Grand Palace - Bangkok

I decided to try my luck at enjoying Bangkok more this time by going to one of the most popular tourist destinations (WHY did I think that was a good idea?!) -- the Grand Palace. To me, the Grand Palace is best known for housing the temple with the Emerald Buddha.

Below are some links to the Wikipedia links on these topics if you want to read more:
Grand Palace, Bangkok
Emerald Buddha, Bangkok

I made sure to wear a long skirt and had a scarf to put over my shoulders when going to the Palace... but still found that I was not to be let in. My scarf was not as nice as a T-shirt apparently... so I rented a T-shirt for about 50 cents.

The roundabout in front of the Grand Palace...

Palace grounds...

I decided to follow the crowd... and learned that I was heading to the temple that holds the Emerald Buddha (photo below). BUT... I was turned away at the door because apparently you need to buy a ticket beforehand... 

The tickets are from a window that also had a line... and a ticket is about $20 to get in! I decided to skip this, as I didn't really feel a huge need to see this Buddha (sorry, Buddha!). And since I was going back to Bangkok with family and friends in a few weeks, I figured I could go then with them if we all wanted.

I took a couple more photos and left. ...Well, I handed the T-shirt back in, got my deposit returned, and then found a motorbike to hop on and get back to the hotel.