Tiger LIVE: The Experience

Singapore is the home of Tiger Beer, and they're proud of it! I've been to many beer brewery tours in my time but Tiger Beer is the first brewery tour that truly was an EXPERIENCE. So it make perfect sense that they called their tour Tiger LIVE: The Experience. Unlike other brewery tours that just show you around and give you a brief description about the beer brewing process, Tiger Beer takes it to a whole new level. We're talking a full multimedia 4D extravaganza performance!

Here's me posing out front. I may look calm but my insides and all excited in the anticipation to find out what The Experience it all about!

You enter the front of the building and are greeted by several girls in tight little Tiger Beer outfits. We bought our tickets and were led to the first of many tour rooms. Our guide, a girl, talked about the beer making process. The first room was decorated with hops, barley, running water... all the necessary things required to make a nice cold glass of beer. The room was filled with Tiger Beer logos as well as beer bottles being transported along a conveyor belt. Once the beer making process tour was complete a gush of air filled the room and a secret door on the right opened. The gush of air was an interested addition. I felt like I was entering a space airlock and not a brewery tour. We went through the newly appeared door and once we were all through, the door sealed behind us. I could have sworn I heard the sound of a lock locking itself into place. Were we being kidnapped by Tiger Beer?

The second room was decorated like a small town. There were three buildings with large windows. The lights in the room went down and one of the windows lit up revealing two guys loading boxes of Tiger Beer into a warehouse. I guess they were the comic relief because their personalities were way over the top and silly. Think of the movie Dumb & Dumber only with gay Singaporeans. They talked about how working in the warehouse is hard work but well worth it because, well, it's for Tiger Beer after all! After several minutes of silly banter and some on the job drinking (Tiger Beer of course), the warehouse worker's window went black and one of the other windows lit up. This time it was a beer master working in a lab trying to create the most perfect glass of beer. He was overly excited about his job; a little too excited. I think, like the warehouse workers before him, he was drunk. He talked about the importance of fresh ingredients and patience to make the most perfect beer. After a few minutes his window went black and was replaced by a third window, this time with two older ladies knitting. I kid you not: old ladies knitting. I couldn't quite understand how old ladies knitting related to Tiger Beer but as they talked I saw the connection. They were talking about a brief history of Singapore. From their standpoint it was the early 1960s. After several minutes of this history lesson a third woman excitedly ran up to the two other woman and explained that Singapore has just become an independent Republic. The time frame here was back in August 9, 1965. All three ladies were extremely excited! Guess how they celebrated? With a tall cold glass of Tiger Beer of course! This windowed presentation went on for several more minutes rotating from window to window. During the last bit all three windows came on at the same time and the people said good bye. They toasted us with bottles of Tiger Beer and once the windows went black, another gush of air filled the room and another secret doorway slid open. This is where The Experience starts!

We walked in the third room and noticed a very industrial looking landscape of metal and wiring. We were led onto a large circular metal platform and were told to sit down. We seat belted ourselves in, put on the 3D glasses given to us, and sat back to take in Tiger LIVE: The 4D Experience! The lights went down and the whole room started to shake. Smoke shot out of the walls and a huge screen in front of us blipped into existence. On the screen was a 3D computer generated cartoon representation of wheat. Yes, wheat. Our hero in this story is a piece of wheat. The wheat, called Charlie, was harvested from a farm and found himself in a container with another piece of wheat, female this time. Our two heroes were brought through the whole beer making process. Somewhere along the line the two wheats had sex ... I think that was referring to the chemical reactions produced during the yeast fermentation process of beer but it was hard to understand since this 4D show kept blasting us with smoke, air and lights. At one point the whole stage lifted itself up and twisted us around so we were facing a different screen. Imagine the money thrown into this show? All this for beer! The show ended and we were led into a pub: our final stop. At this pub the bartender showed us the proper way to tap a glass of Tiger Beer. He asked for volunteers and I jumped to the challenge!

First I'm instructed to wash the glass. Make sense, who wants a dirty beer glass?

Secondly, I pour the glass. Gently Kenn, gently... don't spill any of the nectar of the Gods (the Singaporean Gods that is)!

Finally, here's me displaying my kinship glass of Tiger Beer. I look like a proud father don't I?

Here's Aimee proudly posing in front of the Tiger Beer sign. During our tour Aimee sampled Tiger Beer for the first time. She took a sip and said, "Mmm, it's pretty good", and then immediately handed her glass to me so I could finish it. I'm not quite sure what that means... she likes it enough to give it away? Girls perplex me... I'm so confused.

