Sick in Shanghai

Doctors, hospitals and medicine in Shanghai are very different and I had hoped to hold out longer before needing to learn about it all first-hand, but unfortunately, I developed a sinus infection toward the end of last week and found myself in need of a doctor.  For those of you who know me well, this does not come as a surprise.  What is surprising that I hadn't had a sinus infection for several months.

Chris and I attended a program within our first month in Shanghai called Shanghai 1-2-3, an introduction to expat life which included a talk by a Chinese doctor that was terrifying.  He told us that the 5 gallon bottles of water delivered to our home should only come from one of the three western companies (Nestles, Coke, or Watson's) if we want to ensure the water is clean.  He said that we would always encounter a certain amount of contaminated food, so the best bet is not to always buy our food from the same vendors, in order to spread the risk.  He warned that mold is a big problem (no kidding), as well as the air pollution - again, duh!  He indicated that some OTC and prescription medications available in the U.S. are not available in China, such as Epi-Pens, Benadryl, and several types of cholesterol and high blood pressure meds.  He told us of a good pharmacy locally, which can possibly refill a U.S. prescribed medication, although it seems smarter for us to go to a local doctor and get our medications filled there, so we have them on hand.

The doctor also told us some scary tales of trying to get emergency and regular medical care in Shanghai.  He indicated that there are basically 3 levels of health care in Shanghai for expats, the local hospitals, VIP or Expat clinics within local hospitals, or Expat clinics.  Each option has it's strength and drawbacks, but the reality is we might end up at any of them at one time or another.

The local hospitals are just that, local, Chinese hospitals, filled with Chinese-speaking doctors and staff and very few, if any, English-speakers.  They are open 24/7.  This is where the Chinese go if they need to see a doctor and no appointments are available - get there early and get in line.  I have been led to believe that children in obvious danger can get moved to the head of the line, but mostly, it's all about waiting.  And CASH!  

Yes, the doctor who spoke to us told us to carry at least 2000 RMB (approximately $300) on us at all times and to have at least 10000 RMB (approx. $1500) in a safe at home- which you need to bring with you to the hospital - because you pay first and then get treated and they only take cash.  There is little to no privacy, so don't expect a private room to discuss your problems with the doctor.  Being seen by a doctor at a local hospital can be an all-day affair, as you wait and pay at each step, whether you need blood work, x-rays, or whatever.  Most expats won't see the inside of a local hospital unless it's an emergency and the other clinics are closed.  We were also told it would be better, in case of emergency, to take a taxi to the hospital, as it will be faster and the ambulances really don't have trained medical personnel anyway - and you have to pay cash to them as well!  Peter checked out one of these local hospitals when one of the kids sprained a wrist and had a fairly favorable experience.  The one he used is only 5-10 minutes away by taxi.

The VIP or Expat clinics within a local hospital are somewhat more familiar - the staff speaks English and there are private exam rooms.  It is possible to schedule an appointment and their hours are slightly longer than those of the Expat Clinics, but not 24/7.  Some of these facilities accept international credit cards and can even bill some health insurance companies.  For us, I think the VIP clinic is an option for times when they're open but the fully Expat Clinics are closed and when inpatient hospital services are needed.  For us, if we need this type of facility, we will most likely use Shanghai East International Medical Center, which is on our side of the river, but will be a 30 to 45-minute cab ride, depending on traffic.

The fully Expat Clinics are the most expensive, but direct bill most insurance companies and will take international credit cards.   They offer a full range of specialists as well as all types of preventative testing as well as treatments.  This is the type of place I visited last week, Parkway Health, which is about 2 blocks from our apartment.  The reception desk and waiting are were just like an American doctors' office.  I made an appointment in advance and was given my choice of male or female doctor and was told the doctor's nationality (and whether a native English-speaker) when scheduling.  I arrived, filled out my paperwork, and, after a short wait, was shown to an exam room, where the nurse took my blood pressure and temperature, wrote down my symptoms, and took me to another exam room to meet the doctor.  

