Day 13

• Up around 0530 to get ready for alms rounds of local monks, who would visit from the canals by rowboat • We gathered all the offerings from the night before and started waiting by the canal at the back of the resort around 0600 (sunrise was 0637 today) • The air was still and the water was completely calm. The silence of dawn was only broken up by a few Asian Koel calls • Didn’t see the 1st monk until after 0630, who rowed a tiny narrow rowboat approaching from west side of canal • We had prepared 2 bags of same offerings including crackers and other dry goods as well as cartons of milk • A short while later, another monk, who is a bit younger, on a slightly wider and longer rowboat than the 1st one coming from the east end of the canal; toward the end there was a third monk from afar who did not approach our way. Each of these monks would stop over wherever there were offerings, chat a few minutes then row away to the next stop. There was no other monk (as far as we could see) and the whole alms rounds lasted about 30 minutes. • Checked out of the resort and left for Bangkok around 0800; stopped by a roadside restaurant to have 海南雞飯for breakfast • On the way, we also visited a coconut farm (Kokosnussfarm?) where coconut sugar is still made by hand that has been passed down from the original owner who immigrated from 潮州with a surname of 吳. We bought some coconut sugar and other coconut products. • We arrived at The Grand Palace in Bangkok around 1130 and visited the inside of it. It was crowded and higher security measures were in place due to the royal mourning period for the Queen Mother Sirikit, who passed away on October 24. • We also visited the temple of the emerald buddha (photos not allowed; reminded me of Sistine Chapel) and Wat Pho (Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkalaram Rajwaramahawihan) where a 46-meter reclining buddha is housed • Lunch at the restaurant in the Royal Naval Officers Club building • Wat Arun (the Temple of Dawn) after lunch by ferry crossing River Chao Phraya • Took us 2 hours to travel 2 km to get to the hotel by the time we returned to this side of River Chao Phraya, thanks to the traffic in town and a wrong turn • Dinner around 1930 at a Japanese restaurant a block from the hotel and got back to the hotel around 2100 • This would be our last night in Thailand for this trip. Looking forward to the next trip already!