On our way out there was a photo booth. The booth had a big sign that read, "Give us your best Tiger pose. Pick your background and we'll superpose you on it." After the photo was taken a message appeared on the screen that read, "Tell us your e-mail address and we'll clean up the photo and send it to you." What's interesting about the line "we'll clean up the photo and send it to you" is the photo they ended up e-mailing me was worse than the first example photo taken. Oh well, bad photo or not, at least it proves we were happily enjoying our Tiger Beer Experience!

After this experience I feel I need to fulfill my Asian beer experience by taking the San Miguel brewery tour. Hopefully I can write a blog about that in the coming months...

Cheers! Toast!

Bangkok - Random Thoughts

I've collected together a series of random photos I took throughout Bangkok. This post is to compliment the other Bangkok posts I wrote previously. Only this one, as I said, is completely random stuff that I wanted to put into a blog but didn't know where. So here you are my Blogging Buddies, random Bangkok photos:

Taxis. I loved the colour of the taxi cabs in Bangkok. Unlike other cities that seem to stick with the standard yellow taxi cab norm Bangkok brightens things up a bit. Their cabs are bright pinks, neon greens, and bright sunny orange colours. Driving in these cabs was quite the experience too... not due to the bright colours of the cabs, but the interaction we had with the cab drivers. Taking a cab within the Bangkok city central is a pleasing and uncomplicated experience. But, on the other hand, as soon as you tell the cab driver you want to travel outside of Bangkok's city limits it became an endless battle involving the price of the cab fees. Most of the time they use the meter. Easy: the meter tells you what you owe. But if the destination you were requesting is far away, the cab drivers would start quoting prices and refusing to the use the meter. The reason behind this? Well, in the cab driver's mind they see the trip as a one way fair. They think that once they drop you off at that far destination then there's no one to pay for the trip back. The prices they quote cover both trips. A good example of this is driving to and from the airport. The airport is far from Bangkok central so the cabbie always, in my experience at least, refuse to use the meter and start yelling out fees like, "300 baht, pay 300 baht." I found out later that if the meter was used, the price was slightly over 100 baht. It was annoyingly funny how the cab driver who was taking us back to the airport was justifying the fee by saying, "Oh, airport so far. So very far. So so far ... tsk tsk ... no meter needed ... 300 baht, it's good for you, it's good for me!" I don't know how it's good for me if I'm being ripped off. If he was trying to ease my mind he wasn't doing a very good job.


This is a tuk-tuk (pronounced took-took). The tuk-tuk is the Southeast Asian version of a vehicle known elsewhere as an auto rickshaw or cabin cycle. It is a widely used form of urban transport in Bangkok and other Thai cities, as well as other major Southeast Asian and South Asian cities. It is particularly popular where traffic congestion is a major problem, such as in Bangkok.

Tuk-tuk parking lot!

Aimee proudly posing by a tuk-tuk.

National Museum Bangkok.

The National Museum Bangkok in the city of Bangkok features exhibits of Thai art and history. The museum was established and opened in 1874 by King Rama V to exhibit relics from the rule of King Rama IV's rule. Today the galleries contain exhibits covering Thai History back to Neolithic times. It is stated as being the largest museum in Southeast Asia.

The museum consists of a large courtyard that houses various ancient and recent buildings and architecture. In these buildings are 19 galleries showcasing all areas of Thai history through information and artifacts. Most of the photos I took were from outside the buildings since interior photo taking was forbidden in most galleries.

These creatures, called the Garuda, is a mythical figure with a human torso and arms, a demonic face and a bird's legs, wings and tail. They are the National Emblem (National Symbol) of Thailand. The Garuda is a figure from both Buddhist and Hindu mythology. In Thailand, this figure is used as a symbol of the royal family and authority.

Although there was a huge sign beside this Buddha statue telling me not to take photos, I quickly took one anyhow. Why did I brave such villainy? No reason, I just liked the statue and wanted a picture ... no villainy intended.

The main building at the museum told the story of Thailand's history. The history was told through the use of Thai action figures! Yeah, I know they're called miniatures or better yet, dioramas, but in my world they're called action figures!

Thailand, like most countries, has had a bloody history (which I can't summarize for you here). Lots of wars, lots of battles... But what I found so intriguing about their battles is the involvement of elephants! Imagine that, elephants! Forget the horses, bring in the elephants!
Let's add a few elephants to a Western movie. There's nothing more satisfying than riding your elephant off into the sunset.

