Sunday, November 24 - Bangkok Wows!

Sunday, November 24 - Bangkok Wows!

A cab ride this morning convinced us that Bangkok has traffic snarls that rival anywhere else we've seen.  We were headed for the Grand Palace,which is not easily reached via public transportation.  What seemed like a pretty straightforward proposition developed into gridlock as soon as we got off the tollway -- and this was on a Sunday morning!

The Grand Palace is adjacent to the temple complex housing the most revered Buddha in Thailand, the Emerald Buddha.  There were hordes of people, including many tour busloads, streaming onto the site when we arrived.  The temple complex is sacred to the Thais and proper dress is required.  Inappropriately clad women borrow sarongs and men in shorts are lent what we've jokingly called "elephant pants" on this trip.  They're made of fabric in a print that often features elephants, and they've ubiquitous in the markets and on tourists of both sexes in every country we've visited.  They seem like perfect pajama pants, but here they were judged appropriately respectful!  We have found that convertible pants, with zip-off legs have been great on the trip; we've been able to wear them long when we've visited all the temples and still have the shorts that are best suited to the weather.  As we approached the palace complex, before Tom had zipped on his pant legs, one of the wardrobe police told him that his "dress" was too short!

As we followed our audioguides through the temple complex, the Wat Phra Kaeo, we were simply overwhelmed by what we were seeing.  A huge cloister of beautiful murals encloses what seemed like innumerable towers, stupas, temples, pavilions, and monuments.  Every inch of every building was adorned with mosaics, gems, porcelain tiles fashioned into floral and geometric patterns.  It was absolutely jaw-droppingly stunning --  in a league of its own, and beyond anything we've ever seen or could even imagine.  Had we seen this at the beginning of our trip, everything else would have suffered by comparison.  The centerpiece of all this beauty was the temple of the Emerald Buddha, which glittered inside and out. There are no words to describe what we saw; luckily, Tom just happened to have his camera with him!

 

Then, it was on to the Grand Palace, actually a compound of buildings adjoining the Wat.  The current king and queen (whose large photos are all over town) live in digs elsewhere, and the buildings here are now used for ceremonial purposes.  They are large and designed in a variety of styles, all lovely and beautifully ornamented.

After a short walk along a riverside street full of vendors, we reached Wat Pho, the temple complex containing the famous Reclining Buddha.  The size of this golden figure truly must be seen to be believed.  From head to toe, it’s quite a hike, and, once you get there, the mother-of-pearl encrusted feet are a sight in themselves.  As you walk along the back side of the statue, you can purchase dishes of coins in order to deposit one into each of the bowls along the wall for good luck.  The temple complex also contains many other buildings, monuments, and stupas, most lavishly decorated in porcelain tile mosaics similar to those of the Wat Phra Kaeo. 



We had lunch in a small hole-in-the wall restaurant on a pier on the Chao Phraya River before boarding a boat.  The river has historically been a main artery of Bangkok and it carries a lot of traffic of all manner of water craft, from barges to jet skis.  Bangkok's characteristic boat is the long-tail.  They are long and low, with bows that curve up out of the water and they're propelled by automobile engines, with long drive shafts to their propellers. Our boat was actually an element of the city's mass transit system, used by commuters and visitors alike.  As it criss-crossed the river, we passed wats, mosques, and old houses built on stilts over the water with modern high-rises virtually in their backyards. 

A couple of notes about the mass transit system.  Everyone who enters a subway station must pass through a metal detector and virtually everyone sets off the alarm.  A guard perfunctorily shines a flashlight into purses and bags, without even looking; we can only imagine what it's like at rush hour!  Also, train platforms are marked with lines and arrows so that people exiting cars move first, while boarding passengers wait to each side of the doors -- and everyone actually complies with the plan!

Bangkok has been a grand finale to a great trip, and now we're ready to head for home.  In the morning, we start on our 24-hour journey, so happy to have had the opportunity to see some of Southeast Asia's wonders, but ready to get back to real life.

One final note: the full name of Bangkok is: Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit