Laem Chabang,Thailand Part 12.

Leaving Vietnam behind we had a day at sea before arriving at the industrial port of Laem Chabang which is where the big cruise liners have to dock if they want to get passengers to see Bangkok.
We knew what to expect, we'd been before!

Not a pretty place to spend two days but there were options.
We had an included tour to Bangkok so as it was paid for we might as well go. On our last visit we had decided it was too far to go and instead opted to go to Pattaya instead. That we decided was a pit and not somewhere to return to, then we only had one day in port too. This time it was an overnight stop.
We set off at around 7.30am and , despite being told that the journey was a maximum 2.5 hours, didn't actually get to our destination until 11.30am.The traffic was appalling!
First stop was the Grand Palace.

From the outside it looked as if we were to visit a theme park.
Inside was a bit Disneyesque.


I can honestly say I haven't seen anything quite like it!


Some of it was just totally OTT , Bling was invented here.

Some parts were quite beautiful though. This corridor was covered in murals .

Parts were highlighted in gold leaf.

It's meant to be a spiritual place, and for some I daresay it is.

No one is allowed to enter with bare legs so those wearing shorts had to buy over trousers.
The vendors were doing brisk trade too, this is just our small group!

It's hard to create the right religious ambience with thousands of tourists milling around but surprisingly there were some quiet corners, even more surprising for one of the best known parts too!

I must admit they do look quite magnificent.

Leaving the Grand Palace the next stop was a visit to the famous Reclining Buddha statue.

It's certainly big!
By the time we had seen the giant Buddha it was getting quite late for lunch. A Thai buffet of mediocre quality over we then had a three hour drive back to the ship.
Not the most memorable days out as most was spent sat on a coach.
For the second day we decided that the best option was to stay on board the Sapphire Princess, we had no wish to visit Pattaya and those who went against our advice admitted their mistake when they returned.
Still, it was nice and quiet on board even if the views were a reminder of yesterdays traffic!

Thousands of cars waiting for export.
Thailand, like China before reminded us that we are fast dropping behind as an economic power.
TBC.