The MAC power supply blew so we had to take it to the one Apple designated store in the City. The power supply was under warranty so once we got through the whole process of explaining what happened, explaining that it was under warranty they did all the paperwork and told us it would be 7 – 10 business days. Well we couldn’t be without the MAC for that long so we ended up buying a second power supply. It was only 45 amps not the 65 that the 17 inch needs to support it. But Jeff would be able to work.
Got my hair washed and dried for a whole 50 baht again. Can’t beat that price. Had breakfast at No Name Café because Triple FFF is closed on Monday’s. Baked beans here are huge, they’re twice the size of the ones in Ireland or the US. While we ate breakfast a child of the house was watching the Cartoon Network. It was odd to hear Tom and Jerry and Scobbie Doo speaking in Thai.
That evening we had dinner at the Chiang Mai Garden Restaurant. It’s very close to the red light area where girls hang out in bars waiting to lure customers in to have a drink and share ‘talk’ with them. But the restaurant itself is very quiet. Jeff says that it provides the food to several other tiny restaurants around the area. I can well believe it. The food is really good and the serving staff were pleasant. Even the cook wore a hair net, which I’d never seen in Thailand before.
My leg and ankle didn’t fare so well it's looking very swollen and very badly bruised today.
Amazing to me is how orchids grow wild everywhere. Hanging on outside on trees, inside in restaurants, along the side walks in pots. The weather of course iS perfect for them. This afternoon we had a thunderstorm and torrential rain.
We ended up at The Zest Bakery and restaurant for a beer. It has good wooden furniture, making it a little elegant, but it was quiet this evening. We had 2 Mai Tai which cost 240 baht.
Monday, August 30, 2004
Saturday, August 28, 2004
Border run to Laos
Back in the real world of Chiang Mai after the Hilltribe Games Event, we had breakfast at the Triple FFF cafe, checked email and headed over to a travel agency to setup our trip to Laos in order to renew our Thai visa.
The lady at the travel agency was so happy and upbeat and pregnant. She didn’t come across as a tout trying to sell us something. she gave us the options and costs and let us make our decision. After we had booked a round trip to Luang Prabang for 5 days she sat and chatted with us about various things. I think she loved company and people. I was pleasantly surprised at the ease of dealing with booking tickets with her.
After visiting the night markets we headed back to The Rose to meet Leon. His life is such a difficult passage yet his spirit keeps fighting on and going forward. He’s off to South Africa to interview Nelson Mandela in February 2005. Also met Oliver at The Rose who is a Brit teaching English as a Foreign Language. He had been in China for a number of years teaching, but now was headed to Laos. But he’s waiting for some money from his brother so he can pay up his dues in Chiang Mai and have the fare to Laos.
On the way back to the Safe House Guest House after The Rose we saw a Farang guy trying to get into a Tuk Tuk with his suit case while being pulled at by a Thai lady who was screaming something at him. He kept trying to tell the Tuk Tuk driver to go to the Airport, but the poor Tuk Tuk driver was caught between the money from the Farang and whatever the Thai lady was screaming.
The lady at the travel agency was so happy and upbeat and pregnant. She didn’t come across as a tout trying to sell us something. she gave us the options and costs and let us make our decision. After we had booked a round trip to Luang Prabang for 5 days she sat and chatted with us about various things. I think she loved company and people. I was pleasantly surprised at the ease of dealing with booking tickets with her.
After visiting the night markets we headed back to The Rose to meet Leon. His life is such a difficult passage yet his spirit keeps fighting on and going forward. He’s off to South Africa to interview Nelson Mandela in February 2005. Also met Oliver at The Rose who is a Brit teaching English as a Foreign Language. He had been in China for a number of years teaching, but now was headed to Laos. But he’s waiting for some money from his brother so he can pay up his dues in Chiang Mai and have the fare to Laos.
On the way back to the Safe House Guest House after The Rose we saw a Farang guy trying to get into a Tuk Tuk with his suit case while being pulled at by a Thai lady who was screaming something at him. He kept trying to tell the Tuk Tuk driver to go to the Airport, but the poor Tuk Tuk driver was caught between the money from the Farang and whatever the Thai lady was screaming.
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Getting to know Chiang Mai and going to the Hilltribes 3 day Games Day Event
The first day walking around Chiang Mai looking for new accommodation we passed The Rose Guest House, the owner of which was outside promoting a 2 night 3 day trip to a village up north, close to the Burma border, called Nongook. There the annual hilltribes Games event was special this year, 9 tribes would attend. Normally there are far fewer tribes represented.
The owner, Darren, is married to a Thai Loir tribeswoman. She was representing her village in the games and would be wearing traditional costume and taking part in the event throughout the day.
Darren and his wife, Sin, have a gorgeous daughter Choi, who’s about 5 years old and most engaging. They have a compound in the village which houses their own more contemporary house and 4 traditional bamboo huts on their land. This is where we would stay.
The group only consisted of myself and a Dutch gentleman, Leon Noordermeer. Who it turned out has had quite a difficult, fascinating and eventful life. We shared many stories in the evenings after our days activities and I became very fond of him. An older gentleman, he’s an international journalist and photographer. But more about Leon later.
On the way up we stopped outside the elephant training camp and had a chance to snap a few photos of elephants grazing in the hillsides, but also tethered with a long chain.
We wound our way past the town of Chang Doa, outside of which stopped to visit the Chang Doa caves. The caves are electrically lit, but power was out so we saw them through the oldfashioned light of a kerosene lamp. I think it was more lovely than seeing them by electric light as we would have been seeming them just as the ancient monks would have.
Travelling on up to the compound in the Nongook village, we settled into our respective huts and changed for dinner on the terrace. I say terrace, but the family’s house is in the process of being built, so it’s a rather grandeous name for the porch right now. However we had a marvelous time eating a traditional Thai cooked dinner and downing some beers, whiskey and sake that we’d found when we stopped at a tiny little roadside store on the way up.
My hut was the first one in the row
The next morning we woke up early, had breakfast, and went for a walk in the hills around the village with Darren. The scenery is breathtaking as it surrounds the village. The village itself is full of families that are related and have lived in the community for generations. Though modern amenities such as electricity and running water are available, they are intermittent. The roads are really laneways which become very difficult to drive through without a 4 wheel drive at a minimum, especially during the rainy season. On the road to the village we traveled through water logged and potholed dirt tracks, keeping the windows closed so that the branches for the trees and hedgerows wouldn’t hit us.
Walking through the fields made me feel a little like being back in Wexford, Ireland. Another place where I spent a lot of time exploring the fields and surrounding countryside when vacationing there with my family every year.
But the most astounding thing was to be able to see the tiled red roof of the Burmese army watching the border between Thailand and Burma. So close yet so far. Though Thai people might make it through the valley and over the hillside to the Burmese side, Farang would be very foolish to attempt to cross at a non-approved crossing.
Burmese border
After returning to the compound for breakfast we took off in Darren’s 4 wheel drive truck for the Games. As a bit of background Darren told us that Thai people don’t actually own their land, the King does. The King has given the care of the land over to the Army, who in turn give out the parcels of land to the people who farm and take care of it. The Army setup the Annual Games event so that the tribes scattered throughout the hills farming the land, can come together as a community.
Singing and dancing up a storm on behalf of their tribe
The atmosphere was happy and excited. You could see the preparations still going within each of the tribes canopied areas. They had already begun what would turn out to be a day of singing and dancing their hearts out to show each other how well they could do it. Literally all day long the tribes kept singing and dancing with small breaks here and there. And a longer one for lunch.
Their costumes are magnificent. Each tribe has their own variation on costumes. I don’t know the reasons why each specifically have been made in a particular way, but I’m guessing certain adornments or ways of wearing or folding clothing has significance to each tribe. Sin, our hostess, being from the Loir tribe had a long lunghi type skirt with a jacket over it that was covered in silver button-like dots. Some quite large. In bright red with the silver dots she sparkled in the sun.
The field that had been turned into a Games arena was surrounded by some of the Burmese owned mountains in the distance. These are the very beginnings of the foothills of the Himalayas.
A beautiful head dress
All day long the games continued. Most of the games used everyday objects or implements in their races. Every member of the tribe that had been selected to take part in the games took part in events throughout the day. It didn’t matter how young, how old, whether male or female. They just put their hearts into whatever event they were in and thoroughly enjoyed it. You could see the pride and enjoyment on their faces in every single game.
Some games I saw were rice thrashing and sifting, a race to see who could trash and sift rice the quickest. A basket weaving competition, racing to bundle logs up, tied by hand with straw and run to the other end of the short track. Weaving of bamboo into mats. Several relay races were hilarious. One was with the huge round flat straw rice sifters on people’s heads. Another was with baskets full of pumpkins where the strap of the basket is around the forehead. Believe it or not, one relay race was with bamboo stilts. Each person got up on their stilts raced around the short track and handed them onto the next person. As young and old took part there were some very entertaining and hilarious moments.
Running the rice-basket-on-the-head race
Other races were running the track while pushing a rubber wheel with a stick. Another race had team members with pieces of bamboo that had been made into a very large mug, being used to scoop water out of large barrels at one end of the track and racing with it to the other end to fill the Team’s tub. The team buckets that were to be filled were huge, it took a long time to fill them to win. The joy and enthusiasm on the faces of the runners was catching, the crowd clapped and cheered them on. Their enormous efforts to win showed in red faces and runners out of breath, but they kept going.
Towards the end of the day the wooden spinning top event started. In this men twirl twine around a wooden spinning top. They hurl the spinning top at the ground while pulling the twine which sets it off spinning at a ripping pace. A second man hurls his spinning top at the first with the goal of knocking it out of the spinning area. When one top successfully knocks another out of the ring you have to duck as the speed with which it hurtles out is dangerous. I know, I got hit by one of the spinning tops on the shin of my leg. So badly that a couple of weeks later it still was not healed, had a huge bump and I ended up taking myself to the hospital. It had become infected and the doctor had to open the wound and clean it out. Painful. I heard some children got accidentally hit by some of the spinning tops that day. It’s very dangerous and with their small size I’m sure it could easily kill them if hit on the head.