Aimee and a Garuda.

After the National Museum we took a boat ride on the Chao Phraya River...

The cities along the Chao Phraya are Nakhon Sawan, Uthai Thani, Chainat, Singburi, Ang Thong, Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Bangkok and Samut Prakan, listed from north to south. These cities are among the most historically significant and densely populated settlements of Thailand precisely because of their access to the waterway.

Touring Bangkok via the Chao Phraya River is an excellent way of seeing the city from a completely fresh new viewpoint. From the river you can see 10 different Wats (temples) as well as the Grand Palace.

While travelling down the river I saw this huge sign. Okay, let's see how many of you know Thailand ... which extremely famous person is featured on this sign?

Tick
Tick
Tick...

Okay, times up! If you guessed Thailand's King, King Bhumibol, you are correct!

King Bhumibol rose to the throne in 1946, after the unexplained shooting of his brother, King Ananda Mahidol. At 18 and with no training for his new task, Bhumibol promised to "reign with righteousness for the benefit and happiness of the Siamese people." He has done so. And the response he gets from his people in rural Thailand today is almost beyond the understanding of the Western mind: Thai villagers lay down handkerchiefs for him to walk on and then they save the scraps of cloth with his footprint in shrines at their homes. He is a beloved king in Thailand, and you will see photos, billboards, signs and references of him all over!


On many streets you will see images of him.

Asiaweek magazine recently described the place of the Thai royal family in the life of the nation:

"It is probably safe to say that no monarch in the world is as popular as King Bhumibol. Or so revered. Or so present. His portrait hangs in virtually every home and office in the land, a kind of benevolent father watching over his children. Every night all TV channels run footage of royal family members attending official functions. Some, such as visits by foreign heads of state, are clearly significant; others would make little television sense anywhere else. But, as former premier Anand Panyarachun says, over the years the King has earned the admiration of his people in a manner that cannot be fully comprehended by foreigners.

We leave Bangkok now with a photo of two cats. Why cats? Why not I say ... why not ... there's always room for a few cats in every blog.

Next stop, Singapore!

Thai Food

Thai food: Delicious, satisfying, tasty, spicy, and possibly even orgasmic. I love Thai food. It's definitely up there in my list of favourite foods. Not a minor favourite either; it's at the top. It's a food choice that's possibly number one on the list; and I don't take food eating lightly. Heck, I eat more Thai food here in the Philippines than I do Filipino food. How's that for being a fan? I love Thai food so much that it's a dream to strip down naked and swim in it... Oh wait, that's too much information isn't it? Okay, sorry, moving on...

Needless to say I was excited when we started to plan our trip to Thailand.

Here's the Idiot's Guide To Thai Food. I can't include every recipe obviously, but I can include a few examples of the food we ate while we were in Thailand.

Curries. Specifically Thai green curry. Yum. The name "green" curry derives from the color of the dish. Other Thai curry dishes are identified solely by their colors, such as yellow and red curry.

The main ingredients for the sauce consist of coconut milk, green curry paste, eggplant, sugar, fish sauce, kaffir lime leaves, and thai basil leaves. The consistency of its sauce varies with the amount of coconut milk used. Green curry paste is made by pounding in a mortar green chillies, shallots, garlic, galangal, fresh turmeric, shrimp paste and salt. The paste is briefly fried in a wok and coconut milk is added, then meat and vegetables added along with a pinch of brown sugar. Finally, kaffir lime leaves and thai basil are added just at the end of cooking for fragrance.

Thai green curry can be made with meat, duck, chicken, fish or vegetables and is usually eaten as an accompaniment to rice or round rice noodles known as khanom jeen.

Pomelo Salad. Yum-o-licious. Pomelo salad isn't found only on a Thai menu, the Philippines as well has their own version. In Thailand we found ourselves subconsciously ordering pomelo salad for every meal. I say 'subconsciously' because our original plan was to order something different for every meal but somehow, pomelo salad always ended up as part of our order. After a while we became connoisseurs of pomelo salad. Every restaurant we visited became an exploration of pomelo salad and which place served the best of the best. The recipe changes from place to place but the standard ingredients include pomelo (obviously), dry-roasted peanuts, prawns, grated coconut, fish sauce (Thais love their fish sauce), lime juice, and other ingredients to taste. Yummy yum!