My doctor, an Australian woman, was very nice and seemed very knowledgeable.  Given my extensive allergies and medical history, I brought with me a listing of medications, surgeries, allergies, etc.  When she looked over my allergies, she asked about epi-pens, Medic-Alert bracelets and was very impressed when I showed her my Select Wisely allergy wallet cards.  Given my allergies to some antibiotics, she said she really only had one effective option for me, (Levofloxacin in China, but Levaquin in the U.S.) but that I should be aware that a rare side-effect was a ruptured Achilles Tendon - I've never heard that one before!  She was also concerned that I am allergic to an antiviral frequently used for Shingles, even though I don't have Shingles right now.  She wants me to call my U.S. doctor and find out what I was prescribed in the past for Shingles so I know what I can take should I get it again.  While Parkway Medical accepts our medical insurance, apparently I needed to call first for authorization, so I had to pay by credit card and can submit to my insurance company for reimbursement.  The doctor wrote my prescription, both for the antibiotic and some nasal spray, and the pharmacy right on site filled it, so I paid about $200 for the appointment and prescription and walked the 2 blocks home.  The whole process was quick and easy, but I can't call them in an after-hours emergency.

Now, as far as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), acupunture, herbal remedies, meditation, etc., I believe you can request practitioners in any of the 3 levels of facilities.  I know that most of the medical facilities advertising for the expat community have both western-style doctors and TCM listed among their services.

Unfortunately, I saw the doctor on Friday and I'm writing this on Monday morning, still not feeling much better.  I'm calling CVS in Elmhurst today to find out what type of antibiotic my doctor there prescribed for my last sinus infection, just in case the Achilles-heel rupturing one doesn't kick this infection. 

Day Trip to Suzhou

On Saturday, October 19, Kennedy had a cross-country meet, the last of the season, in Suzhou, so Peter and Nickle invited us along to make a day of it.  Suzhou is about 1 1/2 hours from Shanghai (depending on traffic) and is one of the cities that Chris visits often for work, but I had not yet been there.

As we drove through the streets of the city, on our way to the Suzhou Singapore International School for the meet, Nickle and I commented on how "quiet" Suzhou seemed, with few people out and about on the streets.  Funny to think that we've been in Shanghai (pop. 24 million) long enough to think that Suzhou seemed like a "small town;" population 10 million.

Kennedy is one of the youngest runners at these meets because she and her classmates are the only 5th graders competing in the 6th grade group.  Still she came in 2nd place among the girls and 9th overall, running a great race.

Cameron and Colin have very little interest in watching their sister run, so they played some basketball and eventually ended up at the playground with Uncle Chris.  Before the meet began, Colin tried the monkey bars and couldn't do it.  By the end of the meet, he was a pro!

After the meet and awards ceremony, we drove to a Pizza Hut for lunch.  The boys were very excited because there was a Dairy Queen next door, for dessert.  Pizza Hut is a bigger deal in China, with a very broad menu.  While the pasta was not a hit, the pizzas tasted pretty much like they do in the U.S.  Chris was not able to communicate "diet" Pepsi, although it's usually not a problem, but I was happy that I have learned enough Mandarin to ask for "Bing Shui" which means ice water.  There was no problem at Dairy Queen in communicating the idea of a Oreo Blizzard.  They even flip over the Blizzard, before they hand it to you, to prove that it is so thick it doesn't run out of the over-turned cup. 

After lunch, we headed to the canals to take a boat ride.  Suzhou's canals, stone bridges, pagodas, and gardens have contributed to its status as one of the top tourist attractions in China. The classical gardens in Suzhou were added to the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1997. Suzhou is often dubbed the "Venice of the East" or "Venice of China."   While there are many canal towns, Suzhou is one of the best known.  When we visited Peter & Nickle in Shanghai in 2005, we went to Zhouzhuang, which was also very beautiful, but a much smaller, older-looking town.  Suzhou seems more like a big city that has a small canal area to me, but that may be because we drove quite a way from the cross-country meet to the area where we picked up the boat for the canal ride.

On our walk towards the boat, we went through a large, lovely park.  There was a statue of something, although I'm not sure what.  He looks mostly, to me, like the Winter Warlock from the Christmas movie of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, so I started singing "One Foot In Front of the Other."  Kennedy pretended not to know me. 

One of the really interesting things in the park was the large bushes, taller than us, by far, that had two different colored flowers growing on them.  The flowers looked a little like roses, but there were both pink and white growing on the same branch - from the same blossom in some cases.  It was pretty but very different.

