We woke up early, hopped in a taxi for a ride for the top of the list for first-time visitors to Bangkok, the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew.
We arrived at the entrance at around 9.00 and it was already really crowded. So crowded, we didn't really enjoy the experience. Don't get us wrong.Thailand’s most sacred site and complex of temples were magnificent. The buildings were absolutely stunning.The details of each monument were breathtaking. At every corner, we would find a place even more mesmerising. But we would also found a new horde of Chinese tourists flocking every square metre available. This was just too much to handle. We gave up. It was almost impossible to take a decent picture without someone stepping in front of you.
We visited the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, jostling with half of the population of China. We could see the green jade Buddha from a distance. We decided to leave and reached for the exit as fast as we could. As we were walking out a little before noon, the crowd had every more ballooned up. There was a long queue to get in, and we could not imagine how much more crowded the actual grounds would have been later in the day.
After a miserable experience at the grand palace, we set off for the only thing we could do. Enjoy a movie with a huge bowl of popcorn and almost a litre of icy coke!