OK, not my chariot or yours. You would have to be Thai royalty, and dead, to be transported in something like the above, but I can’t resist a pun. This is just one of many objects that can be found at the National Museum Bangkok, our principal stop on Sunday during our first full day in the Thai capital.

The museum is filled with Thai art and historical objects from antiquity to the modern era. It spans multiple buildings in what used to be the palace of the vice king. I have no clue what a vice king did, but he appeared to live quite well. The museum was established in 1874 according to Wikipedia by a former king to house the art collection of his father.

It’s now such a large collection that it’s nearly impossible to absorb in a single day. It’s like going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and trying to take in all the galleries in a day. Isn’t going to happen in any meaningful way. The top picture, for example, shows just one of several vehicles used in the funerals of Thai royalty. Other buildings contain different objects like statues of Buddhas, or Hindu gods. There are displays of furnishings from the vice king’s palace. Others have paintings. You get the drift. It’s a lot.

The museum is also home to one of the many Buddhist temples in the city, and it was notable that it was briefly closed for a Buddhist ceremony while we were visiting. We were later able to step inside for a look and it’s akin to stepping into a notable church in Europe, with tourists like us snapping pictures while some of the devout are praying.

Buddhists monks in this city, I should note, are about as ubiquitous as Catholic priests in Vatican City. They are easily recognizable in their flowing orange robes and sandal-clad feet. We are supposed to have some interaction with monks later in our tour, which officially begins today.

We are traveling with Overseas Adventure Travel, a Boston-based company. Although we were on our own yesterday, our tour leader, Lada, helped us plan our day. We visited the museum with a couple we met on our first OAT tour to Egypt a year ago. We took a cab to the museum, but after that we were on our own for getting back to our hotel using water taxis and an elevated railway. Yep, another metro.

We were collectively proud of our effort. After some wandering, and with some online help from Lada, we found our way to the dock. There are two different hop on/hop off boats plying the meandering Chaophrya River that cuts through the heart of this sprawling city. One, the Blue line, is more tourist oriented. It’s larger, makes fewer stops, and costs a bit more but is basically still pretty cheap. A ride is 30 baht, or less than a dollar at current exchange rates.

The other, the Yellow line, makes more stops. It’s a local for the locals, but we briefly travel on it as well. It’s really inexpensive. Two tickets cost us all of 16 baht. The elevated railway was a bit pricier but still a great value for us American tourists enjoying a very favorable exchange rate.

We made one brief stop at the upscale Icon Siam mall on the opposite side of the river from where we boarded. Like Singapore, Bangkok has plethora of malls. It kind of makes sense. The air-conditioned edifices provide for a respite from the heat as this region basically has two seasons: hot and hotter. We didn’t stay long, but it was enough to see the range of items available here, from Gucci and Cartier to Uniqlo and roasted nuts. There was also a range of dining, but since we had big plans for the evening, we passed on the food.