Peter negotiated what we think was a pretty good price for the 7 of us to take a boat ride on the canals.  It was just us on the boat, with the two "drivers," so we had it all to ourselves and were able to move around to see the sights and take the best pictures.  The boats sit so low in the water, we were basically sitting in the water, as the windows are just about water level.  I think this is part of the reason the boats go so slowly - you really don't want much of a wake.  The canals get very narrow, so it was an accomplishment that our boat could get through in some areas, never mind passing other boats.  The little man helping our driver made sure to tell us to keep our hands in the windows when we were going through a particularly narrow passage.  One boater wasn't as good as ours and ran into us - twice.  We could see that our driver was pretty agitated about it.

While they let us sit on the front of the boat at times, there were other times they made us scoot back inside - I'm not exactly sure why.   As always, the two guys handling our boat were fascinated by the kids, and let them sit up front as often as possible.
 
As we drove through the canals, we enjoyed the pretty red paper lanterns hanging off the bridges and buildings in some areas, but also found the houses along the canals very intriguing.  It was similar to Venice, where there are another set of stairs down the canal side of the house to allow family members to climb into a boat.  Many of the stairs looked like they were in disrepair, as did the houses, but the occasional satellite dish and air conditioning units seemed to be working okay.   Peter and I remarked on a set of stairs sticking off the side of one of the houses that didn't attach to a door at all and laughed when we realized it led up to the A/C unit - for when your A/C repair guy comes by boat!

The curved bridges are very distinctive in these canal towns and very pretty.  It was fun to see other tourists walking above us as we drove under the bridge, as well as waving to us from passing boats and restaurants along the edge of the canals.  Even though we'd read that these canal towns are overrun with tourists on the weekend, it was not very busy in Suzhou.  Perhaps it was the weather, given that it was an overcast day with a (very) few raindrops at the start of Kennedy's cross-country race that morning.  Although the forecast hadn't included any rain, it did look like it was possible at any time.  Whatever the reason, it wasn't very crowded, which is saying something in China.

We saw a lot of fishermen along the edges of the canals, especially in places where there was some shoreline more than just the concrete sides of the canals.  While we saw a group actually reeling in what would probably be their dinner, (not that I can imagine eating a fish that came out of that dirty water), most of the men seemed to be relaxing.  Again, they enjoyed seeing the kids and smiled and waved as we passed.  We also saw a group of men who were doing some construction, hanging on bamboo scaffolding on the side of the canal - and welding - on the edge of the water.  My pictures of them didn't come out too sharp, mostly because I was so nervous watching them balancing precariously and welding over the water!


I enjoyed the fact that, in the places where there was more of a shoreline, it reminded me of Seneca Lake because the shoreline was planted with so many willow trees.  At least, they looked like the weeping willows that hold the shoreline on Seneca, although I wouldn't know enough about trees to be sure they were the same type.  There were also some fascinating rock formations, both along the shorelines and placed in front of houses along the canals.


All along the canal, we could see "cross-street," either where canals intersected or where concrete steps led to up actual side streets with shops and markets.  Some of the shops looked cute and some of the smells were terrible, but we didn't have time to really walk around and explore.  We drove into what seemed to be a bit of an intersection, where several canals converged on each other, and there was a plaza with this lovely pagoda.

The canal trip wasn't that long, but was really fascinating and I, obviously, just couldn't take enough pictures.  I'm feeling a little challenged with the photography at the moment because my regular lens developed problems when we were in Bangkok and the auto-focus feature isn't working.  While the manual focus still works on that lens, I'm not that good with manual focus - partly because it doesn't give me the range of options I want and partly because my eyes aren't as sharp as they used to be.  So, I was trying to take all my pictures in Suzhou with my zoom lens, which made things challenging, especially when we decided to take some shots of our group, in the boat.  But, I think they came out okay, although it would have been better with the right lens.  I have to try to figure out what's going on with it before I head to Vienna in November.

After the boat ride, we found Gao, Peter & Nickle's driver, and piled back into the car.  We talked about walking the streets to see the little shops, visiting the silk museum, or even stopping at what appeared to be an American-style outlet mall.  But, it had started raining again and everyone was tired and we opted to just head home.