Pad Thai. I'm sure you know of it. Even non-fans of Thai food (are there such a thing?) know of the delicious pad thai. Pad Thai is a dish of stir-fried rice noodles with eggs, fish sauce (see, fish sauce), tamarind juice, red chili pepper, plus any combination of bean sprouts, shrimp, chicken, or tofu, garnished with crushed peanuts and coriander. It is normally served with a piece of lime, the juice of which can be added along with the usual Thai condiments.

There have evolved two different styles of Pad Thai: the version most often found in the streets of Thailand, which is relatively dry and light; and the version that seems dominant in many restaurants in the West, which may be covered in a red oil and can be heavy tasting.

Yum-tastic!

Tom Yam Soup. It is perhaps one of the most famous dishes in Thai cuisine. It is widely popular in neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, and it is now also globally popularized.

Tom yum is characterized by its distinct hot and sour flavors, with fragrant herbs generously used. The basic broth is made of stock and fresh ingredients such as lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, shallots, lime juice, fish sauce, tamarind, and crushed chili peppers.

In Thailand, tom yum is usually made with prawns (tom yum goong), chicken (tom yum gai), fish (tom yum pla), or mixed seafood (tom yum talay or tom yum po taek) and mushrooms - usually straw or oyster mushrooms. The soup is often topped with generous sprinkling of fresh chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves.

While in Thailand we were impressed by how delicious the food was everywhere. And I mean everywhere. From street food and the smallest of shack restaurants to the most expensive high class restaurants, everything was deliciously cooked and very very satisfying. I can't stress enough about how yummy all the food was. Why, I'm even salivating as I type this. Hold on, let me get a tissue... ok, I'm cleaned up ... moving on. The food listed above are a few of my personal favourites. But are they examples of true amazing Thai food? Well, let's see...

This street vendor claims to be selling Amazing Thai Food. You know he's serious about his claim, he's even named his stall 'Amazing Thai Food'. But what's so amazing about his food? Is it really more amazing that the food I listed above? Let's take a closer look...

What is it and what's so amazing about it? Okay, I'll cut to the chase here, what you're looking at is deep fried insects. That's right, insects. We have cicadas, locusts, mantises, crickets, water bugs, weaver ants, dung beetles, grasshoppers and even tarantula spiders.

Yum.

Yummy-o-yum.

Okay, I confess, I can't claim to be a member of the Fear Factor generation: I didn't eat any. At the time I wasn't interested, but later on I had second thoughts. I figured it's pretty unfair for me to write a blog about something I didn't try. Well, I apologize, I didn't try it. But from what I understand the taste isn't that bad. Think of the flavour of popcorn, roasted peanuts or even chicken (I add chicken because really, doesn't most things taste like chicken?). Or if you really want chicken how about a healthy serving of fried baby bird (head and all)? Yum. Interested? Why not? Insects are a rich source of protein, calories, vitamins and minerals. I think you should drop what you're doing now, get outside, and collect as many insects as you can. When your wife/husband/boyfriend/girlfriend comes home simply tell them it's Thai Food Night! After their first bite they'll probably say, 'Wow, that's the best fried chicken I've ever tasted.'

Yum-dee-yum!

Reclining Buddha - Bangkok

Wat Pho, also known as Wat Phra Chetuphon or The Temple of the Reclining Buddha, is a Buddhist temple in Phra Nakhon district, Bangkok, Thailand. It is located in the Rattanakosin district directly adjacent to the Grand Palace. Its official full name is Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm Rajwaramahaviharn (gotta love that name). The temple is also known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage. Let's go inside!

Like most places in Thailand, you need to remove your shoes before you can enter the inner area.

The Reclining Buddha is massive. It's a massive reclining golden Buddha statue housed in a hall that's only slightly larger than the statue itself. There are also support pillars for the structure lined right in front of the Buddha. This makes picture taking a tad awkward. It's impossible to get a picture of the whole statue at a good angle. Because of this I was forced to take photos in sections. First off, here's the head.

Now here's the feet.

Here's a photo of the Reclining Buddha from his feet to the his head in the distance.

And finally, here's a photo of the Reclining Buddha's backside. You can get a sense of the size of the Buddha by looking at the little people standing in front of his massive bottom.

While I was walking around the Reclining Buddha I kept hearing the echoed sounds of pieces of metal hitting other pieces of metal. When I reach the feet of the Buddha I saw where this sound was coming from. Along the wall, at the back of the Reclining Buddha, were a hundred metal pots. Exactly one hundred. In these pots, one by one, people were throwing in coins. I found out that these pots are for making wishes. Or more precisely, making one hundred wishes. I figured, why not, let's make a wish! I cashed in one of my Thai baht bills for a cup of coins and started, one by one, making my one hundred wishes. It took a while but I was vigilant. Nothing could get in the way of Kenn and his one hundred wishes. I succeeded in my wish wishing but we'll see in the future if my wish actually comes true.