Spinning Tops Competition
Food at lunch time was 10 baht a plate. The feeling of community spirit was just unbelievable. Children were everywhere and they looked at myself and Leon with great curiosity. We were the only 2 Farang there besides Darren, who they knew. I think it’s the fair skin, blue eyes and freckles that they find so curious. Even children are a community effort. Adults will take care of whatever child is in their vicinity, not just their own. Children are used to that and easily allow themselves to be taken care of by adults around them.
After the games we headed back to the compound. Dinner was going to be a while so Sinm went to talk with the village ladies in the lane and I went along. It was great just sitting on the tiniest of stools in the middle of the dirt track listening to the local women talk. Not that I understood a word of their Thai, but it didn’t matter. The evening drew to a close and when it was quite dark we headed back to the compound and ate dinner. Sin’s brother had made a traditional Lanna soup dish with pork. The herbs had been gathered fresh from the fields and it was spicy and delicious.
We sat and talked after dinner as another gorgeous sunset was replaced by 3/4-full moon light that highlighted clouds that looked like little ripples in the sky.
The next morning we took off early for the Chinese village where the local market was getting under way. Here was a real market, not one specifically geared towards Farang tourists. Again we were an item of curiosity because we were the only Farang there.
As we headed back to Chiang Mai we passed the villages of the Lisu, the Moussa (carpenters) and Lahoo. Along the road we picked up some Lycee and Rambuttan fruit.
I arrived back at The Rose Guest House wounded, bruised, disheveled and thoroughly happy. Jeff was there to meet me, I was very happy.
The owner, Darren, is married to a Thai Loir tribeswoman. She was representing her village in the games and would be wearing traditional costume and taking part in the event throughout the day.
Darren and his wife, Sin, have a gorgeous daughter Choi, who’s about 5 years old and most engaging. They have a compound in the village which houses their own more contemporary house and 4 traditional bamboo huts on their land. This is where we would stay.
The group only consisted of myself and a Dutch gentleman, Leon Noordermeer. Who it turned out has had quite a difficult, fascinating and eventful life. We shared many stories in the evenings after our days activities and I became very fond of him. An older gentleman, he’s an international journalist and photographer. But more about Leon later.
On the way up we stopped outside the elephant training camp and had a chance to snap a few photos of elephants grazing in the hillsides, but also tethered with a long chain.
We wound our way past the town of Chang Doa, outside of which stopped to visit the Chang Doa caves. The caves are electrically lit, but power was out so we saw them through the oldfashioned light of a kerosene lamp. I think it was more lovely than seeing them by electric light as we would have been seeming them just as the ancient monks would have.
Travelling on up to the compound in the Nongook village, we settled into our respective huts and changed for dinner on the terrace. I say terrace, but the family’s house is in the process of being built, so it’s a rather grandeous name for the porch right now. However we had a marvelous time eating a traditional Thai cooked dinner and downing some beers, whiskey and sake that we’d found when we stopped at a tiny little roadside store on the way up.
My hut was the first one in the row
The next morning we woke up early, had breakfast, and went for a walk in the hills around the village with Darren. The scenery is breathtaking as it surrounds the village. The village itself is full of families that are related and have lived in the community for generations. Though modern amenities such as electricity and running water are available, they are intermittent. The roads are really laneways which become very difficult to drive through without a 4 wheel drive at a minimum, especially during the rainy season. On the road to the village we traveled through water logged and potholed dirt tracks, keeping the windows closed so that the branches for the trees and hedgerows wouldn’t hit us.
Walking through the fields made me feel a little like being back in Wexford, Ireland. Another place where I spent a lot of time exploring the fields and surrounding countryside when vacationing there with my family every year.
But the most astounding thing was to be able to see the tiled red roof of the Burmese army watching the border between Thailand and Burma. So close yet so far. Though Thai people might make it through the valley and over the hillside to the Burmese side, Farang would be very foolish to attempt to cross at a non-approved crossing.
Burmese border
After returning to the compound for breakfast we took off in Darren’s 4 wheel drive truck for the Games. As a bit of background Darren told us that Thai people don’t actually own their land, the King does. The King has given the care of the land over to the Army, who in turn give out the parcels of land to the people who farm and take care of it. The Army setup the Annual Games event so that the tribes scattered throughout the hills farming the land, can come together as a community.
Singing and dancing up a storm on behalf of their tribe
The atmosphere was happy and excited. You could see the preparations still going within each of the tribes canopied areas. They had already begun what would turn out to be a day of singing and dancing their hearts out to show each other how well they could do it. Literally all day long the tribes kept singing and dancing with small breaks here and there. And a longer one for lunch.
Their costumes are magnificent. Each tribe has their own variation on costumes. I don’t know the reasons why each specifically have been made in a particular way, but I’m guessing certain adornments or ways of wearing or folding clothing has significance to each tribe. Sin, our hostess, being from the Loir tribe had a long lunghi type skirt with a jacket over it that was covered in silver button-like dots. Some quite large. In bright red with the silver dots she sparkled in the sun.
The field that had been turned into a Games arena was surrounded by some of the Burmese owned mountains in the distance. These are the very beginnings of the foothills of the Himalayas.
A beautiful head dress
All day long the games continued. Most of the games used everyday objects or implements in their races. Every member of the tribe that had been selected to take part in the games took part in events throughout the day. It didn’t matter how young, how old, whether male or female. They just put their hearts into whatever event they were in and thoroughly enjoyed it. You could see the pride and enjoyment on their faces in every single game.
Some games I saw were rice thrashing and sifting, a race to see who could trash and sift rice the quickest. A basket weaving competition, racing to bundle logs up, tied by hand with straw and run to the other end of the short track. Weaving of bamboo into mats. Several relay races were hilarious. One was with the huge round flat straw rice sifters on people’s heads. Another was with baskets full of pumpkins where the strap of the basket is around the forehead. Believe it or not, one relay race was with bamboo stilts. Each person got up on their stilts raced around the short track and handed them onto the next person. As young and old took part there were some very entertaining and hilarious moments.
Running the rice-basket-on-the-head race
Other races were running the track while pushing a rubber wheel with a stick. Another race had team members with pieces of bamboo that had been made into a very large mug, being used to scoop water out of large barrels at one end of the track and racing with it to the other end to fill the Team’s tub. The team buckets that were to be filled were huge, it took a long time to fill them to win. The joy and enthusiasm on the faces of the runners was catching, the crowd clapped and cheered them on. Their enormous efforts to win showed in red faces and runners out of breath, but they kept going.
Towards the end of the day the wooden spinning top event started. In this men twirl twine around a wooden spinning top. They hurl the spinning top at the ground while pulling the twine which sets it off spinning at a ripping pace. A second man hurls his spinning top at the first with the goal of knocking it out of the spinning area. When one top successfully knocks another out of the ring you have to duck as the speed with which it hurtles out is dangerous. I know, I got hit by one of the spinning tops on the shin of my leg. So badly that a couple of weeks later it still was not healed, had a huge bump and I ended up taking myself to the hospital. It had become infected and the doctor had to open the wound and clean it out. Painful. I heard some children got accidentally hit by some of the spinning tops that day. It’s very dangerous and with their small size I’m sure it could easily kill them if hit on the head.
Spinning Tops Competition
Food at lunch time was 10 baht a plate. The feeling of community spirit was just unbelievable. Children were everywhere and they looked at myself and Leon with great curiosity. We were the only 2 Farang there besides Darren, who they knew. I think it’s the fair skin, blue eyes and freckles that they find so curious. Even children are a community effort. Adults will take care of whatever child is in their vicinity, not just their own. Children are used to that and easily allow themselves to be taken care of by adults around them.
After the games we headed back to the compound. Dinner was going to be a while so Sinm went to talk with the village ladies in the lane and I went along. It was great just sitting on the tiniest of stools in the middle of the dirt track listening to the local women talk. Not that I understood a word of their Thai, but it didn’t matter. The evening drew to a close and when it was quite dark we headed back to the compound and ate dinner. Sin’s brother had made a traditional Lanna soup dish with pork. The herbs had been gathered fresh from the fields and it was spicy and delicious.
We sat and talked after dinner as another gorgeous sunset was replaced by 3/4-full moon light that highlighted clouds that looked like little ripples in the sky.
The next morning we took off early for the Chinese village where the local market was getting under way. Here was a real market, not one specifically geared towards Farang tourists. Again we were an item of curiosity because we were the only Farang there.
As we headed back to Chiang Mai we passed the villages of the Lisu, the Moussa (carpenters) and Lahoo. Along the road we picked up some Lycee and Rambuttan fruit.
I arrived back at The Rose Guest House wounded, bruised, disheveled and thoroughly happy. Jeff was there to meet me, I was very happy.
First Day in Chiang Mai
The Banana Guest House was a disappointment so we headed out to find another Guest House to switch to. We found the Safe House Guest House which is a lot nicer, has air-con, hot shower and basic furniture so Jeff could work. It’s also 300 baht a night, which is about $9. It also had towels which the Banana Guest House did not, plus it felt a little more secure and private. It has a nice courtyard with a water feature and a lovely lady in Reception. Her name is Nong, I think.
We headed out for a Thai massage. The Parppa Massage house was where we got a massage and it was excellent.
For dinner we went to the No Name Café, a nice bar and restaurant. I was hungry and ate all I could, but still had some left on my plate. The lady manager of the place asked me if the food was ok. I think they thought I didn’t like it, but it was fine.
We headed out for a Thai massage. The Parppa Massage house was where we got a massage and it was excellent.
For dinner we went to the No Name Café, a nice bar and restaurant. I was hungry and ate all I could, but still had some left on my plate. The lady manager of the place asked me if the food was ok. I think they thought I didn’t like it, but it was fine.
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Overnight Train to Chiang Mai
We got a taxi to the train station, Huala Lamphong and easily found our platform. We waited a little while before they began boarding the train. As we boarded our 1st class sleeper, the Captain of the train was giving a pep talk to the train staff. They were all lined up in front of the carriage listening intently to what he had to say.
