We headed across the river to the Temple of Dawn (Wat arun). The architecture is similar to a Cambodian sanctuary. It provided an amazing view of the city. The garland is an offering the the buddha image or to the monks.
You can become a monk for a specified amount of time, and you can get married before or after you are a monk. You can become one for three weeks if you want. The monk does not have to pay fare for the bus. Lek made it very clear that women are not allowed to touch a monk, so I could not accidentally bump into one in the market. They are not allowed to eat in the afternoon and evening. Parents generally want their first born son to become a monk, so some men will do it to fulfill his parents’ dream. Another common reason for joining the monkhood is that a guy is working through a personal problem. Lek’s brother is considering becoming one even though he has a full-time job. What’s interesting is that he can have something similar to a maternity leave at work where he takes paid leave of absence for three month to be a monk. That shows just how much this culture respects monks.
We also walked around an area where all the backpackers go called Khaosan Road. I can understand why people come here, but it wasn't my type of place. I was most amused by the ATM/money changer van.
During my time in Bangkok, I experienced all different types of transportation – car, tuk tuk, ferry, express boat, van, and free public bus (without air-conditioning).
Unfortunately I am missing out on the biggest festival of the year for Thailand which take places from April 13 to 18. Songkran festival is their New Year, and it's a water festival where people throw water and a white powder on each other. You can tell who is popular by how wet they are. The people who are dry are the least popular, but they may splash themselves to feel better.
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