December 27 - Old Palace and Boat ride : Part 3

Today we decided to visit the Old Palace and the surrounding areas. After breakfast at the restaurant, we decided to walk to the Palace rather than take the bus or Tuk-Tuk. This is what we had for breakfast. Fried eggs with all those condiments and Roti Phrata.

As we walked towards the Old Palace, we stopped to look around us. I couldn't help but take a picture of this old fort.

This Fort can be seen from our Inn actually. We took a slow walk and when we were nearing the junction to the Old Palace, we came across this Marble Statue.

Further up the road, we were greeted with rows and rows of Tourist buses. Three of the buses caught my attention because of the Graffiti.

Remembering the Esplenade the night before, we decided to explore it a little. Really beautiful.

After that we proceeded to the Old Palace. I noticed the roundabout was not spared of decoration.

Elephants seem to be given the highest honor after Buddha and The King.
When we reached the entrance to the Old Palace, we told that we could not enter because the local Thais were having a sacred ceremony and not to be disturbed. We can come again around 2:00 pm. In the meantime, the guard suggested we take a boat ride down Chao Phraya and told us to pay local price since it was a Saturday.He flagged a Tuk-Tuk for us and told us to pay the amount that he informed the driver.
Riding the Tuk-Tuk was an experience in itself. The driver really drive the Tuk-Tuk at hair raising speed and has little regards about safety. In my mind, I could feel that the driver was taking an exceptionally long distance to the pier. The night before we walked to the pier and there don't seem to be much twists and turns.As long as he stuck to the negotiated price, I don't mind.

At the pier we had to negotiate the price of the boat. the guard had already told us that if we were asked to pay more than 1500 Baht for the three of us, we have the right to decline.After much negotiation (my hubby is good at that), we paid the said amount. I felt that it was a bit too pricey but I just went along. We got into the the Long-nosed Boat that will take us a tour of the Chao Phraya. The following photos were the sights that beheld us.
Oh, while in the boat, I couldn't help but ask the couple in front of me how much they paid for the boat ride. When the lady said she paid 800 Baht per person, the 500 Baht that we had to pay was reasonable; but still not to my liking.

My husband would like to visit Wat Arun and even though I wasn't keen on the idea, I kept quiet.