Must See Tourists Attractions: Bangkok Day 5
Lynnae needed a vacation from her vacation so my Mom, Fierce and I went to Wat Arun. I had asked Fierce what he wanted to do and he said, "Go to a temple, see a statue and take off my shoes." Yup, he has got it down! He especially likes the part about taking off his shoes. This Wat was unique in that we had a steep climb which he also appreciated. There was a little market surrounding the Wat so we did a bit of shopping. There were not many places to eat in this area so we took a taxi to our next destination, the Jim Thompson House and got a Thai lunch at a cafe nearby. Then we headed to the house. It was actually six houses attached together to make one huge Thai styled house with a courtyard in the middle. Jim Thompson was an art collector and had several beautiful pieces throughout the home. He was an architect in the USA, but moved to Thailand and revitalized the hand made silk industry so the people revere him. He visited a friend in Malaysia and disappeared so he is somewhat of a legend now. Silk bought from Jim Thompson is considered some of the best in the country so I bought Wes a pocket scarf as a souvenir.
We headed back to the hotel to get ready for a dinner show we booked for the evening. I bought Fierce a bow tie on a whim and handed it to him while I paid. I turned around and while looking at it with excitement he said, "I can't wait to wear it!" The evening ended up being so much more than we expected. Elephants greeted us as we came into the main courtyard. Then, there was a traditional Thai village set up just beyond them. There were musicians that let Fierce sit on their laps to play the drums as well as a traditional guitar. Women were showing how to weave silk, one man was giving canoe rides, another was making a rice treat topped with coconut. It was almost like being at a carnival, but stepping back in time and really beautiful. Before the main show the performers did an outdoor show and also taught members of the audience how to do a few of the dances. We had a dinner which was fine, but not great. However, the main show was a series of traditional Koh dances and was AMAZING! It was an hour and a half of pure opulence. The stage and costumes were incredibly detailed. It was also a bonus that the written dialog was in English and Thai.
