The Grand Palace & Reclining Buddha

On my free day in Bangkok on February 6, 2010, I decided to hit up some cultural sites. The first I went to was the Grand Palace, which was AMAZING! It was built in 1782 and was used as the home of the king of Thailand and administrative seat of the government for 150 years. The big thing to see is the Emerald Buddha. We weren't allowed to take pictures of the actual Buddha, but I wasn't all that impressed anyway, it was so small and high up that I couldn't see the winter outfit it's wearing now. The gold buildings are plated with actual gold. The detail was amazing and I loved the architecture...so exotic!

Here is a video I took to get an idea of what it's like to be there:

After I went to the Grand Palace, I walked down to the Reclining Buddha. It was huge and beautiful.

I took a tuk-tuk to the mall and then rode the sky train to a place by my hotel for an hour long Thai massage. It was a little painful, but overall very relaxing and I think I may have fallen asleep for part of it.  Plus it was only $10! A nice way to wrap up my time in Bangkok.