I have seen the Grand Palace in Bangkok 3 times, in fact I was not that keen to go again BUT I thought I will be going this time with friends and new friends. That was what attracted me to go again. The effect of being with lots of friend gave me such good vibes and great energy that I felt so happy to be on this tour. Our co-host provided us with a double decker bus which is so great that we got a good view of the surroundings.
Here I am with Dr. Jana. Dr. Faridah and Che Bon in the palace grounds.
The pictures show themselves. Such magnificent buildings, very intricate designs, so artful and so exotic looking.
The stupa looking building is said to be of Sri Lankan influence.
From afar the walls looked like scales.
But when you looked closely, the walls are intricate work of art, a labour of love for what the Thai people believed in.
Below we were listening to the comical tourist guide, Mr. Max, he called himself Power Max.
I am not a fan of the demonic looking faces of these idols. I am actually quite scared of looking at them. But I took pictures of them anyway because these are considered very foreign to me and thus its another experience that I am willing to endure.
I am with the Egyptian ladies and they are all very intelligent, spritely, lovely and friendly ladies.
The two enormous GIANTS guarding the doorway.
I love to take photos of flowers and if you looked carefully you will see the reflection of the stupa.
After that tour is over we headed towards Maung Boran, or the Ancient Siam site where replicas of old, ancient temples and ruins were located. Since its already around lunch time we all had halal lunch. The food was so delicious especially after the long walk we had in the Grand Palace grounds.
We all took the tram insidethe Maung Boran grounds and the tram was going so fast that my camera or my BB could not capture the temples nicely. But we stopped at this replica of the floating market where the Muslims can go for their prayers and also walked around the quaint little village surrounding the 'river'.
This is where we all took our ablution. There's a bubbling spring in the middle of the 'bowl'.
And surprisingly there's a small and clean surau here for the comfort and convenience of the Muslim visitors to pray.
Here is the replica of the ruins of Ayutthaya.
And a replica of a beautiful temple.
After the tour we all head back to Bangkok where we were given another wonderful dinner by the co-host. Its located at a halal restaurant. I was sitting with (from left) Nik Farhana, Dr. Wichitra (disguising in a scarf), myself and Zarina. One of the Thai dishes was a coconut milk soup which was so yummmmeeeee.
"And now the end is near and so I face the final curtains......" That was what I hoped Dr. Nopadom was doing....singing BUT he was only giving a farewell speech which was so touching that it moved me almost to tears. The Thai counterparts are just so hospitable, so wonderful, so helpful, so so so........they are just the best!
I truly enjoyed the Bangkok conference and I just have to give a shout out.................. It was such a wonderful unforgettable experience in my life. THANK YOU DR. NOPADOM, DR. WICHITRA, SALT, TONY AND ALL THAI CREWS........................KANKUNKARR...........
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