On board the cabin was tiny. It was a 2 person cabin, with barely enough space to sit the backpacks on the floor. It had a tiny little fold up eating table. Shortly after we had settled in the Food and Beverage lady arrived to get our dinner and breakfast order. Followed shortly thereafter by the Conductor who gave us our pillows and bedding. He would come back later to make up the beds. He did. He came back about 45 minutes later ready to make them up but it was only about 8:00pm. So we agreed he could come back at 10:00pm to make them up for us.
The beds are bunk beds, the top one folding out for sleeping on. I’d never been in a sleeper cabin, nor on the top of a bunk before. Unfortunately I didn’t sleep very well. It was very cold so I had to put on long pants and my fuzzy sweater to keep warm. I thought the clickety clack of the train would rock me off to sleep but it didn’t. I slept fitfully throughout the night.
When we got to Chiang Mai the next morning the usual number of touts were waiting outside. We took a moment to get a cup of coffee at a little café across the street from the station and orient ourselves on a map to where we were and where we needed to go. The tout who had been badgering us about getting a taxi somewhere also sat down at a table and had breakfast. Once we figured out where we were, the tout was ready for us, and we needed him so we got in and headed off for the Banana Guest House. It had been recommended in Lonely Planet, not that that’s always a good thing. In this case we wouldn’t find out what the room was like until checkin time at mid-day, so we sat in their restaurant and had breakfast. Which was standard food.
The accommodations turned out to be less than stellar, though cheap. It really stank, so we decided to look for another guest house the following day.
On board the cabin was tiny. It was a 2 person cabin, with barely enough space to sit the backpacks on the floor. It had a tiny little fold up eating table. Shortly after we had settled in the Food and Beverage lady arrived to get our dinner and breakfast order. Followed shortly thereafter by the Conductor who gave us our pillows and bedding. He would come back later to make up the beds. He did. He came back about 45 minutes later ready to make them up but it was only about 8:00pm. So we agreed he could come back at 10:00pm to make them up for us.
The beds are bunk beds, the top one folding out for sleeping on. I’d never been in a sleeper cabin, nor on the top of a bunk before. Unfortunately I didn’t sleep very well. It was very cold so I had to put on long pants and my fuzzy sweater to keep warm. I thought the clickety clack of the train would rock me off to sleep but it didn’t. I slept fitfully throughout the night.
When we got to Chiang Mai the next morning the usual number of touts were waiting outside. We took a moment to get a cup of coffee at a little café across the street from the station and orient ourselves on a map to where we were and where we needed to go. The tout who had been badgering us about getting a taxi somewhere also sat down at a table and had breakfast. Once we figured out where we were, the tout was ready for us, and we needed him so we got in and headed off for the Banana Guest House. It had been recommended in Lonely Planet, not that that’s always a good thing. In this case we wouldn’t find out what the room was like until checkin time at mid-day, so we sat in their restaurant and had breakfast. Which was standard food.
The accommodations turned out to be less than stellar, though cheap. It really stank, so we decided to look for another guest house the following day.
Monday, August 23, 2004
Dreadloks
Breakfast at Ricky’s one last time before packing for the train trip tomorrow. We wanted to travel light so bought one of the large striped bags to offload things we thought we could live without into. It was one full bag when we were done, but our backpacks were much lighter.
That evening we had dinner at MyHouse and watched the movie Elf. It was surprisingly ok. Or maybe we’re just so too relaxed to worry too much about the quality of the movies they show at Guest Houses.
Two guys with what looked like a brand new set of dreads were staying at this Guest House. Their dreads looked all wrong. For a start they were both pasty white, not even a hint of a bit of color and the dreads themselves had been done in a weird way. They were not like the normal thick pile of dreads, they were small and sparse, sticking up on their heads like antennas. It looked very common.
That evening we had dinner at MyHouse and watched the movie Elf. It was surprisingly ok. Or maybe we’re just so too relaxed to worry too much about the quality of the movies they show at Guest Houses.
Two guys with what looked like a brand new set of dreads were staying at this Guest House. Their dreads looked all wrong. For a start they were both pasty white, not even a hint of a bit of color and the dreads themselves had been done in a weird way. They were not like the normal thick pile of dreads, they were small and sparse, sticking up on their heads like antennas. It looked very common.
Friday, August 20, 2004
Calypso Cabaret and Jim Thompson House
I had to get my hair cut. It’s been driving me nuts for weeks. You know when you get to the point that you ‘can’t do a thing with it’? I’d been there for a while.
After breakfast I took a cab over to Siam Square with Jeff. He went to ‘the office’. Searching around Siam Square I was looking for a hairdressers who looked a little Westernized. I figured that was my best bet for success without something disastrous happening. Jeff had mentioned he had been to before. He couldn’t remember the name but it was on a corner and had glass and chrome. I found one that was glass and chrome and went in.
The entire process took about 2 hours and cost 1500 baht, about $37. In the US I used to pay way more than that. $37 I can live with, especially since they did an ok job, were very pleasant and fed me lots of water and tea and I came out feeling and looking a lot better.
After that I headed off to visit Jim Thompson’s House. Jim Thompson is credited with opening up the Thai silk trade with the rest of the world. He’s also famous for the traditional Thai house, or houses, he had brought from all over Thailand and setup in Bangkok. There are 5 different houses all set in a traditional Thai manner and serviced by a traditional Thai boat house to the side of the property.
The main house where Jim Thompson lived is very lovely and you can see that he cared deeply about Thai culture and Thailand. I found it interesting and loved the ceramics, furniture and tapestries he had decorated it with, but it’s also extremely commercial and I wouldn’t revisit it.
I headed back to meet Jeff at ‘the office’ and then we went over to MBK to the Food Hall for dinner. The Food hall works on a coupon basis, none of the counters serving food takes money so you have to go to the Coupon booth and buy coupons for the amount you think you’ll need. You hand the coupons to the server when you get your food and if you have Coupons left over you go to the coupon Refund counter.
As we had time to kill before going to the Asia Hotel where the Calypso Cabaret is playing we stopped off in a little bar called Heaven Restaurant and Bar. We had tried to stop in another bar just before it but some weird guy sidled up to Jeff and whispered in his ear that bear wsas $100 baht then ran off down an alleyway. Jeff found out that the bar actually was out of beer. Weird.
On the way I stopped to take some pictures of the spirit house in front of the MBK center when another pair of tourists asked us to take their pictures. We happily did that, and found out that he was from Glasnevin in Dublin and they were on day 2 of their vacation. Their white skins had already told me that :-)
Once there the waitress had little or no English, which is a little unusual. But we managed to order drinks, Singha beer for Jeff and Sangsom for me. She brought the drinks on a tray with an ice-bucket full of ice and proceeded to put ice in our glasses and pour our drinks for us. She added so much soda to the Sangsom I couldn’t taste it. When our glasses were nearing empty she filled them again for us. She sat at the table behind us watching until she saw we needed a refill and immediately got up to top up our glasses. Talk about service. This was unexpected and a little disconcerting.
We were paying our bill and getting ready to head out to the Calypso Cabaret when I spotted an elephant walking down the opposite side of the street with it’s mahout trainer. Finally, I had really landed in Bangkok. Until you’ve seen an elephant in the streets of Bangkok you’ve not seen Thailand. But behind the sight of an elephant in the streets is an unnatural and very hard life for both the elephant and the mahout. They’re not supposed to roam the streets of Bangkok, but they don’t have many alternatives in some cases. Roaming the streets and allowing tourists to pay to feed them is their only line of business and survival.
We wern’t sure how far the Asia Hotel was from the bar we just left so we caught a cab and it turned out that it was only about 5 blocks away. The lobby of the hotel was full of tourists waiting to go in. A lot were Japanese and European. Inside the theater the seating area was in a semi-circule around the stage. We were place to the right and about 2/3rds of the way back from the stage, which was just about perfect. Not too close, not too far. The show itself is inexplicable. It rivals the Beach Blanket Babylon cabaret in San Francisco, but it’s completely different.
I still can’t believe how beautiful the boys looked. If I had seen the cabaret in Las Vegas I would have thought they were girls for the most part. One or two of course were too tall or gangly in their movements, but overall it was near to impossible to tell from our seat. Up close may have been a different matter as I’m sure the stage make up and lights and our seating made a bit difference to how well they looked.
There were spectactular short scenes about Hawaii, Las Vegas Show Girls, Egypt. There was a Thai play about love and loss, explored through scenes that showed a marriage of a playboy and a good Thai girl, The good Thai girl wasn’t enough for him, so he took to show girls. Yet the good Thai girl underneath had a bad girl waiting. At one point taking off the white wedding dress of the good Thai girl, she appeared as a gorgeous woman of the night, fighting off the other night ladies her husband preferred. In the end it appeared that it was perhaps just a dream as she redonned her white wedding dress, the good Thai girl look.
Thursday, August 19, 2004
FTP and English Sub-titles
I got a few chores taken care of then in the evening Jeff and I went to My House for dinner, internet and a movie. Having worked through uploading Jeff’s files via FTP onto the US site, we sat down to dinner and watched 2 movies. The first was Riddick and I’ve forgotten the name of the second one.
It’s funny watching English movies at My House as the language is English yet they are still sub-titled in English. Just as well on occasion as the place can get a little noisy. The funniest part of all is how the English spoken on screen is interpreted in the sub-titles. It’s obviously a non native English speaker translating exactly what they think they hear. In one scene an actor says “Throw on a fresh pair of pants” which gets interpreted in the sub titles as “Throw on pain”. Or “They’re searching houses” as “They are such a nausea”.
It’s funny watching English movies at My House as the language is English yet they are still sub-titled in English. Just as well on occasion as the place can get a little noisy. The funniest part of all is how the English spoken on screen is interpreted in the sub-titles. It’s obviously a non native English speaker translating exactly what they think they hear. In one scene an actor says “Throw on a fresh pair of pants” which gets interpreted in the sub titles as “Throw on pain”. Or “They’re searching houses” as “They are such a nausea”.
