To-Do List Time

With less than six weeks to go, there is no time to waste getting all the last minute excursions checked off the Thailand To-Do List. Yesterday, we enjoyed a long, delicious morning of sleeping in, which was much-needed, let me tell you! My grade 1C students open their mouths to talk more and more each day...I never knew such chatter could come from such a cute lil' group of kiddies. Then, Lauren, Thomas and I ventured into Bangkok for a lovely Saturday afternoon tour of Dusit Palace Park alongside our new Dutch friend Derek.

Nestled in northern Bangkok near the King's current residence, Chitlada Palace, Dusit Palace Park is a lovely area filled with beautiful mansions, throne halls, photography exhibitions (featuring photos taken by Big K himself!), elephant museums and much more. First stop of the day - Vimanmek Mansion!

Built in 1900 by H.M. King Rama V, Vimanmek Mansion is the world's largest golden teakwood mansion. Yep, you heard that right! We took a guided tour in "English" - which I put in quotation marks because within the first five minutes, I understood about 10 words of what our guide said then in true Holly style, tuned out and wandered my own way through the beautiful, airy mansion. The mansion was spectacular! Awash in beachy tones of seafoam green, petal pink and sunflower yellow, the mansion had an unexpected European flair, which I loved. Unfortunately no cameras were allowed inside, but here is a lovely exterior shot of a traditional Thai house (built behind the mansion for servants) for your viewing pleasure!

Unfortunately with our late arrival time at Dusit, by the time our tour ended at the Vimanmek Mansion, the park was closing, which meant we couldn't get into Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall - the imposing yet absolutely stunning dome-shaped structure on the grounds. Well...add that one back onto our to-do list. We were able to lollygag about the Dusit grounds though, where we ran into one fierce guard, maybe more imposing than the throne hall.

After Dusit, we headed further into central Bangkok to do what else but....shop! Personal confession: I am the worst budgeter ever. I told myself at the beginning of February, "No shopping!" - I should have known better because I came out with a pair of shoes. Oops!

Later Saturday night, Lauren and I weaved our way through Chinatown to Chalermkrung Royal Theatre - the home of Thai masked dance! Khon is the classic Thai art of masked dance, in which actors/dancers perform the story while narrators are used to project voices for those characters. Tonight's performance was the Ramakien - which is the Thai version of the classic Indian epic, Ramayana. It tells the story of Phra Narai, who was reborn as a human in order to save humans and angels from Tosakanth, the demon king of Longkha city.

Here are some shots I snuck of the performance - they are not the best but if anything else, you can see just how absolutely exquisite the costuming is. This is the scene in which Rama and Tosakanth battle for Longhka at the end of the myth...enjoy!

The performance was ornate, interesting and a good Saturday night excursion! Now it is Sunday once more and just two weeks left of school. Can you believe it? This girl hasn't had a massage in far too long, so the only thing I know I am doing for sure today is treating my feet (and potentially my face or back) to a good ol' Thai massage. Take care everyone and enjoy your Sunday!