The drive back to Shanghai was long, as the traffic was heavy.  After a brief bathroom stop at a McDonald's somewhere in Puxi, we made it back to JinQiao at about 6:30 and went to Pistolera, the boys' favorite Mexican restaurant that is around the corner from our new apartment.  We had planned to come to our place for pizza, but since we had pizza for lunch, we went to Pistolera instead.  Peter & Nickle saw at least 3-4 groups of people they know there - it is a favorite expat hangout - and we had a nice dinner.  Afterwards, they all came to our apartment to see it, and our complex, for the first time.  After a tour of the health club, pool and tennis courts, we came up to our place for some homemade chocolate chip cookies.  Peter, Nickle & the kids headed home around 9 p.m., with some very tired boys - and maybe Kennedy, too.  All-in-all, it was a great day, from Kennedy's fantastic finish at the cross-country meet, to the beautiful sights of the boat ride, to the Mexican food and chocolate chip cookies.

Our New Apartment

Well, we have moved out of the mold & water damaged apartment at Dawn Garden.  We were able to find a couple of attractive options, but decided to go with a 2-bedroom apartment in the Green Court Serviced Apartments.  This complex was just renovated and opened again on October 1.  Chris wanted to see an apartment here over the summer, but they weren't available.  So, we are some of the first people to move in.

Basically, a serviced apartment is somewhere between an apartment and a hotel, which may be a great choice for us, given that I will be spending about 1/2 of the year in Shanghai and 1/2 in the U.S. and Chris will always be traveling a lot.  We are in a nice complex with a lot of services, including a health club, restaurant, bar, indoor swimming pool, and English-speaking front desk staff.  This apartment is smaller than the last one, but given that we are still only a couple of blocks from Peter & Nickle's house, we chose location and convenience over size of the apartment.

We are on the 16th floor of a 19 floor building, which is wonderful because the top and bottom couple of floors have more likelihood of water damage, and the resulting mold and mildew.  We have a wrap-around porch on 3 sides of the building, which gives us some wonderful views.  In addition, at the end of the living room, there is a glass-enclosed porch, which, given the weather in Shanghai, is essentially additional living space.  We just moved in last night, and haven't really gotten everything settled yet, but so far, I think it's going to be great.

Our master bedroom is a good size and has a large bed, but unfortunately, it is too large for the IKEA mattress we bought because the last apartment's master bed was too hard.  Fortunately, this mattress is softer, but that means we not only don't have use for the new mattress (the guest bed is too small, Goldilocks), but we also can't use the pretty bed linens we bought to go with the IKEA mattress.  So, we're back to white bedding, which really makes it feel like a hotel.  Part of our services includes twice a week housekeeping service.  They will change the bed linens once a week, but if I buy my own, colorful linens, I think I'll need to wash them myself, as I'm sure the housekeeper just brings in the standard white linens to change, as is done in a hotel.  I'll have to figure this out, as we don't want everything to be white, white, white.

The guest bedroom is pretty good sized and we are planning to make that into Chris's home office, once we buy him a desk.  When our guests come to visit, they should be comfortable there, with their own guest bathroom, but we're also thinking our daughters may also abandon us sometimes to stay with their cousins.  


The kitchen isn't huge, by American standards, but it's pretty good sized for a Shanghai apartment.  I like that the stack-able washer/dryer is hidden away in a tall cupboard in the kitchen.  I also like that I have a built-in oven, which we didn't have in the last place, as well as 3 burners instead of just 2 on the stove-top.  I was hoping for a dishwasher this time, as was in our 2nd choice apartment, but with just the 2 of us most of the time, and Chris traveling so much even when we're in Shanghai, I don't think it'll be that big a deal.

The dining room table is a good size, although we're planning to buy another table and some chairs as we have the space and we'd like room to have Peter, Nickle & the kids over, as well as other company.  The dining room and living room are in an "L" shape, so they are connected but also somewhat separate.

The living room couch isn't as comfortable as the couch in the first apartment, but that was one of the most comfortable couches I've ever sat on.  This one is also an "L" which I really like and the room is pretty good sized, especially when we open the sliding glass doors to the enclosed porch.