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Oriental Area tour
We had breakfast at My House. Boy is the coffee strong there, and not really very good. I much prefer Ricky’s. But My House has convenient Internet access and the food is good. I was going to take a lazy day, but figured I should do some small bit of walking so I headed for the pier and took a boat to the Oriental Hotel area.
I’d read that it was the upscale tourist area, and it is. You can tell because they have stores instead of the usual street vendors and the store fronts are very sophisticated and well maintained.
First I headed for the muslim area to find the Haroon mosque. As I walked into the alleyway that marked the boundary of the muslim area I realized I was way underdressed. I hadn’t anticipated that it would be even more clothes conscious than visiting the Wats. How silly, of course they cover up even more than the Thai people do when going to the temples and here was I dressed in my short shorts and little T-shirt. Oops. I walked a little way into the alley but passing the muslim women dressed from top to bottom with their long dresses and heads covered with scarves I felt too uncomfortable so backed out without seeing the mosque.
Back on the street the stores I passed clearly were aimed at the wealthy. After a while I got fed up of the sameness of it all, and my feet were hurting with the new flip flops I was wearing so I headed home.
I’d read that it was the upscale tourist area, and it is. You can tell because they have stores instead of the usual street vendors and the store fronts are very sophisticated and well maintained.
First I headed for the muslim area to find the Haroon mosque. As I walked into the alleyway that marked the boundary of the muslim area I realized I was way underdressed. I hadn’t anticipated that it would be even more clothes conscious than visiting the Wats. How silly, of course they cover up even more than the Thai people do when going to the temples and here was I dressed in my short shorts and little T-shirt. Oops. I walked a little way into the alley but passing the muslim women dressed from top to bottom with their long dresses and heads covered with scarves I felt too uncomfortable so backed out without seeing the mosque.
Back on the street the stores I passed clearly were aimed at the wealthy. After a while I got fed up of the sameness of it all, and my feet were hurting with the new flip flops I was wearing so I headed home.
Blowing Money on a Movie
I’d heard from Jeff that the Discovery Center had a great movie theatre called the Gold Class Movie theater where you sat in huge wide chairs and are treated like a VIP. They have a special VIP window for booking your tickets, and at 1000 baht ($25) considered extremely expensive.
We ate at the Zen Japanese sushi restaurant beforehand, costing us yet another arm and a leg at close to $50. This was one huge expensive evening we were treating ourselves to.
The Gold Class Movie Theatre entrance is a roped walkway. The rope is all red and the posts are gold. At the door was an old fashioned formally dressed doorman, not the usual casual ticket taker. He graciously took our tickets and lead us into the foyer. Here we had complimentary sodas or water. We ordered beer and a glass of wine which we would have delivered to our seats in the theatre when we were ready to go in.
Entering the theatre I couldn’t believe it. The entire place is red. The walls are hung with red curtains. The screen curtains were red velvet. But best of all the seats were huge red leather lazy boys, with automatic controls to raise and lower the foot rest and back of the chair. Sitting on these enormous red leather seats was a pillow and blanket and a set of socks just in case your feet got cold. As we settled in, wrapping the blankets around us and easing back into the chairs, the waiter appeared with our drinks which he set on a little drinks table sitting at the end of the chairs’ arm between us. Oh boy what utter luxury. We stood for the National Anthem before the movie started.
Not only did we relish the theater and our seats but the movie was pretty good too.
Back at the Ranch of our Wild Orchid Inn hotel we lingered over a couple of glasses of Sangsom and soda. A perfect closing to the evening.
We ate at the Zen Japanese sushi restaurant beforehand, costing us yet another arm and a leg at close to $50. This was one huge expensive evening we were treating ourselves to.
The Gold Class Movie Theatre entrance is a roped walkway. The rope is all red and the posts are gold. At the door was an old fashioned formally dressed doorman, not the usual casual ticket taker. He graciously took our tickets and lead us into the foyer. Here we had complimentary sodas or water. We ordered beer and a glass of wine which we would have delivered to our seats in the theatre when we were ready to go in.
Entering the theatre I couldn’t believe it. The entire place is red. The walls are hung with red curtains. The screen curtains were red velvet. But best of all the seats were huge red leather lazy boys, with automatic controls to raise and lower the foot rest and back of the chair. Sitting on these enormous red leather seats was a pillow and blanket and a set of socks just in case your feet got cold. As we settled in, wrapping the blankets around us and easing back into the chairs, the waiter appeared with our drinks which he set on a little drinks table sitting at the end of the chairs’ arm between us. Oh boy what utter luxury. We stood for the National Anthem before the movie started.
Not only did we relish the theater and our seats but the movie was pretty good too.
Back at the Ranch of our Wild Orchid Inn hotel we lingered over a couple of glasses of Sangsom and soda. A perfect closing to the evening.
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Ladyboys at Pad Pang
I took care of small chores like emailing and mailing stuff to family and friends. Even got a manicure and pedicure for the grand total of 200 baht ($5.00). It would have cost me about way more in the States.
I had lunch at My House Guest House and watched the road being repaved. It’s amazing how it gets done as the workers have no modern tools, they use picks, shovels, spades and if they’re lucky cement mixers, otherwise they mix cement by hand. Both men and women work at the repaving. It’s hot, heavy, noisy and dusty work. Yet most of them wear long pants, long-sleeved shirts, scarves around their heads topped with hats and gloves. With the heat and humidity of the day I imagine it must be very hot and sweltering work.
Yet it’s amazing to see how quickly they move through an area, digging out the old and repaving with the bright new terracotta colored tiles.
That evening Jeff and I headed out to the Phad Pong Red Light district and Gay area. First we stopped off in O’Reilly’s pub for a burger and fries for Jeff. It was way expensive but a taste of Western food on occasion is pretty nice.
Afterwards we found one of the best streets for bars serving food and drink. Of course it’s the Gay street. As we entered it began to drizzle rain so we ducked into The Balcony bar for a drink. Just as well once we sat down the real thunderstorm and torrential rain began. It was a great place to sit and wait it out. The waiters all had red T-shirts on for happy hour and in soliciting customers off the street used enormous umbrellas to escort them. Each bar boy one had his/her nickname on the T-shirt. Nicknames tend to be Western. Anyone of them could have been either a girl or a boy. They all definitely had the air of ladyboys about them.
Once it stopped raining we continued through the night markets looking for one of the ladyboy clubs. Castle King III was specifically ladyboys, stopping in for one drink, I felt very awkward as a white Caucasian woman. Most of the clientele were Japanese businessmen, each having 2 or 3 ladyboys hanging onto their arm.
It was getting late so after the Ladyboy club we took a taxi back to the hotel.
I had lunch at My House Guest House and watched the road being repaved. It’s amazing how it gets done as the workers have no modern tools, they use picks, shovels, spades and if they’re lucky cement mixers, otherwise they mix cement by hand. Both men and women work at the repaving. It’s hot, heavy, noisy and dusty work. Yet most of them wear long pants, long-sleeved shirts, scarves around their heads topped with hats and gloves. With the heat and humidity of the day I imagine it must be very hot and sweltering work.
Yet it’s amazing to see how quickly they move through an area, digging out the old and repaving with the bright new terracotta colored tiles.
That evening Jeff and I headed out to the Phad Pong Red Light district and Gay area. First we stopped off in O’Reilly’s pub for a burger and fries for Jeff. It was way expensive but a taste of Western food on occasion is pretty nice.
Afterwards we found one of the best streets for bars serving food and drink. Of course it’s the Gay street. As we entered it began to drizzle rain so we ducked into The Balcony bar for a drink. Just as well once we sat down the real thunderstorm and torrential rain began. It was a great place to sit and wait it out. The waiters all had red T-shirts on for happy hour and in soliciting customers off the street used enormous umbrellas to escort them. Each bar boy one had his/her nickname on the T-shirt. Nicknames tend to be Western. Anyone of them could have been either a girl or a boy. They all definitely had the air of ladyboys about them.
Once it stopped raining we continued through the night markets looking for one of the ladyboy clubs. Castle King III was specifically ladyboys, stopping in for one drink, I felt very awkward as a white Caucasian woman. Most of the clientele were Japanese businessmen, each having 2 or 3 ladyboys hanging onto their arm.
It was getting late so after the Ladyboy club we took a taxi back to the hotel.
Monday, August 16, 2004
A little downtime
I decided after walking 5 miles two days in a row, today is a downtime day. I hope to get a manicure and pedicure, get the mail ready to send to everyone. Plus catch up on blogging what I've done so far.
Chinatown
The fact that so many large Metropolitan cities have Chinatown districts shows how widespread the Chinese community is. San Francisco, Bangkok, New York.
Here Chinatown is huge, enormous, gargantuan. I hadn’t realized how much there was to it before I set out to walk through it. Overall I did 6 miles between leaving the Guest House and arriving back. And that was just walking, that doesn’t count the roundtrip from Phra Arthit pier to Memorial Bridge pier by river express. That adds another hour of standing.
From Memorial Bridge, I took a right heading in the direction of Tri Phet Road. Just at the corner of a circular which caught up back on Tri Phet Road, I came across Wat Ratchaburana (also previously known as Wat Ratchaworawiharn or Mea Wat Liab). It’s stupa and temple were originally built by a Merchant called Liab. It’s final rebuild in 1960 gave it the new name Wat Ratchaburana.
Passing the Wat and heading up Tri Phet Road there are so many vendors it’s unbelievable. The first area of vendors seems to sell beads, baubles ribbons and bows and a small number also sell high quality art supplies. I recognized many of the art supply brush and paint names as Western suppliers.
As I walked along there were of course food vendors everywhere. I though the Khaosan night market was a cramped sidewalk area until I started walking around Chinatown. At most, between the store fronts and the street vendors, there’s space for 1 person to walk by comfortably. Meet a stream of people going in both directions and it’s anybody’s guess how to get through them in one piece. On occasion I just stand back and wait for a break in the stream. Especially since I’m larger and carry a fairly hefty backpack.
