March 19, more Bangkok

We overnighted in the city giving me the chance to take a picture of city lights, although not that interesting. 

 At the temple of the Gold Buddha (5.5 tons of gold!) there was a ceremony for the induction(?) of a new monk.  All of his family and friends brought gifts for his monastic life.  Apparently Nescafe is an essential item, since every other person had a package for him.

 When originally found this Buddha was encased in concrete.  It was so heavy they dropped it, cracked the concrete and found the 14K gold underneath. 

Street food available at 9am

 The Imperial Palace, which is also full of temples.  It was more like a rugby match than a tourist attraction, with us as the players.  Twenty thousand visitors daily during the eight hours it's open.  Most are Chinese whose idea of a queue is a semicircle.

 The main attraction, the Jade Buddha.  No picture allowed inside, but this was taken from 5o feet outside through the door.

 No shoes in the temples. 

The royal palace, still occupied, is next door

 Interesting street art, a wave of bicycles

Have run out of time.  Heading for the airport to fly to Siem Reap and visit Angkor Wat.  Will have more Bangkok pictures and many more temple pictures in a couple of days.