I had trouble sleeping, still adapting to the humungous time zone shifts. But, up early.
And then an adventure taking a taxi to the Airport Rail Link. After all the warnings about being ripped off by taxi drivers, I was relieved he immediately started the meter and was straight ahead. At the station I was, again, confronted with being an illiterate. But also as an old guy, a young woman saw me staring in confusion at the ticket machine and walked me gently through the process. I even had a seat as we sailed downtown. It’s a big sprawling city. Not especially attractive in the generality. Although these astonishing pockets all along the way caught my breath.
I joined up with Daru and Joe. Joe is a friend of a friend who volunteered to show me around Buddhist Bangkok. His wife Daru decided to join us, as well. We quickly found ourselves comfortable with each other as we grabbed a taxi – this time with Daru as a Bangkok native in charge, we went to Rattanakosin island (I never noticed how we got on the island it was so seamless).
We walked around a bit before deciding to have lunch at a little place they like, the Tha Tian Art Cafe.
Then with nowhere enough time to see it all, we agreed the place to focus our time was walking through Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajwaramahawihan, or more simply as Wat Pho in the Phra Nakhon district. It is right across a street from the astonishing Grand Palace, which I only caught glimpses of in passing. So little time.
Wat Pho is also called the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. 
That Buddha is worth traveling around the world to see. (And interesting. It’s a paranirvana image, that is an icon of the Buddha at the time of his death. But, Joe told me Daru and other Thais see it as the Buddha resting. Its a call to take a break once in a while. Daru said, yep, that’s right…) The monastery complex, and while it is filled with tourists and locals it is a working monastery, contains the largest collection of Buddhist images in the country. It’s also historic. Among the interesting facts is that the monastery is considered the oldest public university in the country. It is also a center for traditional medicine, and teaching Thai massage. 
The reclining Buddha is slightly more than 49 feet high and fractionally more than 150 feet long. It is astonishing to behold.
After that we walked to the amulet market, exploring. And then stopped at a Starbucks, partially for coffee, but mainly for the air conditioning. I may not have mentioned, but its hot in Bangkok.
Hot. Hot. Hot. Oh, and humid.
After that pause, we crossed the Chao Phraya river which cuts through the city and sailed down it a bit. A tantalizing hint of the variety of life in the city.
We wandered along the parks on the rivers edge. Sat on a bench and watched life. A juggler practiced. Children played. And then it was time for dinner.
I’d noticed that there was a small number of Thai muslims on our wanderings, asked, and was told about five percent of the population. That inspired Daru to suggest we try some muslim Thai for dinner. I was quite excited and we took ourselves to Roti Mataba, famous for their Thai roti dishes. What can I say, it didn’t disappoint. We walked through a small narrow ground floor past the kitchen and a few tables, and then up some steep stairs to two small dining rooms. Air conditioned. Did I mention its hot in Bangkok?
After dinner we grabbed a taxi made our way to the train station and parted, agreeing to meet again the next day for a pilgrimage to the site where Thomas Merton died.
With only minimal adventures, I got to stand for the whole time on the train and the taxi driver got lost. I am confident he wasn’t just adding time to the meter, but I was seriously interested in getting to bed. Finally I made it to the hotel.
I managed to pull off my clothes and fell into bed and the sleep of the righteous.
Or, at least, the exhausted…
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