Next hitting what looked like the motor bike and automobile repair area I figured there were enough vendors here doing mechanical work and repair work to fix every car or bike in the world. How do each of the little vendors make a living when each of their neighbors are offering pretty much the same service? Or maybe they are differentiating themselves per auto type and I just couldn’t tell as I can’t read Thai yet.
I turned onto Charoen Krung Road and began walking East along it. Again there were so many sights, smells and sensations it was a sensory overload. Along the way I happened upon the Guangdong Chinese Temple, an oasis of peace in the midst of madness. It was quiet and peaceful, hard to believe as it is right of a very noisy and bustling street. It’s a fairly typical Chinese temple, many of it’s objects covered in red or painted red, including the walls and columns of the temple itself. Most Chinese temples are really Chapels. A shrine is only a Temple when monks live on the premises, in most Chinese temples they do not, therefore they are Chapels.
As I was walkling out I stopped just before the exit gate, crowned with a pair of lively dragons, looking at my map to make sure I was still fairly on track for where I thought I was going. A small Chinese gentleman came over to offer assistance, but I let him know I was doing ok as far as knowing where I was.
We dropped into conversation about the difference between Chinese temples and Thai temples. I was very happy to listen. He explained he himself was a pharmacist, retired, having worked for Glaxo Smith Kline for 30 years. On retiring he became the pharmacist to the Temple. Apparently each Chinese temple is based around a community who set it up as a Society. The law says that because they set it up as a Society they have to provide hospital facilities on-site. He was the pharmacist for the little hospital attached to this particular temple.
He told me that there are many many such small temples around Chinatown, each owned by a different community of Chinese people. This one in particular was Cantonese, others are based around the regions the local community would be linked to in China.
He talked about his son who lived in Atlanta, Georgia. His son was back in Bangkok because of a medical problem. The little finger on one of his hands had something that was eating away at the muscles and bones. Not cancer, he had had all the test in the world for that. Even the Chinese doctors couldn’t cure him, they’d tried that. He was just hoping his son wouldn’t have to lose part of his hand to try and stop the spread of whatever it was he had.
As I thanked him and prepared to leave he said “some very bad people, bad people out there, be careful”. I was very touched to have met and had learnt so much from this gentleman.
I continued through Chinatown, on one occasion seeing what looked like an old His master’s Voice record player still in it’s plastic and with an old 78 on it’s turntable. I saw what looked like original/old GE kitchen appliances such as blenders and mixers. Jeff told me later that they were reproductions. Apparently someone had worked out that the tourists would love the older stuff and GE were reproducing the older style ones for this market. Oh well.
I also passed by a street ‘Beauty store’ where an elderly Chinese lady was having her face and eyebrows plucked by cotton thread. You’ve got to see it to believe it, but it seems to work.
On another street a policeman was taking a picture of an accident for evidence with his digital camera.
Further along a man with no legs and no wheelchair pulled himself along the sidewalk with his hands.
Taking two right turns took me onto Yaowaraj Road heading back West. I’m convinced you can find everything in the world in Chinatown if you just looked hard enough..
Finally I got back to Memorial Bridge pier and headed home.
Here Chinatown is huge, enormous, gargantuan. I hadn’t realized how much there was to it before I set out to walk through it. Overall I did 6 miles between leaving the Guest House and arriving back. And that was just walking, that doesn’t count the roundtrip from Phra Arthit pier to Memorial Bridge pier by river express. That adds another hour of standing.
From Memorial Bridge, I took a right heading in the direction of Tri Phet Road. Just at the corner of a circular which caught up back on Tri Phet Road, I came across Wat Ratchaburana (also previously known as Wat Ratchaworawiharn or Mea Wat Liab). It’s stupa and temple were originally built by a Merchant called Liab. It’s final rebuild in 1960 gave it the new name Wat Ratchaburana.
Passing the Wat and heading up Tri Phet Road there are so many vendors it’s unbelievable. The first area of vendors seems to sell beads, baubles ribbons and bows and a small number also sell high quality art supplies. I recognized many of the art supply brush and paint names as Western suppliers.
As I walked along there were of course food vendors everywhere. I though the Khaosan night market was a cramped sidewalk area until I started walking around Chinatown. At most, between the store fronts and the street vendors, there’s space for 1 person to walk by comfortably. Meet a stream of people going in both directions and it’s anybody’s guess how to get through them in one piece. On occasion I just stand back and wait for a break in the stream. Especially since I’m larger and carry a fairly hefty backpack.
Next hitting what looked like the motor bike and automobile repair area I figured there were enough vendors here doing mechanical work and repair work to fix every car or bike in the world. How do each of the little vendors make a living when each of their neighbors are offering pretty much the same service? Or maybe they are differentiating themselves per auto type and I just couldn’t tell as I can’t read Thai yet.
I turned onto Charoen Krung Road and began walking East along it. Again there were so many sights, smells and sensations it was a sensory overload. Along the way I happened upon the Guangdong Chinese Temple, an oasis of peace in the midst of madness. It was quiet and peaceful, hard to believe as it is right of a very noisy and bustling street. It’s a fairly typical Chinese temple, many of it’s objects covered in red or painted red, including the walls and columns of the temple itself. Most Chinese temples are really Chapels. A shrine is only a Temple when monks live on the premises, in most Chinese temples they do not, therefore they are Chapels.
As I was walkling out I stopped just before the exit gate, crowned with a pair of lively dragons, looking at my map to make sure I was still fairly on track for where I thought I was going. A small Chinese gentleman came over to offer assistance, but I let him know I was doing ok as far as knowing where I was.
We dropped into conversation about the difference between Chinese temples and Thai temples. I was very happy to listen. He explained he himself was a pharmacist, retired, having worked for Glaxo Smith Kline for 30 years. On retiring he became the pharmacist to the Temple. Apparently each Chinese temple is based around a community who set it up as a Society. The law says that because they set it up as a Society they have to provide hospital facilities on-site. He was the pharmacist for the little hospital attached to this particular temple.
He told me that there are many many such small temples around Chinatown, each owned by a different community of Chinese people. This one in particular was Cantonese, others are based around the regions the local community would be linked to in China.
He talked about his son who lived in Atlanta, Georgia. His son was back in Bangkok because of a medical problem. The little finger on one of his hands had something that was eating away at the muscles and bones. Not cancer, he had had all the test in the world for that. Even the Chinese doctors couldn’t cure him, they’d tried that. He was just hoping his son wouldn’t have to lose part of his hand to try and stop the spread of whatever it was he had.
As I thanked him and prepared to leave he said “some very bad people, bad people out there, be careful”. I was very touched to have met and had learnt so much from this gentleman.
I continued through Chinatown, on one occasion seeing what looked like an old His master’s Voice record player still in it’s plastic and with an old 78 on it’s turntable. I saw what looked like original/old GE kitchen appliances such as blenders and mixers. Jeff told me later that they were reproductions. Apparently someone had worked out that the tourists would love the older stuff and GE were reproducing the older style ones for this market. Oh well.
I also passed by a street ‘Beauty store’ where an elderly Chinese lady was having her face and eyebrows plucked by cotton thread. You’ve got to see it to believe it, but it seems to work.
On another street a policeman was taking a picture of an accident for evidence with his digital camera.
Further along a man with no legs and no wheelchair pulled himself along the sidewalk with his hands.
Taking two right turns took me onto Yaowaraj Road heading back West. I’m convinced you can find everything in the world in Chinatown if you just looked hard enough..
Finally I got back to Memorial Bridge pier and headed home.
The National Museum - and the life of Buddha
Wednesday August 11th I finaly managed to get into the National Museum. I had tried on the Monday and the Tuesday but both days it was closed. Wednesday was success, but as I paid for my ticket I found out that photos are only allowed outside not inside the buildings so I left my camera in my backpack. Backpacks were required to be stored in lockers. I think that's probably to protect the exhibits from some unthinking tourist doing a sudden twirl and hitting something with a huge backpack. The people taking the tickets and backpacks were not as friendly as most Thai are, maybe they were having a bad day.
The group was small, only 5 of us, and the guide was from Canada so she spoke English with a slight french accent and had a little difficulty with getting the right words to explain certain things. But she was very enthusiastic about the Museum, and had lived in Thailand 3 times for a total of 10 years so she obviously knew a great deal about buddhism here.
I hadn't realized that the Museum was made up of a number of buildings, not just one, or I would have taken my camera. The guide started us at the Chapel where she explained about the Buddhas' life before becoming a buddha where he was a Royal prince used to leading a very luxurious life. At his birth, the King had taken him to get his fortune told. The fortune teller said he would either be lead a very wealthy privileged life, or become a holy man. The King wanted him to chose the former, not the latter, so he surrounded him with every imagineable luxury. Every desire or need he had was always met. He never saw sickness, disability, old age or death as anytime he left the Palace the King ordered all such unpleasantries hidden from his sight.
It wasn't until he escaped the Palace on his own one day that he came across the real world in the form of a sick person, a disabled person and a dead person. He realized that there was more to life than the wealthy existence he was leading, and a God spoke to him telling him that the people he saw were the phases of life. If he wanted to lead a worthwhile life he would need to find his way.
On his return to the Palace he left his wife and children and became an asetic, a holy man seeking enlightenment. It took him 8 years to achieve it. He fianlly realized that it wasn't choosing to lead a life of povery over a life of wealth that made him see englightenment, it was the fact that he had to manage somewhere in between. Some people have less to manage with in material terms, but still achieve inner wealth. Some people have more, but that doesn't preclude them from achieving the same thing if the intent is there in the first place. After he had achieve enlightenment, he passed on his teachings to his 5 disciples, who in turn passed it on to many many more.
