There was no doubt that a visit to the Grand Palace was a must for us during our stay in Bangkok. I must say though that going there for a second time was an emotional one for me. I couldn't help but remember my eldest nephew who passed away last November. You see, he, his sister, and I together had a wonderful visit in 2001.

I had forgotten that shorts were not allowed and so Marc and I had to rent what looked like the Burmese longyi to wear while we visited the premises. Boy, was the line long and the heat oppressive during our visit. Being indoors was not pleasant since the air was full of the smell of people's sweat.

Marc simply couldn't contain his excitement and kept saying "Wow!, Wow!" everywhere on the grounds of the palace.

There were also lots of locals dressed in black who lined up to see the remains of the late king somewhere in the palace grounds. I am not talking about hundreds of locals here but literally thousands. Busloads of them arrived and a sea of black could be seen for miles.