Our second day in Bangkok was packed with a mix of cultural exploration, practical errands, and indulgent relaxation. Our agenda included an AmaWaterways tour of the Royal Palace and Wat Pho, dropping off laundry, finding a barbershop, exploring the IconSiam mall, and bidding farewell to our Irish friends. After an amazing night’s sleep, we were ready to dive into the day.

Our day began with a fantastic breakfast, followed by meeting our local tour guide, Peter. He took us, along with another couple from Florida, to our private van for the Royal Palace tour. Peter enriched our visit with fascinating facts, like the three main styles of pagodas in Thailand: the squared-off Thai style, the corn cob-like Cambodian style, and the bell-shaped Sri Lankan style. He also shared the lore of the demon and monkey wars, evident in the palace’s numerous statues and paintings. One of the large statues was of the demon king from the war, Thotsakan, and received his name for his ‘many heads’ situated atop his main head.

The palace itself was a marvel, from the ordination hall and Angkor Wat replica to the famous Emerald Buddha, which is actually made of jade and dressed differently by the King of Thailand for each season. In one of the photos you can see each dressage that matches the seasons of summer, rain and winter. This is the main attraction of the Royal Palace and garners a lot of visitors and locals for prayers to the Emerald Buddha. After blessing ourselves with a lotus flower dipped in water for good fortune and health, we explored the hall where the Emerald Buddha is held.

After leaving this area we headed to the palace grounds, which, interestingly, are used more for hosting events than as the King’s residence. Today, Rama Vajiralongkorn, the King of Thailand, actually spends the majority of his time in Bavaria, Germany. There are numerous residences for the Royal family within Bangkok though. Jeff remarked that the immaculate grounds reminded him of Disney, and I could see why—it was all beautifully maintained. Next, we returned to Wat Pho for a third visit, this time opting for a relaxing one-hour massage at their school. Feeling rejuvenated, we strolled through the outdoor flower market, enjoying the rich aromas and vibrant colors.

With our AmaWaterways tour concluding at Wat Pho, we set off to drop off our laundry and find a barber shop in the Bang Rak District, conveniently across the river from our hotel. The Peninsula boat service made crossing the river a breeze. Laundry dropped off and haircuts done (a bargain at 400 Baht for both), we had the rest of the day to explore the IconSiam mall.

Surprisingly, we didn’t do much shopping damage but enjoyed a leisurely lunch and some window shopping. Back at our hotel, we met up with our friends Gavin and Louise for a farewell evening. We took them to the mall via the boat, arriving just in time for the hourly water fountain show. After touring the mall, we enjoyed a rooftop dinner, cocktails, and heartfelt goodbyes.

The following day, our second AmaWaterways tour began with a private boat tour down the Chaopraya River, spotting komodo lizards and feeding catfish along the way. The boat brought us past the second largest Buddha in all of Thailand, which we saw at the beginning of our G Adventures Tour (with a lot less scaffolding). The boat also took us to another temple down the way from this Buddha where we saw more images in various positions. We ended the boat tour by docking at the pier connecting to Wat Arun, the Temple of the Dawn. We explored the temple grounds on foot with our guide, Peter, who gave us its history and significance to the people of Thailand. Similar to the Royal Palace, it is filled with the three styles of pagodas with one major central pagoda that elevates into three stories; we could only get up to the second story due to safety concerns. There were a ton of people in traditional Thai garments getting professional photos taken with wooden parasols and other props.

Once we finished with Wat Arun, we took the water taxi back across the river for a quick walk to visit Jay Fai’s street kitchen. This is one of the few one Michelin-starred street vendors in the world and is made famous by Jay Fai herself — an octogenarian that dons ski goggles and cooks every dish for guests over a flaming wok. While on the pricier side for Thai street food, her dishes are known for their well sourced ingredients and large portions. We opted for two noodle dishes with river prawns and the famous crab omelette, which had this perfect golden non-oily fry on it. Both of us agreed that the crab omelette was worth the 1,400 Baht price tag (~$39).

After a restful nap back at the hotel, we prepared for a special dinner at HAAWM, a culinary venture by Chef Dylan, whom we knew from his Orlando pop-up restaurant BangRak. HAAWM is the Thai word that’s uttered when your nose picks up a delightful scent that triggers you to say ‘YUM!’. Arriving at Chef Dylan’s home for our 5:30 pm seating, we were warmly welcomed and treated to an extraordinary meal that ended up being private to just us since it is the slower season. HAAWM’s concept of dishes with complementary flavors—salty, spicy, sour, sweet, umami—was executed to perfection and pulls from the canon of Thai dishes a few generations prior. The relaxed, intimate setting allowed us to enjoy an unforgettable culinary experience thanks to Chef Dylan, Chef Eric and Rung.

Back at our hotel, we faced the task of repacking our backpacks and suitcases for our morning flight to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon). With the packing done, we rewarded ourselves with rosé champagne and a bubble bath. Reflecting on our time in Bangkok, we both have a strong desire to return, especially to The Peninsula, which offered so much we didn’t get to experience fully.

Until next time—Andrew

P.S. – The amazing Puna strikes again on service. We were notified that there was a package waiting for us at The Peninsula. Puna is from Chang Mai and had her family purchased a Hard Rock Cafe shot glass for Jeff, had it shipped to Bangkok and then a carrier delivered it to our hotel concierge. We didn’t know till after we left Chang Mai that there was a Hard Rock Cafe so getting this shot glass was a treat for Jeff. THANK YOU PUNA!