Last day in Thailand

Today was our last day with our group. We spent the morning touring the Golden Palace. This was the ancient residence of the king and the sacred temple. It is aptly described as golden. The whole complex of temples and buildings has a wow factor of 10 plus. Each building was adorned in gold leaf or mirror reflecting the beautiful ceramics. Words could not do it justice. Even with the temp at 95 and humidity at 80 it was spectacular. The main temple or wat contains the emerald buddha- who is really jade. He was dressed in his rainy season garb of pure gold- He gets a heavier gold coat in the winter and a lighter one in the Thai summer which is April and May. The king had a gold house for everything including one to change his clothes before he got on the elephant. There is a building just used to hold the dead body of a royal family member. They put them in a large urn in the fetal position for 100 days and seal the top. During this time they build an elaborate funeral pyre and then cremate them on it on the 100th day. We have learned so much of their customs and about the culture. We set out on our own for the afternoon visiting the Reclining Buddha at Wat Po. He is 140 feet long and 50 feet high and of course covered in gold. You get a bowl of 108 coins and put one in each of 108 bowls for the buddha to bring you luck and prosperity and health. I gave it a shot- always one to hedge my bets.
After a visit to see the Oriental hotel- how the other half lives- I set out on my own visitng the rabbit warren known as Chinatown. I wandered the tiny alleys for over an hour stopping to watch a man crocheting a net. He let me help by showing me how he did it. He had no English and all I could say were my few Thai words but a great experience. They are such a delightful people. We finished our night with the group on a dinner boat ride up the river. Beautiful evening and home to the hotel. These guys are leaving for the airport to go home at 3AM. They promise to wake us up- we don't have to leave until 8 for Cambodia. They all seem a bit astounded that we are doing this on our own. It has been wonderful meeting them but I am ready to be on my own again and not accountable to 11 others. I would encourage anyone to see Thailand at least once. It is a unique experience and unique culture. It is a beautiful country.