So it was my first full day in Bangkok, but I was unsure if my ex, N., would be able to spend time with me. Since the texting had worked between our two phones the previous week, I sent him a text asking if he was available either that day or that night. If he wasn’t available that day, I mentioned possibly going to see The Grand Palace. After an hour or more with no response, I was wondering if it was because of my damned phone again. For him not to respond at all isn’t his style. I finally broke down and dialed his number, hoping against hope that it would actually WORK! It did and he answered. He’d received my text and responded, but it hadn’t come through on my phone. When he asked what I was interested in seeing, I mentioned The Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun, the Flower Market and Chatuchak Market. He was going to take a shower, then expected to be at my apartment around 11:30 a.m.
N. arrived at the appointed time. He said that he’d driven his car to his sister’s nearby condo, parked it there and caught a motorbike taxi to my apartment. At the end of our earlier phone call, I’d been under the impression that we’d be seeing the Chatuchak Market that day. Instead, when he saw me in a short dress, he informed me that I’d have to change, as I wouldn’t be allowed in any temple that way. Ok, so that meant we were doing the temples instead. I put on my most conservative dress (which I’d already worn the previous night) and grabbed a sweater, although temperatures were in the 90’s with high humidity. We took a taxi to The Grand Temple, which took quite awhile due to the notorious Bangkok traffic. Once we got out, he asked if I’d eaten yet. I hadn’t and was slightly hungry, but assured him that I could wait a bit longer.
The second we stepped onto the grounds of The Grand Palace, the officials began telling me immediately to cover my arms, so I donned the sweater. It was suffocating, but had to be done, so… One plus is that N. got me in for free, as they assumed that I was Thai. The complex seemed huge and was magnificent. I had a bit of Stendhal syndrome, not sure where to focus first. N. bought some incense and flowers, then instructed me in the proper way to pray/make an offering with him. From then on, I was simply snap happy with my DSLR, my point-and-shoot, my iPad Mini and my cell phone! He was taking pictures of me with his cell phone. We also sat beneath the Emerald Buddha for awhile, but no pictures were allowed inside, only through the window from outside.
When we were finished with The Grand Palace, he was once again concerned that I hadn’t yet eaten. We stopped in at a small restaurant nearby, where we ordered a shrimp appetizer, beef with garlic and pepper, steamed rice and a couple of beers. Although flavorful, the beef was too fatty for me. In years past, I would always eat the lean meat, while N. would eat the fat (his favorite). He barely eats now, though, so much of the meat was left over. As if he were my parent, he also asked if I needed to use the restroom, although he didn’t think the restroom at this restaurant would be nice enough for me. Once again, I could wait.
We walked to Wat Pho, which is the temple where The Reclining Buddha resides. Something about that Buddha was so incredibly beautiful to me; I couldn’t stop looking at him. I didn’t want to leave him! By the time N. was able to drag me away from The Reclining Buddha and back outside, it had begun to rain. He pulled me close, covered us with his umbrella and asked what I wanted to do. He’d mentioned to me earlier that Wat Pho is also famous for having a massage school, which I hadn’t been aware of. Because of that, I suggested we get a massage since it was raining, anyway. At the massage school there, he asked if I wanted a foot massage or preferred a full body massage. Based on my two full body massages in Koh Samui, I only wanted a foot massage! There was a short wait of about 15 minutes before we got our dual foot massages, as we lay next to each other. Once again, I was presented with those baggy pants. I started to put them on under my dress, but the masseuse corrected me – she wanted me to tuck my dress INTO the pants. Ok, whatever. N. and I were laying next to each other on beds/mattresses while our respective masseuses gave us half hour foot massages. He was texting on his phone while I was taking pictures of him! As luck would have it, by the time our foot massages were finished, the rain had stopped.
We then walked to the Flower Market. Apparently, it’s much livelier with tons more flowers in the wee hours of the morning. I enjoyed myself, though, and couldn’t believe how inexpensive a bouquet of flowers was. He asked which flowers I liked – purple orchids, of course – and he bought a huge bouquet for me, as a belated birthday present.
There was no time to see Wat Arun, as that involved taking a boat across the river. He still needed to pick up his nieces from school, so we took a cab back to my apartment. Since there was no vase in the apartment, I stuffed as many orchids as possible into the coffee pot! There were still many, many blooms. I took 2 glasses, cut the stems of the remaining orchids short and made 2 additional arrangements for the apartment!
N. and I agreed to meet up two days hence, as I was flying to Chiang Mai the following morning. He said that he’d be at my apartment around 11:00 a.m., thus we parted.
At The Grand Palace
At The Grand Palace
The Reclining Buddha
Orchids at the Flower Market