Aunt Marion is finally here!

After months of anticipation, Aunt Marion (one of Dad's sisters) finally arrived in Bangkok yesterday evening, having flown in from Hong Kong where she'd been touring for the last four days. Immediately, Meg and I took her out for her first Thai meal at one of the first restaurants (and still one of our favorites) we went to when arriving here. It was delicious - Aunt Mare was not disappointed and took an instant liking to the spicy cuisine. Aunt Mare proceeded to tell us about her luxurious executive class flight from Toronto and the exciting adventures in Hong Kong. Basically, she was one of those "first classers" that Meg and I would glare at from our economy seats during our 16hr flight from Toronto....grrr. :)

This morning, we took Aunt Mare to the heart of tourism in Thailand. After a short boat ride up the Chao Praya river, our first stop was Wat Pho, a temple housing Thailand's largest reclining Buddha (depicting the passing of the Buddha). Here is a shot of Meg and Aunt Mare just inside the main building where the reclining Buddha is located.



Next up, the Grand Palace. This former residence of the monarchy is also known to house the Emerald Buddha. According to local tour guides, it is made completely from a single piece of jade. The grounds of the Grand Palace are quite amazing, with beautiful architecture dating back a couple of hundred years. Dress codes are very strict - no sleeveless shirts, shorts, or sandels.



Finally, with a quick walk through the amulet market, which sells numerous holy talismans, we grabbed a cab back home. We've had some crazy cabbies before and none have ever been bothered by the police but this guy was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got busted for reckless driving - honestly, there is no other kind of driving in Thailand.