We want to start collecting some decorative items, particularly some traditional Chinese art work, porcelain, silks, linens, and other colorful, local decorative items to put in the apartment.  I went shopping with the wife of one of Chris's business colleagues on Saturday and we started our collection with some beautiful red and gold rice bowls, which are displayed on the shelving behind the couch.  We have a long way to go to make this feel like our home, but I think we're going to be very happy here.  Especially if there is NO MOLD!  :)

Studying Mandarin

I am about a month into my Mandarin class, which I am enjoying much more than I thought I would. Don't get me wrong - it is a very difficult language to learn, even when you're not trying to learn the characters.  The sounds the letters make are not sounds easy for an American tongue to create - at least, not this American tongue.  Of course, the Austrian and German women who sit next to me in class would say the sounds are not easy for a German-speaking tongue to make either.  :)

While I don't think any of the 7 people in my beginner level Chinese 1 class will be proficient by the end of the class in a month, we are having a good time struggling through the pronunciations and rules together.  It makes me feel better that everyone else seems to have the same difficulty as I do remembering what the words are and how to say them.  I'm very much a visual learner, so it's hard for me to study a language that I can't really read.  But, I do think I'm making a little progress.

After only a month, I have given some thoughts to the things that strike me as most unusual so far.  Here goes, in no particular order:

*     There are 21 vowels and 16 consonants.  In English, we have 5 vowels and 21 consonants, so there are a lot more letters to remember how to pronounce.

*    For each of the 21 vowels, there are 5 different tones that the vowel can make and each word, depending on the tone, has an entirely different meaning.  The first tone is flat, the second tone rises from low to high, the third tone drops and then rises, and the fourth tone falls.  I say 5 tones because a vowel can have no tone at all, which is different from the flat (first) tone.  Then, throw in rules like the 3rd tone followed by another word turns into a descending tone similar to, but not exactly like, the 4th tone, or that if 2 3rd tones follow one another, the 1st one is turned into a 2nd tone, and it really becomes overwhelming.

*     A lot of the time, I have thought that the Chinese people speaking to each other, or to me, for that matter, were angry a lot, because the 4th tone is very abrupt and sounds a bit like yelling.  On the other hand, the first tone is high and sounds a bit like singing.  I feel self-conscious saying both of these tones, for separate reasons, so it makes it even harder to get the pronunciation right.

*     Because the tone on the vowel changes, the tone of the sentence doesn't change if you're asking a question or making an exclamation.  You can tell someone is asking a question if they include a question word in the sentence, such as "ma" at the end.  Not because their voice goes up at the end of the sentence.

*     In Mandarin, unlike horseshoes and hand grenades, close is NOT close enough.  If I want to say the number ten, shí , which has the 2nd tone, I might mistakenly say shi with no tone, which translates to the verb "to be," such as "is" or "are."  If I say shì, with the 4th tone, it means something altogether different (although I don't know what yet) and the Chinese person I'm speaking to will have no idea what I'm talking about, which is usually what happens.  Our Mandarin teacher says that many Chinese people, native-speakers, pronounce things differently or, in her words, incorrectly, so no wonder they can't understand me either.

*      After weeks of class, Chris asked me how to say "yes," and I couldn't really answer him.  In Mandarin, the way to answer a question is to reply in the affirmative or negative form of the verb.  So, the answer to "do you want something?" is not "yes" but "I want" or "I don't want."  I've heard a lot of English-speakers here using  "méi yǒu" (pronounced may yo) when they want to say "no," but it really means "I don't have."  Often, this will suffice, such as "Will you have the chicken feet?"  Definitely méi yǒu!

*     While I am learning pīnyīn, which is the phonetic system for transcribing the sound of Chinese characters into recognizable alphabet, it is not how the Chinese learn to read their language, so whatever I write in pīnyīn will not be able to be read by the average Chinese taxi driver.  If I want to print out the address for where I'd like him to take me, I have to translate to characters and pray that Google translate knows what it's talking about.  Fortunately, many businesses, housing complexes, and even individuals have address cards made up with their addresses printed in English and Chinese characters, in addition to a crudely-drawn map, to help taxi drivers get you to the right place.  Nearly everyone I know has a business card manager app on their smart phone to keep all of these cards organized, so you can simply pull it up on the phone and show it to the taxi driver.

