We woke up this morning at 10:30 (our latest start to a day). For breakfast/brunch, we found a charming food stand with delicious food a block from our hostel. Some of us also ate toast with condensed milk, which was delicious and extremely caloric. There were hundreds of food stands within a couple minutes walk of our hostel.

By noon, the temperature had reached 95 degrees, so we decided to beat the heat by taking a boat ride on the Chao Phraya river. We got a boat to take us across the river and into the many canals of Bangkok. It was nice to be in a cooler environment, but we were exposed to how dirty the river in Bangkok is. (There were trash piles everywhere and the stench was strong in several places.) At one point, we bought a loaf of bread from a floating market stand to feed the fish in the river. While this was an enjoyable experience, we were somewhat shocked/horrified fish lived in these waters.

After our boating excursion, we decided to visit the Grand Palace, which was billed as one of the main attractions in Bangkok. Although none of us were properly dressed, baggy sweatpants were readily available from the palace. The Grand Palace is actually a complex of several temples, monasteries, and living quarters. The palace grounds have been the residence of the Kings of Thailand since 1782. One of the highlights of the complex was the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. We learned that the famed Emerald Buddha inside is actually made of jade. Overall, we collectively agreed that the Grand Palace was an underwhelming cultural experience. The various temples were placed randomly together and there was no real cohesion to the complex. Additionally, I think we are getting sick of seeing temples.

After our trip to the Royal Palace, we walked back to the hostel to change and shower. Someone proposed that we try to see the sunset on a hotel roof, so we cabbed over to the Hilton Millennium Hotel to hang out at their 360 Lounge, which was on the 31st floor. We ordered some drinks and enjoyed watching the Bangkok skyline light up. Remarkably, we were the only people at this rooftop bar!

After a couple hours, we grabbed dinner and decided to go out on the famous Khao San Road. While we expected a row of bars and clubs, it was really just a mass of people spilled out on the street. This area of town offers drink buckets, which are plastic buckets filled with juice/soda and alcohol, for the enticing price of 150 Baht/$4. We stayed out in this area till about 1:30 before turning in.

- Konrad