste if it was a pie and had a soft filling. So it was good!
On to Chiang Mai to meet up with more of the group!