On the way out after I collected my shoes I saw another statue of Davy Jones from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean (remember the first one from the Grand Palace?). But what is this I see in the background? What is that monk doing? Could he possibly be texting on a cellphone? Wow, cool. These Thai monks are hip and high tech!

Jim Thompson

Now I don't usually write blogs about people. At least, I don't usually write blogs about one particular person especially one who's American. I love Americans and all but they don't usually fall within the scope of this blog and its topics of Pinoy-ness. Jim Thompson, although not Pinoy, does fall within the scope of this blog because he's connected with a country I visited recently: Namely, Thailand.

Jim Thompson's story is a fascinating one. He's pretty famous; have you heard of him? If the answer is no, don't fret my fine Pinoy friends, I too was oblivious to the existence of a certain Jim Thompson. I find his story fascinating not because of what he did, but of what he didn't do. First off, here's some brief information regarding what he did do:

Jim Thompson (born March 21, 1906 in Greenville, Delaware - unknown) was an American businessman who helped revitalize Thailand's silk and textile industry in the 1950s and 1960s.

Thompson devoted himself to revitalizing a cottage industry of hand-woven silk, which had for centuries been a household craft in Thailand but was dying out. Thompson located a group of Muslim weavers in the Bangkok neighborhood of Bankrua and provided to them unavailable color-fast dyes, standardized looms, and technical assistance to those interested in weaving on a piece-work basis.

Besides inventing the bright jewel tones and dramatic color combinations nowadays associated with Thai silk, he raised thousands of Thailand's poorest people out of poverty, making millionaires out of his core group of weavers by giving them shares of the Thai Silk Company. His endeavour showed a profit from its first year of operation. Thompson's determination to keep his company cottage-based was significant for the women who made up the bulk of his work force. By allowing them to work at home, choosing their hours and looking after their children while weaving, they retained their position in the household while becoming breadwinners.

Jim Thompson is a big name is Thailand. I saw several stores displaying his name. You can either buy full rolls of fabric or individual household items made from the silk.

Wow, there's even a Jim Thompson bar and restaurant!

As Thompson was building his company, he also became a major collector of Southeast Asian art, which at the time was not well-known internationally.

He built a superb collection of Buddhist and secular art not only from Thailand but from Burma, Cambodia and Laos, frequently travelling to those countries on buying trips.

In 1958 he began what was to be the pinnacle of his architectural achievement, a new home to showcase his art collection. Formed from parts of six antique Thai houses, his home (completed in 1959) sits on a klong (canal) across from Bangkrua, where his weavers were then located. Most of the 19th century houses were dismantled and moved from Ayutthaya, but the largest - a weaver's house (now the living room) - came from Bangkrua. The Jim Thompson House, now a museum, is the second most popular tourist attraction in Bangkok, surpassed only by the Grand Palace in visitor attendance.

They handed out babies at the entrance! Just kidding, this is my niece. When we went to Jim Thompson's house we took part in a tour that explained who Jim Thompson was, what he did for Thailand, and showcased his artwork and home decorations.

The house is amazing and the garden is even nicer. The pathways are lined with small statues that greet you at every turn.

When you take all these things about Jim Thompson into consideration it's hard not to respect the man. But as I said above, I'm not fascinated by what he did do (which is pretty amazing) but what he didn't do. When I say didn't, I'm referring to this story:

Thompson disappeared mysteriously after going for an afternoon walk on Easter Sunday in the Cameron Highlands in Pahang, Malaysia, on March 26, 1967. It was unusual that he left his cigarettes and a small silver "jungle box" on the chair outside Moonlight Cottage. This suggests that he didn't expect to be gone long. He was never found, and the theories for his disappearance are many, some plausible and others ridiculous. The most likely are probably that he was the victim of a robbery and accidental murder or that he fell into an aboriginal animal trap (a pit with a spike) and was buried by the Orang Asli when they discovered what had happened.

He didn't come back. What a mystery. And what's even more amazing is his silk empire continues to thrives even though he's been missing since 1967. He has stores, restaurants, and his home has become a museum. Pretty amazing for a missing person. It funny actually, when I was first introduced to the name Jim Thompson I was only slightly interested in his story. But as soon as I heard there's a possible murder mystery involved I jumped on the Jim Thompson band wagon. It really makes you wonder what happened to him out there in the jungle...