The entire story of Buddhas life is depicted on murals on the Chapel walls. Sadly they are not in the best of repair but there is an ongoing effort right now to restore them. While we were there we watched the artists working on restoration. It seemed very time consuming and painstaking. Originally all the murals had been painted by different artists who donated their work to the Chapel. Each one had their own artistic interpreation of events and many added quirky little extras, such as European soliders in one scene. Because the story of Buddha is so long each panel of the mural contained more thanone scene from his life. And the scenes could be mixed and matched from any part of his enlightenment path. Though the order of the murals was in general in line with the progress of his life, the panels themselves could contain scenes from any part of it.
At the end of his life he succumed to poison. He knew it would happen, but he continued to teach to the very end. Proping himself up in the famous 'reclining' position until the poison finally took it's toll and he died. Thereafter the reclining position has been associated with death. He wished only his teachings to be continued after his death. He specifically requested that no images of him be made or adored. It was 600 years after his death before the first Buddha images began being made. The guide believed it was the influence of the European religions, who had statues and icons to adore, that the Thais eventually began making their own images of their Buddha. As a result of the images beginning to appear the Buddhist community came up with a set of rules by which any Buddha image must be made. I think there were 37 in all.
Of course as time went by each era interpreted the rules in slightly different ways and artists used artistic license to give their own interpretations of the rules too. So over time each era has a distinct look to their buddhas. For example, the arms must look like an elephants trunk, the curls on the head must go in a clockwise direction, it must have curls to be a Thai buddha, the eyes and eyebrows must have a distinct look etc.
Next we saw the Red House which had belonged to the Princess, the sister of the King Rama IV (I think). For a Royal abode it seemed extremely small to me. But it was most beautifully built and because her husband was a Chinese prince, there were Chinese influences throughout. It had 2 rooms, the main audience/living/ entertaining room, about 10' by 10' and the bedroom. Outside on the front porch was the washroom or bathroom and at the far end of the was an add-on that was the kitchen where all their food was prepared by servants. The bedroom was the most special as it contained a raised wooden bed platform, with four poster and canopy on which Thai custhions would be set. In front of the raised bed was a slightly lower platform where the attendants and Princess' assistants would sit and entertain or take care of her.
The Royal household had 3 palaces attached to each o ther by courtyards. They are the rainy season Palace, the Hot season palace and the cool season palace. I didn't find out why each palace was needed, but I expect it was something to do with the construction and way they were oriented that might have helped alleviate whatever the seasonal weather was at the time.
Each was filled with antiquities, gorgeous ceramics, rmour and arms of a by gone era. One room was entirely devoted to Buddhas. There were Royal palinquin, sedan chairs which carried them around the city on their royal duties, beautiful musical instruments and the most delicious collection of mother of pearl works I have ever seen. I'd love to have taken a photo of those, but alas it was not allowed.
The group was small, only 5 of us, and the guide was from Canada so she spoke English with a slight french accent and had a little difficulty with getting the right words to explain certain things. But she was very enthusiastic about the Museum, and had lived in Thailand 3 times for a total of 10 years so she obviously knew a great deal about buddhism here.
I hadn't realized that the Museum was made up of a number of buildings, not just one, or I would have taken my camera. The guide started us at the Chapel where she explained about the Buddhas' life before becoming a buddha where he was a Royal prince used to leading a very luxurious life. At his birth, the King had taken him to get his fortune told. The fortune teller said he would either be lead a very wealthy privileged life, or become a holy man. The King wanted him to chose the former, not the latter, so he surrounded him with every imagineable luxury. Every desire or need he had was always met. He never saw sickness, disability, old age or death as anytime he left the Palace the King ordered all such unpleasantries hidden from his sight.
It wasn't until he escaped the Palace on his own one day that he came across the real world in the form of a sick person, a disabled person and a dead person. He realized that there was more to life than the wealthy existence he was leading, and a God spoke to him telling him that the people he saw were the phases of life. If he wanted to lead a worthwhile life he would need to find his way.
On his return to the Palace he left his wife and children and became an asetic, a holy man seeking enlightenment. It took him 8 years to achieve it. He fianlly realized that it wasn't choosing to lead a life of povery over a life of wealth that made him see englightenment, it was the fact that he had to manage somewhere in between. Some people have less to manage with in material terms, but still achieve inner wealth. Some people have more, but that doesn't preclude them from achieving the same thing if the intent is there in the first place. After he had achieve enlightenment, he passed on his teachings to his 5 disciples, who in turn passed it on to many many more.
The entire story of Buddhas life is depicted on murals on the Chapel walls. Sadly they are not in the best of repair but there is an ongoing effort right now to restore them. While we were there we watched the artists working on restoration. It seemed very time consuming and painstaking. Originally all the murals had been painted by different artists who donated their work to the Chapel. Each one had their own artistic interpreation of events and many added quirky little extras, such as European soliders in one scene. Because the story of Buddha is so long each panel of the mural contained more thanone scene from his life. And the scenes could be mixed and matched from any part of his enlightenment path. Though the order of the murals was in general in line with the progress of his life, the panels themselves could contain scenes from any part of it.
At the end of his life he succumed to poison. He knew it would happen, but he continued to teach to the very end. Proping himself up in the famous 'reclining' position until the poison finally took it's toll and he died. Thereafter the reclining position has been associated with death. He wished only his teachings to be continued after his death. He specifically requested that no images of him be made or adored. It was 600 years after his death before the first Buddha images began being made. The guide believed it was the influence of the European religions, who had statues and icons to adore, that the Thais eventually began making their own images of their Buddha. As a result of the images beginning to appear the Buddhist community came up with a set of rules by which any Buddha image must be made. I think there were 37 in all.
Of course as time went by each era interpreted the rules in slightly different ways and artists used artistic license to give their own interpretations of the rules too. So over time each era has a distinct look to their buddhas. For example, the arms must look like an elephants trunk, the curls on the head must go in a clockwise direction, it must have curls to be a Thai buddha, the eyes and eyebrows must have a distinct look etc.
Next we saw the Red House which had belonged to the Princess, the sister of the King Rama IV (I think). For a Royal abode it seemed extremely small to me. But it was most beautifully built and because her husband was a Chinese prince, there were Chinese influences throughout. It had 2 rooms, the main audience/living/ entertaining room, about 10' by 10' and the bedroom. Outside on the front porch was the washroom or bathroom and at the far end of the was an add-on that was the kitchen where all their food was prepared by servants. The bedroom was the most special as it contained a raised wooden bed platform, with four poster and canopy on which Thai custhions would be set. In front of the raised bed was a slightly lower platform where the attendants and Princess' assistants would sit and entertain or take care of her.
The Royal household had 3 palaces attached to each o ther by courtyards. They are the rainy season Palace, the Hot season palace and the cool season palace. I didn't find out why each palace was needed, but I expect it was something to do with the construction and way they were oriented that might have helped alleviate whatever the seasonal weather was at the time.
Each was filled with antiquities, gorgeous ceramics, rmour and arms of a by gone era. One room was entirely devoted to Buddhas. There were Royal palinquin, sedan chairs which carried them around the city on their royal duties, beautiful musical instruments and the most delicious collection of mother of pearl works I have ever seen. I'd love to have taken a photo of those, but alas it was not allowed.
Ways to Wai - the traditional Thai greeting
A monk I talked to at Wat Arun taught me a little about the number of ways to Wai (or pay respect). A Wai to the heart is respect from the heart, usually to family and friends. A wai to the chin is in respect to ones elders. A Wai to the lips is in respect of teachers because they speak knowledge. A Wai to the nose is in respect to parents, who gave you the breath of life and a Wai to the Forehead (or third eye) is in respect of monks or Buddha.
I'm sure there are many other little idiosyncracies but I think that's about as much as the monk felt I could handle. He did point out that Thai's do like Farang to Wai, in the right way. So one doesn't Wai someone who has done a service like a waiter or a porter or a taxi driver, but you would Wai a person who has gone an additional step to say help or assist you, or who has done something for you that's not a service. Interesting as most of the Guide books tell us not to Wai as it's not appropriate.
I'm sure there are many other little idiosyncracies but I think that's about as much as the monk felt I could handle. He did point out that Thai's do like Farang to Wai, in the right way. So one doesn't Wai someone who has done a service like a waiter or a porter or a taxi driver, but you would Wai a person who has gone an additional step to say help or assist you, or who has done something for you that's not a service. Interesting as most of the Guide books tell us not to Wai as it's not appropriate.
Queen's birthday
"Her Majesty Queen Sirikit's birthday on August 12 is a public holiday, celebrated nationwide as Mother's Day. Individual people and organizations raise flags and portraits of Her Majesty in Bangkok and all over the kingdom.
Born M.R. Sirikit Kitiyakara in 1932, Her Majesty the Queen has captured the hearts of the Thai people through her devotion to improving the welfare and well-being of her subjects. The Queen is perhaps best known for her efforts in reviving many of Thailand's folk arts and crafts. Her Majesty's SUPPORT Foundation (Foundation for the Promotion of Supplementary Occupations and Related Techniques) has expanded progressively since its establishment in 1976 to include craft shops in the city and popular tourist areas, and two Thai Folk Arts and Crafts Training Centers at Chitralada Villa and at Bangsai in Ayutthaya.
On Her Majesty's birthday, one of the best places to join in the celebrations is on Bangkok's Ratchadamnoen Avenue and the areas around the Grand Palace, which are festooned with colorful lights, flowers and portraits for this special occasion."
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The entire City is preparing for the Queen's 6th cycle birthday celebration. A cycle is 12 years, so she is 72 years old. Thai's celebrate her birthday every year. I'm not sure if this was a special one but the preparations are definitely large and elaborate. Throughout the city large and small posters are dotted here and there, decorated with ribbons, flags and Thai style flowers and glittering objects. The Thais' revere their Buddha, their Royal family and from what I can see, food. I'm not sure which is the most important, it seems to depend on where, when and what they are doing.
The Queen is known for supporting the poorest of the poor by visiting outlying villages and bringing to attention the arts and crafts they make to support themselves. She also as set up lots of special support services and associations to promote the Thai culture and to keep the old arts and crafts like Thai silk making, ship building and other traditioanlc rafts alive. Looking at her life story she has had a charmed life and seems to try and give back something of her good fortune to the less fortunate of her people.
