I did not have a good night. I was up several times with intestinal problems. I haven’t been feeling great for a couple of days but the grand palace is on today’s agenda. I saw it 5 years ago when I was in Bangkok and I thought it was amazing so I decided to go even though I wasn’t feeling well. It was really, really crowded. The palace has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam (and later Thailand) since 1782. Most of the grounds are really a temple and including one building which houses the Emerald Buddha (which isn’t actually emerald but is jade.). I couldn’t take a picture of the Buddha so here are a couple I found on the internet.
Here are pictures of the palace.
After we finished up there I decided I wanted to go back to the hotel. The rest of the group went on to see the reclining Buddha. The reclining Buddha was built in 1832. The image of the reclining Buddha represents the entry of Buddha into Nirvana and the end of all reincarnations. The figure is 15 m high and 46 m long, and it is one of the largest Buddha statues in Thailand. The figure has a brick core, which was modelled and shaped with plaster, then gilded. Here are some of Rick’s pictures.
I meanwhile went back to the hotel and went to sleep. When I woke up I tried to drink some water and promptly got sick. When Rick returned we talked about what to do and decided to call Lin. She sent us to the private hospital around the corner. We went to the digestive care department. The doctor said I had acute gastroenteritis. They gave me a shot of cipro and prescriptions for every possible symptom. We were supposed to go to the welcome dinner but decided to stay in.