Today was a very busy day and we flew out of bed... just after 9! The reason we were up so (relatively) early was that we'd planned to go and see the big one: Bangkok's Grand Palace. Given it was only a 25 minute walk away, we thought we should walk. This, we would later realise, was an awful idea, as in order to enter the Grand Palace complex, you have to cover most of your skin (face and hands are ok; that's it). So we were both in long sleeves and trousers (I think Budda was afraid of hinge joints or something), and when considering it was something like 875 degrees with 3000% humidity, it's pretty fair to say we were pretty warm.

The first thing we encountered on our journey were the scammers, which basically consisted of them telling us the grand palace was shut and they could take us somewhere else (at a price, and the destination would probably be their cousin's shop in which we would have to buy some tat). I think what frustrated me the most was the pure laziness of this scam; especially when we got closer to the palace and we could literally see hundreds to people walked into the open complex. 

There is a reason this is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Bangkok, it's really quite impressive! The buildings are so intricate and well crafted. Inside the complex is also the most important Buddist temple (what Wat you ask, Phra Kaew, that's what Wat) containing the Emerald Buddha. I do feel this specific Buddha sounds a little more grand than it is. It's only 35cm tall and made of Jade. One thing that was interesting was that some of the old Kings have made the statue different shawls to wear, so 3 times a year the current king changes the outfit based on the change of season. It took us a while to realise why this worked (Only three seasons; hot, cold, wet).

^^ Big thanks to the woman who offered to take our photo with the fancy building and then including 50% pavement.

Safe to say after the 1hr30 we were there exploring, without cover, in the blazing sun, we very much needed to remove our long layers and freshen up. So we found the closest coffee shop, mostly for the use of their toilet as a changing room, which was through their kitchen. Felt like part of the team. Their iced lattes turned out to be excellent too.

From here we headed to the much quieter, but no less impressive Wat Pho or Temple of the Reclining Buddha. We had a wander around the temple before going inside the actual building to see the Buddha. This turned out to be great, as they had brilliant informational placards including what makes a great man like Buddha (including long fingers of all equal length {but short thumbs}, secreted genitals and areolas which go round the body, which explains the robe) and what Thai people think of others around the world (Arabs have beards which cover their cheeks, French people dress like the English and Germans are honest). Some of the others were the most innocently racist things I've ever heard.

We then went into the temple proper and were quite taken aback. The Buddha statue, which is lying down (reclining), is massive! it's 46m long and 15m high. 

One of the things which caught our interest in our research was the restaurant Raan Jay Fai, the first street food vendor in Bangkok to be given a Michelin star. But who would've thought, one of the most famous restaurants in Bangkok wouldn't have space for us (must not've known who we are). It was fully booked until the end of July and already had 65 people on the waiting list (only seated about 15 people). So we very graciously decided to go elsewhere, finding another very good restaurant closer to home which some tasty Pad Thai and Tom Yum Soup.

After walking back to the hostel, and completing our 20km walk for the day (seriously), we decided this was the ideal time to go to the gym! Really one of the better gyms I've been in. It was in the 3rd floor of a nearby mall. The workout and facilities were great, and importantly the air con was excellent, although we purchased some protein shakes when we were finished. It turned out they were made with chicken protein (what?) and you could absolutely tasty the chicken... grim.