For a few days before the offical celbrations, the local Royal Park dispenses free food to locals. The day of the celebrations the lines were long around the food stalls. But the people were not pushing or shoving or in bad humour about having to wait. Typically for Thai's they waited patiently and with decorum.
Jeff and I were very lucky throughout the afternoon and evening and good spots for seeing almost everything that happened. When the Queen and King's calavacade swept down the street towards the Royal Palace we were right in a good spot to see them in the car, a mild yellow Mercedes. After all the dignatories had arrived at the Royal Palace, the Parade with marching bands, groups of associations and army and navy brigades began.
Again we were extremely lucky to get a spot right at the railings to take photos as the various groups passed by. Each seemed to get more specatcular in color coordination and vividness.
Bright red uniforms topped with purple plums atop their hats. Followed by nearly flourescent green and pink uniforms of other associations.
Once the Parade was over the crowds made for the park where sound stages with glittering lights had been set up. Or mostly set up anyway. Not knowing what was up for show, we waited for the stage act to start. It took close to an hour, during which it drizzled bits and pieces. Some smart vendors had figured out that large sheets of mylar wrapping paper worked really well as seating mats and were hawking them for 10 baht apiece and were making a killing. And with the rain they doubled their sales as people bought a second sheet to cover them from the rain. That's entrepreneurship for you.
The stagehands were completing the setup by unfurling flags and large video screens on either side of the stage. After sound and lighting test, the show finally got underway. Or I should say the speeches got underway. The stages were for speeches, not for music acts or show. Mind you they did sing the national anthem and other lovely Thai songs, but no bands or musical acts.
But the wait was worth it as after the speeches the fireworks started. First off were the ones from what appeared to be the middle of the field in the Park. Then the second set started just about next door to where we were, or so it felt. I had never been so close to fireworks before and it was just awesome. Jeff did the photo work for these. Finally the third set started over the Rama VIII bridge down at the river. Over all it was a great chance to see the Queen, see the celebrations for her birthday and enjoy the evening with the Thai people.
Sunday, August 15, 2004
Dusit Zoo
I set out to walk to Dusit Zoo with a good sense of where I needed to end up. Along they way I got slightly lost, needless to say a Tuk Tuk tout found me peering at my map and tried to ‘help’. He told me everything was closed, the Zoo, the Temples, everything because it was a Bhuddist holiday. This is an old scam which I wasn’t falling for.
I walked on towards the Royal throne building, close to which I found the Zoo. It’s a very old fashion and under-funded Zoo. Their aviary for example still has the old cramped, rusty cages that Zoos used 20 years ago. It doesn’t have a vast collection of wild and exotic animals, but there are improvements being made. They’ve already upgraded their African Savanna to a more modern and casual enclosure layout. Surrounding it with lots of natural vegetation and so hiding the harsh lines of wire or cables that keep the animals in.
The African Savanna is stocked with 3 Zebras, a couple of Giraffes and some Ostriches. And that’s about it.
One thing I did like about their exhibits is the way you can climb up a stairway that goes behind and above them. You get a great view of the enclosure from there. Another difference is in the Flamenco enclosure. They don’t crop their wings, instead they cover the entire enclosure with green netting, elevated high enough to have ‘air’ space above the birds, but not high enough to allow them to fly significant distances.
All around the Zoo are many little seating/picnic areas. The Thais love their food and no matter where you go there’ll always be picnicking facilities backed up by street vendors. The Zoo also has a restaurant which looked very nice and upscale but wasn’t open. I couldn’t stand too long near a picnic area or I got eaten by ants. I’m convinced the Thai people have a natural anti-body to both ants and mosquitoes as they never seem to bother them.
The best part for me was seeing 2 white Tiger cubs. They’re pretty close to full size, but you can tell they are still kittenish they way they play with each other. But the Sun Bears were also so cute I spent a lot of time at their enclosure. One was particularly active and cute, and very photogenic.
I walked on towards the Royal throne building, close to which I found the Zoo. It’s a very old fashion and under-funded Zoo. Their aviary for example still has the old cramped, rusty cages that Zoos used 20 years ago. It doesn’t have a vast collection of wild and exotic animals, but there are improvements being made. They’ve already upgraded their African Savanna to a more modern and casual enclosure layout. Surrounding it with lots of natural vegetation and so hiding the harsh lines of wire or cables that keep the animals in.
The African Savanna is stocked with 3 Zebras, a couple of Giraffes and some Ostriches. And that’s about it.
One thing I did like about their exhibits is the way you can climb up a stairway that goes behind and above them. You get a great view of the enclosure from there. Another difference is in the Flamenco enclosure. They don’t crop their wings, instead they cover the entire enclosure with green netting, elevated high enough to have ‘air’ space above the birds, but not high enough to allow them to fly significant distances.
All around the Zoo are many little seating/picnic areas. The Thais love their food and no matter where you go there’ll always be picnicking facilities backed up by street vendors. The Zoo also has a restaurant which looked very nice and upscale but wasn’t open. I couldn’t stand too long near a picnic area or I got eaten by ants. I’m convinced the Thai people have a natural anti-body to both ants and mosquitoes as they never seem to bother them.
The best part for me was seeing 2 white Tiger cubs. They’re pretty close to full size, but you can tell they are still kittenish they way they play with each other. But the Sun Bears were also so cute I spent a lot of time at their enclosure. One was particularly active and cute, and very photogenic.
Royal Barges
It took some doing to get to the Royal Barges. I found after afterwards that there's a much easier way than the one I took, but the experience of getting there alone was well worth it.
Each trip I take makes me more independent and better acquainted with the City in general. To get to the Royal Barges I took the river boat from Phra Arthit to the Railway Station pier, 2 stops down river. From there the guidebook tells you to walk parallel to the railroad track, over the bridge and follow the wooden footpath. Well it must have been written quite some time ago, because there's deifnitely no wooden foothpath anymore. To be sure I had the right direction I walked back across the bridge and retraced my steps back over it again. Definitely it was right. But I couldn't see any entrance. So I walked a little further and then sudeently on the right hand side, about 50m from the bridge, saw a small hidden entrance.
It looks like it goes into a dingey alley and I had initially passed it by, but some one of the street vendors called 'Royal Barges' out to me and pointed down the alley. It turned out to be the right way. It led through a maze of houses built on the river and supported by poles. The footpath was only wide enough for one person to walk through, or two people to turn sideways to pass each other. I could see into the houses on both sides, giving me glimpses of the locals lifestyle. These particular locals are the poorest I've come across so far. And they lived above a putrid river that stank to high heaven.
After about 10 minutes walking through this maze, and following 'Royal Barges' signs I finally arrived at the Royal Barges shed. The entrance fee was 30 baht, but I had to pay an additional 100 baht to use my camera to take photos. And they meant it. A young Japanese tourist took photos without the proper 'photo tag' around her neck and she was instantly stopped.
As the name suggests the Royal Barges are used on Royal events. The last Royal Barge built was the Narai Song Suban, designed with the aid of a computer and built for the 50th anniversay for the King's accession to the throne. The first 'heel setting' ceremony to start the building of the barge took place on 6th April 1996. On 7th November 1996 the new Royal Barge was launched during the Kaithin ceremony. The Narai Song Suban barge is 3.2m wide 44.3m long and 1.10m deep. It requires 50 oarsmen to row it, and has 14 crews.
The Krabi Prab Muang Mara Barge is 2.10m wide, 28.85m long and 0.56m deep. It has 36 oarsmen and 17 crews. The Anantanakaraj Royal Barge is 2.58m wide, 44.85m long and 0.81m deep. It has 54 oarsmen and 18 crews and was built in 1914 by King Rama VI. The Garuda Hernthet Barge is 2.1m wide 28.58m long and 0.56m deep. It has 34 oarsmen and 7 crews. The original head was used on a reconstructed hull, built in 1968.
Some of the older Royal Barges that were damaged during WW II remain unrestored, sadly showing what war costs not only in human terms but in destruction of culture and art.
Walking back from the Royal Barges I noticed there were many many dogs. I guess they probably help to keep down some population of vermin around the houses. Or maybe they are just for companionship. Anyway they all seemed to be in fine health and laze the day away mostly sleeping.
Back at the Pier I watached as a lady vendor killed a bug on her try with her knife, then proceeded to continue peeling the produce she had for sale on the try with the very same knife. Oh well.
That evening Jeff and I wandered out to find something to eat. We sat down at Tier & Family, a street vendor and ordered something hot and spicy. A Japanese couple were sitting at the table next to us. I noticed a very large cockroach crawling across her shoe, and seeming to head for her trouser leg. So I pointed it out to Jeff and we decided to let her know it was there, quietly and calmly. That worked, but the look on her face when she first realized what we were telling her was astonishment. Both she and I kept a close look around the ground for the bug after that. It eventually found a new set of customers, British, who unceremoniously kicked it off into the street.
Each trip I take makes me more independent and better acquainted with the City in general. To get to the Royal Barges I took the river boat from Phra Arthit to the Railway Station pier, 2 stops down river. From there the guidebook tells you to walk parallel to the railroad track, over the bridge and follow the wooden footpath. Well it must have been written quite some time ago, because there's deifnitely no wooden foothpath anymore. To be sure I had the right direction I walked back across the bridge and retraced my steps back over it again. Definitely it was right. But I couldn't see any entrance. So I walked a little further and then sudeently on the right hand side, about 50m from the bridge, saw a small hidden entrance.
It looks like it goes into a dingey alley and I had initially passed it by, but some one of the street vendors called 'Royal Barges' out to me and pointed down the alley. It turned out to be the right way. It led through a maze of houses built on the river and supported by poles. The footpath was only wide enough for one person to walk through, or two people to turn sideways to pass each other. I could see into the houses on both sides, giving me glimpses of the locals lifestyle. These particular locals are the poorest I've come across so far. And they lived above a putrid river that stank to high heaven.
