Bangkok (Thailand)

On February 26, 2006 we left Ao Nang, Thailand on a 15 hour bus ride to Bangkok. At least this time it was a coach bus, however, it was an overnight ride and I don't think we got more than 2 hours of sleep. Wade particularly, as he was under a dripping air conditioning vent that would drop ice cold droplets of water onto his head. Talk about a grumpy bear the next day!

We joined forces once again with the traveling dossers from Ireland! A little bit of a homecoming in a foreign and strange land! Although we had not received much sleep on our overnight bus ride, we had to party it up. Yup we stayed out till the wee hour of midnight. Accountants are wild! To our defense, we did go to the red light district of Bangkok (mainly because there was also a good market there of cheap goods...no pun intended). Beside the market there were many sketchy clubs. Not sure what Amsterdam is like, but I think the four of us have seen all we need to see. Our innocence has definitely been tarnished.

Here is a picture of us enjoying some noodles from the street vendors. Noodles, noodles, noodles. The staple of our diet now.






The next day in Bangkok was a Wat day. A Wat is a Cambodian, Lao or Thai Hindu or Buddhist temple. They are considered a source for Buddhist spiritualism. The first and most impressive Wat we went to was Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace. This Wat is also called the temple of the Emerald Buddha. Here is a picture of a Thai, Lao and Cambodian Wat in order from left to right. Notice that each has its own distinctive shape. The Thai is the most square like of the Wats.

We had an excellent guide and were in awe of the Wat. Most of the buildings in the temple were made of gold leaf exteriors, gleaming gems and fine Chinese porcelain. It was beyond elaborate. There were so many buildings and they were so large that we could not even fit them all in our pictures! Here is a close up so that you can appreciate the richness.

This whole area, over 100 buildings in about 30 acres, used to be the King's personal meditation grounds. The Royal family is beloved by the Thais and the current King or Rama is considered a King of the people. He opened up his personal meditation area to the public as he believes Buddhism is for the people and should be a free gift to all.

As mentioned before the Thai Wats tend to be more square like. Our guide explained to us that the Wat is thicker at the bottom and has a step like appearance to the top to represent the different levels of Buddhism. As one grows in the understanding of Buddhism, he/she becomes enlightened and moves upwards towards perfect understanding. There are also monkeys and demons on the Wats. You will notice from this close up picture that the monkey is happy and the demon is sad. This is because the monkey's beliefs are founded in Buddhism and when he experiences trials and tribulations in life, his faith helps him through and lightens his load. The demon on the other hand has no where to turn and so is miserable in the load he must carry alone. Hence the demon is carrying the weight of the Wat...where the monkey just has his hands there but is not bearing the weight of the Wat.

Here is a picture of the Emerald Buddha, which is not made of Emerald but rather believed to be made of Jade. This is a sacred sight and pictures are not allowed to be taken inside the temple, thus I am taking a picture from outside. The Buddha himself is only 60 to 75 cms high. Depending on the season he has different outfits. The current one is his winter outfit which is worth approximately 13 million, as it is gold and diamond encrusted.

After our tour of the Wat and the Grand Palace (one of the King's palaces where his guests stay when they come for visits), we went for a river tour through the canals of Bangkok. Here is a picture taken from the long tail boat we were in.




We spent the rest of the day wondering around to other Wats. Here is a picture of the largest reclining Buddha in the world. He was currently under restoration and so there is scaffolding all around. Notice the tips of his toes are the closest part of the picture and his head is at the far end. This is one large indoor reclining Buddha!

The next day was spent shopping for some cheap goods in Bangkok and enjoying the sights and smells of the city (not all of the aromas are enjoyable). The highlight of the day ended in taking in a Thai boxing match. It was fairly brutal as punching is considered the weakest sort of assault and elbows and knees to the face and other body parts are preferred. Two guys took some awful cracks to the head and were knocked unconscious. The crowd was wild and fans were yelling and betting in the stands. We think that the betting must be illegal as when Wade enquired to bet, we were frowned upon and told that there was no where to bet.

Next stop Chiang Mai!