This is just the first level of Chinese classes and, as I said, I am only a month into this class, but I am finding the language interesting.  I don't know that I'll ever be very conversant, but at least, right now, I can give the taxi driver basic directions, such as turn right or left, do a U-turn (you have no idea what a common occurrence this is), go straight, or stop.  Of course, when my nephew Peter, his wife Nickle, and their daughter, Kennedy, were here 8 years ago, Kennedy, who had just turned 2 at the time, could say these things to the taxi driver as well.  I'm not sure I should be bragging about my language skills as of yet.

Touring Bangkok

So, Chris and I hired a private tour guide to show us around Bangkok on Sunday, September 29, 2013.  It was a fascinating tour, but because it was about 90 degrees and 100% humidity, we didn't make it all day.  It was so humid, my camera was fogged up for the beginning of the tour. Fortunately, we started early and covered most of the hot spots before running for the air conditioning of our hotel room.

We took a taxi from our hotel to the first stop of the morning, which was Wat Trimitr, previously called "Wat Samjeentai”, a small temple built by three friends about 150 years ago. It was restored in 1937 and granted the official name of Wat Trimitwitthayaramworaviharn or known as the Golden Buddha Temple.

The main attraction of the temple is the largest Golden Buddha in the world named “Phra Sukhothaitrimitr”, a puzzling Buddha image 3 meters tall made of solid gold, was believed that he was built around 700 years ago in Sukhothai Period. It was once covered with ordinary cement, until it fell from a crane in about 1955 while being moved to a new building. The belief is that it was covered in cement as a means of protecting it from the Burmese while the capital of Ayutthaya was under siege but there were no records indicating the solid gold Buddha was under there.  

This temple has a school and living quarters for the monks, as well as the a ceremonial building, which was under construction and the main temple, where the Golden Buddha was.  It is located very near Chinatown, so when we left the temple, we walked across the street and down the streets of Chinatown.  Bangkok has a large Chinese population, which our guide indicated was formed when Chinese left China at different times of governmental or economic strife over the years.  There were a lot of very traditional Chinese restaurant, medicine shops, and markets lining the streets of Chinatown.

From Chinatown, we grabbed a Tuk-Tuk to take us to our next stop, which was the Flower market, or what locals call “Pak-Klong-Talad.” Our guide said he didn't know why they call this vehicle a Tuk-Tuk, so he asked around and no one could tell him where the name originated.  He decided it must be because tuk-tuk is the sound the propane-powered engine makes when it is started.  Chris agreed because Tuk-Tuk is also the name in India, where they are also propane-powered and make the same name.

Bangkok has the biggest flower market in Thailand, which is open 24 hours/day. We were told the King encouraged farmers in the north to grow chrysanthemums and marigolds instead of poppies, so they were plentiful. What really amazed me were the orchids, which were plentiful and beautiful, as well as the large bouquets of roses for 40 baht, about $1.25. The women were busily making bracelets and other arrangements of flowers that the hotels apparently give to guests, as well as floral necklaces, which are worn at weddings, and similar necklaces which we were told the average Thai people buy every day to donate to their temple or adorn the shrine in their own homes, for religious beliefs and festivals.  There were beautiful arrangements of lotus flowers, which are key to Buddhist ceremonies and festivals, in both white and purple.
 
While the flowers were incredible and the colors were beautiful, I would saw our experience differed slightly from the description on the tour guide's website:  "The kaleidoscope of colours and fragrances of the flowers provide an exotic sensory stimulation. Mixing this with the smells of street foods and spices, the hectic pace of locals going about their daily business, and the fumes from the local tuk-tuk’s in and around the market, makes the area an incredibly charming and intriguing place to visit."  Chris and I thought about it later and realized we really didn't smell the flowers - not that we didn't stop and appreciate them - but, we really couldn't smell them.  Mostly, the flower market smelled like the street food cooking nearby, the slightly moldy, dirty smell of wet, Asian city, and definitely the exhaust from the Tuk-Tuks and the many, many taxis.  They were beautiful to see, but not nearly as aromatic as you would expect.
 
After the flower market, we walked through a produce market and saw some interesting fruits and vegetables before heading on to the Grand Palace.


The third stop on our Bangkok tour was The Grand Palace & The Royal Temple of The Emerald Buddha - an incredible sight.  While it was really starting to get unbearably humid, and Chris at least, was sweating profusely, we kept going through some very cold water to drink and the incredible sights and history of the palace.  It includes 3 different areas, one designated for the Temple and various ceremonies, which is open to the public, then one where governmental offices are located.  This area is also open to visitors, but my guess is you have to have some official business to get inside of the buildings.  The third area is the royal residences, which are not on the tour and, in fact, no longer the residence of the King and Queen. 

 

Each portion of the palace compound has a distinctly different architectural style.  The first area, where the Temple and ceremonial buildings are, is very traditionally Thai and Buddhist.  The center area, where the office buildings of the King are, is a combination of European and Thai architecture.  The third area, where the royal residences were built, looks very European and very like Buckingham Palace.

The construction began in 1782, during the reign of King Rama I of Chakri Dynesty and continuously built and renovated in many reigns, covering an area of 218,400 square meters, 1,900 meters long for the walls, consisting of 3 large groups of buildings, or courts, serving different royal functions. Inside located the Royal Temple of The Emerald Buddha, the most sacred Buddha Image in Thailand.  After King Rama VIII ‘s death, King IX moved the official royal residence to Chitralada Palace, The complex now is served for royal ceremonies and religious purposes. There is no residence for the monks at this temple.  The current king is known as King Rama IX and the king from  "The King and I" was Rama IV, who ruled from
1851–1868.

The Outer Court or Khet Phra Racha Than Chan Na (เขตพระราชฐานชั้นหน้า) of the Grand Palace is situated to the northwest of the palace and the northeast being occupied by the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.  The "guards" of the temple (at least, those made of stone) are  extremely large and colorful and Hindu in origin, not Buddhist.  

 

In the Outer Court, there is a Miniature of Angkor Wat, the largest Hindu temple in the world, located in Cambodia. This model is located on the side of the Emerald Buddha temple, which in itself is located in the middle of the Grand Palace.  

The Outer Court, in addition to being the home of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, which is actually made of Jade, is the area where the people of Thailand can come to pray at the Temple.  It is free the Thai people, although foreigners have to pay to visit.  In addition, there were foreigners being turned away at the gate, as you have to be dressed appropriately to enter the Palace and Temple.  No shorts, no skirts above the knee, no bear shoulders or spaghetti straps.  Women in tank tops with a scarf to cover their shoulders were turned away.  Our tour guide had told us ahead of time of the wardrobe restrictions, so I was wearing a long skirt and Chris was in long pants, despite the heat.

The largest and most important court is the Middle Court or the Khet Phra Racha Than Chan Klang (เขตพระราชฐานชั้นกลาง) is situated in the central part of the Grand Palace, where the government offices are located. I was really impressed to see the combination of European and Thai architecture that King Rama V had built (son of the king from The King and I) as a way to shown European countries that there was no need to colonize Siam, as they were already learning the modern ways of Europe.  He cleverly used a European type of architecture and modern conveniences, but also put on a traditional Thai roof - so that the Thai architecture was "on top."  

Thais are very proud of the fact that there are the only nation in this part of the world never to be colonized by Europeans and attribute much of that to King Rama IV and V.  As a result, the country remained a buffer state between parts of Southeast Asia that were colonized by Great Britain and France. The original name of the country was Siam, thus the book on which The King and I was based was entitled Anna and the King of Siam.  However, in 1939, the country's name was officially changed to Thailand, with Thai meaning freedom. 

I really enjoyed this part of the tour, even more than the beautiful Flower Market, because the history was so interesting and so visible on the progression of architectural styles of the buildings.  I found the whole palace fascinating and would definitely recommend it as one of the top tourist sights of Bangkok.  

However, by the time we finished, we were too hot to go on to the next stop on the tour and convinced our guide to take us to a local traditional Thai restaurant for lunch.  We had delicious Thai food, meat, vegetables and rice, and Chris asked for his to be spicy.  The restaurant owner, who was taking our order, wasn't sure he really meant spicy.  When his food arrived, it was spicy, but not overwhelmingly so.  Our guide said they must have toned down the spice some for him.  However, the owner came back while we were eating to make sure that it wasn't too spicy for Chris - she really seemed worried about him.  He loved it and felt much better after sitting in the air conditioning for a while and drinking two Diet Cokes.  