Here's a little trivia for you:

Thompson's disappearance inspired the 1986 entry into the Choose Your Own Adventure children's book series, The Case of the Silk King by Shannon Gilligan.

The Grand Palace - Bangkok

The Grand Palace (Thai: Phra Borom Maha Ratcha Wang) is a complex of buildings in Bangkok, Thailand. It served as the official residence of the king of Thailand from the 18th century to the mid-20th century. After the death of King Ananda Mahidol in the Baromphiman Palace, King Bhumibol moved the official royal residence to Chitralada Palace. Construction of the palace complex began in 1782, during the reign of Rama I.

The palace complex sits on the east bank of the Chao Phraya River. The other approaches to the palace are protected by a defensive wall of 1,900 metres in length, which encloses an area of 218,400 square metres. Further out from the wall is a canal, which was also created for defensive purposes, making the area surrounding the palace an island, known as Rattana Kosin.

Here are a selection of photographs taken inside the Grand Palace:

Once you walk through the main entrance you're greeted by this guy. From here you turn slightly to your right and are greeted by two huge statues...

These two huge statues are Dhosa Kiridhorn. They are half elephant half demon (Yaksha). They guard the entrance/exit to the Grand Palace.

Another view of Dhosa Kiridhorn.

The sunlight reflects strongly on all the gold buildings at the Grand Palace. Sunglasses were a definite necessity.

One of the many walkways of the Grand Palace that leads to various buildings.

More walkways.

Behind Aimee and I are gold statues called Kinnorn. They are mythological creatures, half bird, half man. They guard one of the entrances to a building called Phra Mondop. This building was built by King Rama I that replaced the original building that was destroyed by fire. The original Canonical Library was surrounded by water which was customary at the time to prevent damage to the manuscripts by fire and termites. Ironically, the original building was destroyed by fire on the day of its inauguration caused by fireworks. However, the manuscripts and the mother-of-pearl inlaid cabinet that contained them were miraculously saved. The King had the pond filled in and built a high platform to house the first fully revised edition of the Buddhist Canon of the Rattanakosin Era know as the "Royal Golden Edition". The revision of the scriptures was one of the first tasks undertaken by King Rama I on his accession to the throne.

The four pairs of demons that stand guard on top of the stairways, a pair at each entrance, are the work of the King Rama I period and regarded as the most perfectly proportioned of all existing classical sculptures of Rattanakosin craftsmanship. The floor of the Phra Mondop is lined from wall to wall by a woven mat from strips of pure silver.

This is me doing my best Kinnorn impression. Sadly my impression looks more like a silly rapper pose than the pose of a mythical creature.

Before you could enter certain buildings in the Grand Palace you had to remove your shoes. There is something liberating and relaxing about walking around museums and other tourist sites in only bare feet. In my mind it felt like everywhere we went was an extension of my home since home is the only place (besides the beach) I have bare feet. Try walking around a Canadian museum with bare feet. You will probably get kicked out. In Thailand, you will kicked out for not being in bare feet.

Giving myself a little blessing... I remember what I was thinking here: I was wondering why they asked you to remove your shoes where they did. It was 12 noon, bloody hot, and the shoe removal racks were placed over the top of an extremely blistering hot concrete sidewalk. I took my shoes off, squealed in pain, and hobbled up into this building. The marble flooring here was cooler than the concrete but the damage was done. I took this flower, dipped it into some water (as I watched everyone else do) and blessed myself, and more importantly, my feet in the hope the pain would go away.

On the left, a statue of Demon (Yaksha), a character from the Ramakien epic, at golden chedi. Beside him, is me, your friendly Kenniverse is Pinoy correspondent, and beside me are more characters from the Ramakien epic.

A close up of Yaksha.

Here's me with another Grand Palace statue. This one reminds me of the Davy Jones character from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

The Phra Si Ratana Chedi anchors the west end of the upper terrace. It was built by Rama IV in the mid nineteenth century at the same time as the Royal Pantheon. The chedi essentially balances the structures on the upper terrace, but it also recalls the monumental chedi of the old capital in Ayutthaya. The chedi is faced with small gold mirrored tiles, making it a bit shinier than other chedis that are 'just' gilded. The chedi houses a piece of the Buddha's breastbone.

I end our grand tour of the beautiful Grand Palace with ... monks! Monks are everywhere in Thailand so no blog is complete without them.