So, on to the next part of the tour.  We caught a taxi and headed for the next temple, Wat Pho.

Wat Pho is situated right next to the Grand Palace near Tha Tien Pier. It was built in the early 18th century and originally called Wat Photharam.  It is also assumed to be the first university of Thailand.

This is the Temple of the Gigantic Reclining Buddha, which is about 105 feet long and 50 feet high, The soles are inlaid with beautiful mother of Pearl scenes elaborately depicting 108 auspicious signs in Buddhism. The main chapel houses a beautiful Buddha image under which the ashes of King Rama I was enshrined. It is considered King Rama I ‘s royal temple.

Wat Pho was also a school of Thai traditional massage. There are many areas showing pressure points and techniques for Thai massage and many people are still getting massages there.  I don't think the school is in the Temple any more, though.
One building is dedicated to the large number of Buddha statues one of the kings had brought into the capital from all over Thailand.  They work hard at reconditioning them and repairing them, first covering them in black enamel and then covering them in gold.  There were different faces on the Buddhas, depending on what area of the country they came from, but most all were in the tradition lotus position, with one had facing down and one facing up.  We were told this signifies the transient nature of life; one shouldn't worry about troubles or relish good fortune too much, as everything will pass.


While our tour guide was planning another temple for us to visit, we told him that this would be the end of our tour for the day as we were so hot and sticky, we just couldn't wait to get back to the air conditioned coolness of our hotel.  He taxied with us back to the hotel and gave us a good recommendation of a restaurant in the area, in case we wanted some traditional Thai food.  We collapsed in our hotel room, showered, napped, and recovered from the heat.  That was all the touring we were up for on Sunday.

Monday was a work day for Chris, but we made it back out to see some sights on Tuesday.  We took a taxi to the Jim Thompson House, which is a fascinating part of Bangkok history as well. The Jim Thompson House is the home of James H.W. Thompson, a self-made American entrepreneur who was the founder of the world renowned Jim Thompson Thai Silk Company.  Jim Thompson was born in 1902, graduated from Princeton and joined the OSS during WWII.  He ended up in Thailand just as the war ended and decided he wanted to live there.  He found that the tradition Thai silk trade had fallen off and he revived it, among other ways, by taking Thai silks to the U.S., where they were included in the movie and stage production of "The King and I," and bought by U.S. fashion designers.   
 
He had his beautiful home built from traditional Thai houses brought together and completed in 1959.  In 1967, Jim Thompson went on holiday with friends to the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia, went for a walk, disappeared, and has never been heard from again.  His home is a lovely exhibit of traditional Thai architecture, which he also helped revive, as well as a beautiful display of silks.

After touring the Jim Thompson House and visiting the shop, we took the Sky Train back to Sukhumvit, the street our hotel was on, and stopped at a restaurant our tour guide had recommended in our area.  We'd thought we'd misunderstood the name of the restaurant, but it really was Cabbages and Condoms. 

The local style Thai food was delicious and the restaurant itself was very comfortable.  We were a bit surprised when we received free condoms, one male and one female, at the end of our meal, when one might expect to get mints. We went to the gift shop and found out that the restaurant and shop, like the affiliated ones in the U.K., support a charity designed to curb population growth in Thailand.  Apparently, the average Thai family has 7 children.

According to their website: "As one of the most unique restaurants in Metropolitan Bangkok, the Cabbages & Condoms Restaurant has attracted international attention. Conveniently located near one of Bangkok's main business districts, C&C is very popular among local and foreign clients.  Our restaurant was conceptualized in part to promote better understanding and acceptance of family planning and to generate income to support various development activities of the Population and Community Development Association (PDA)."

It was a delicious lunch and the hand-crafted items in the shop were beautiful, so definitely a good recommendation by our guide.  We returned to the hotel happy and full and took a swim in the pool before a little more work for Chris, some more U.S. TV for me, and a room-service dinner.  Our flight home was Wednesday, so we headed to the airport fairly early and made our way back to Shanghai.