After about 10 minutes walking through this maze, and following 'Royal Barges' signs I finally arrived at the Royal Barges shed. The entrance fee was 30 baht, but I had to pay an additional 100 baht to use my camera to take photos. And they meant it. A young Japanese tourist took photos without the proper 'photo tag' around her neck and she was instantly stopped.
As the name suggests the Royal Barges are used on Royal events. The last Royal Barge built was the Narai Song Suban, designed with the aid of a computer and built for the 50th anniversay for the King's accession to the throne. The first 'heel setting' ceremony to start the building of the barge took place on 6th April 1996. On 7th November 1996 the new Royal Barge was launched during the Kaithin ceremony. The Narai Song Suban barge is 3.2m wide 44.3m long and 1.10m deep. It requires 50 oarsmen to row it, and has 14 crews.
The Krabi Prab Muang Mara Barge is 2.10m wide, 28.85m long and 0.56m deep. It has 36 oarsmen and 17 crews. The Anantanakaraj Royal Barge is 2.58m wide, 44.85m long and 0.81m deep. It has 54 oarsmen and 18 crews and was built in 1914 by King Rama VI. The Garuda Hernthet Barge is 2.1m wide 28.58m long and 0.56m deep. It has 34 oarsmen and 7 crews. The original head was used on a reconstructed hull, built in 1968.
Some of the older Royal Barges that were damaged during WW II remain unrestored, sadly showing what war costs not only in human terms but in destruction of culture and art.
Walking back from the Royal Barges I noticed there were many many dogs. I guess they probably help to keep down some population of vermin around the houses. Or maybe they are just for companionship. Anyway they all seemed to be in fine health and laze the day away mostly sleeping.
Back at the Pier I watached as a lady vendor killed a bug on her try with her knife, then proceeded to continue peeling the produce she had for sale on the try with the very same knife. Oh well.
That evening Jeff and I wandered out to find something to eat. We sat down at Tier & Family, a street vendor and ordered something hot and spicy. A Japanese couple were sitting at the table next to us. I noticed a very large cockroach crawling across her shoe, and seeming to head for her trouser leg. So I pointed it out to Jeff and we decided to let her know it was there, quietly and calmly. That worked, but the look on her face when she first realized what we were telling her was astonishment. Both she and I kept a close look around the ground for the bug after that. It eventually found a new set of customers, British, who unceremoniously kicked it off into the street.
Saturday, August 14, 2004
Day trip to the Pottery Village
Our Saturday trip up the North part of the Chao Phraya river turned into a lot more then we expected. We'd simply wanted to take a boat to the Pottery Village island to see the local potters at work.
First we took the river boat as far as Nonthanburi, then walked around for a while debating how to get to the island. Eventually we shared a longtail boat with a group of Thai people. There were 8 of us heading for the Pottery Village and it took a good 30 minutes of noisy smelly driving to get there.
As we disembarked at the Pottery Village pier, the local Thai ladies not only helped us out of the boat but made sure that we knew the right time to be back at the pier, even though they didn’t speak any English. We had about an hour to tour the village which turned out to be too little. If we go again I'd want maybe 2 or 3 hours. But it certainly gave us a flavor of what it’s about and we will go back some time.
The island was settled by the Mon people in the 6th century, it’s the oldest earthenware settlement in the region. Also on the island is Wat Paramai Yikawat (or Wat Mon locally). It has a Mon style marble Buddha in the temple. Also on the island is a school for the Blind where they teach massage. I’ve heard that a massage from a blind person is incredible. The people were very friendly as are all Thai, but these seemed even more so if that’s possible. Much of the pottery was very touristy but there are some gorgeous pieces and I found it hard not to buy some for family and friends.
After the Pottery village we got back on the longtail boat and headed for home, or so we thought. Little did we know we’d signed up for the tour the Thai ladies had worked out with the driver! The next stop was a famous food center. It definitely had gorgeous Thai food. We purchased a curried chicken dish to try. The sales girls warned us ‘spicy, spicy’. And it was. But I managed a fair bit of it.
Off we went to our next stop, another Wat where the ladies again paid their respects to Buddha. Then back on the longtail boat for the final leg back to Nonthaburi to catch the Chao Praya river boat back to Banglampoo, arriving back at the Inn late afternoon.
That evening we went to the Dong Dea Moon pub and restaurant for Samsong and soda. A nice end to a lovely day.
First we took the river boat as far as Nonthanburi, then walked around for a while debating how to get to the island. Eventually we shared a longtail boat with a group of Thai people. There were 8 of us heading for the Pottery Village and it took a good 30 minutes of noisy smelly driving to get there.
As we disembarked at the Pottery Village pier, the local Thai ladies not only helped us out of the boat but made sure that we knew the right time to be back at the pier, even though they didn’t speak any English. We had about an hour to tour the village which turned out to be too little. If we go again I'd want maybe 2 or 3 hours. But it certainly gave us a flavor of what it’s about and we will go back some time.
The island was settled by the Mon people in the 6th century, it’s the oldest earthenware settlement in the region. Also on the island is Wat Paramai Yikawat (or Wat Mon locally). It has a Mon style marble Buddha in the temple. Also on the island is a school for the Blind where they teach massage. I’ve heard that a massage from a blind person is incredible. The people were very friendly as are all Thai, but these seemed even more so if that’s possible. Much of the pottery was very touristy but there are some gorgeous pieces and I found it hard not to buy some for family and friends.
After the Pottery village we got back on the longtail boat and headed for home, or so we thought. Little did we know we’d signed up for the tour the Thai ladies had worked out with the driver! The next stop was a famous food center. It definitely had gorgeous Thai food. We purchased a curried chicken dish to try. The sales girls warned us ‘spicy, spicy’. And it was. But I managed a fair bit of it.
Off we went to our next stop, another Wat where the ladies again paid their respects to Buddha. Then back on the longtail boat for the final leg back to Nonthaburi to catch the Chao Praya river boat back to Banglampoo, arriving back at the Inn late afternoon.
That evening we went to the Dong Dea Moon pub and restaurant for Samsong and soda. A nice end to a lovely day.
Friday, August 13, 2004
Wats, Statues and Buddhas
We had breakfast at Sit Take, an ordinary cafe. It had obviously been recently updated and it's menu reflected more the Western taste than the Thai taste. It's one long narrow room with tables on either side, at the back was the little cashiers' area and the kitchen. On the left side of the back wall was a huge TV playing MTV Thai. The waitress would put the sound up for her favorite singers/songs, which tended to be Thai.
Jeff headed off to 'work' at his 'office'. My goal for the day was to see the National Museum. Apparently it's huge and takes at least 3-4 hours to tour around. And it's essential to take the free 9:30am early morning tour or you'll just be too confused about how things are laid out and what it's all about.. Unfortunately it's closed on Mondays. Having walked all the way there from our accommodation in Banglampoo, I figured it was best to see what else was within walking distance. Having noticed a Tourist Center on my walk over to the Museum I headed back there.
The tourist centre is pretty good, it's clean, well staffed and has some basic good brochures about what to do around Bangkok. I'm sure they could have given me more information than what I asked for too.
I headed for the Wat Suthat - Temple of immesureable charm. Also called the Big Swing Wat. This Wat has a 14th century Buddha statue from the Sukhothai period, surrounded by surreal depictions of the Buddha's last 24 lives. The courtyard is filled with odd statues of scholars and sailors, brought as ballast in rice boats returning from China, while the doors of the Wat have been carved by King Rama II. In an annual ceremony to celebrate the rice harves that was still observed just before World War II, men used to ride on the Giant Swing and try to grab a bag of silver coins attached to a pole. Only the teak arch remains. All around this particular Wat is a huge number of shops that have every Buddhist ecclesiastic image or supply you could want.
I was utterly charmed by this Wat. Perhaps because I was practically the only person there when I first went in. And for 20 baht it was well worth it. I spent about an hour and a half walking around taking photos and just enjoying the peace.
The Wat is rectangular in shape, but lots smaller than more others I've seen. The outer walls are surrounded by statues of Buddha, covered from the elements by concrete canopies. Each wall had 8 buddhas, a total of 24 for the 24 lives of Buddha presumably. Each of courfse was unique.
The Buddha in the Temple itself is enormous and like many of them covered completely in gold leaf. There were quite a lot of Thai devotees paying their respects to the Buddha. It seems to be a more real, used, ordinary persons temple than many of the other highly decorated and visited ones.
Other tourists were discretely taking photos, which is ok here. I sat quietly enjoying the peace until some ignorant tourists wanted to take photos standing in front of the Buddha. The group of 3 people were probably from one of the former Soviet Union countries, judging by their language and accent. The man and woman stood in front of the Buddha behind the devotees, which in itself was ok. But the Grandpa sat on the door transem, which is a big NO NO and then proceeded to point his feet at Buddha! I was so upset.
I interrupted them and told them with gestures they should point their feet back away from Buddha. Notices are posted everywhere and it's in all the tour guides, you do NOT point your feet at Buddha. But there are still some people who don't pay attention to the details.
For me the old Chinese statues were the most fascinating. Their expressions ranged from scowling fiercely to happy Buddha laughs.
Chinese Ballast statuery
After that I took my leave and wandered off heading in the general direction of Wat Ratchanatda. But still not being too familiar with the city I got a bit lost. However that turned out for the best.
I happened on an entrance that looked like it was going to a Wat. It was down an alleyway where some vendors had Buddha statutes and other accessories for sale. Walking through the alley I saw no distinct entrance or evena a sign for an entrance. When I reached the end of the alley I turned right and just as I did so a little Thai gentleman started pointing to a gate. At this point I had figured out I'd come in the back door. He was trying to point me in the right direction to enter, and with no English all he could do was gesture. I followed him and found the next wonderous Wat.
I don't know what it's name was, and there was no entrance fee with an official ticket, just a donation box. It think there were about 4 people in total looking around this particular Wat.
This Wat is wonderous because it doesn't have a large central shrine, in fact it's so small I can see why it's rarely visited. It's also in not the greatest of condition and doesn't have the fancy decorations other Wats do. But it does have an amazing spiral staircase up the centre which rises 4 floors high. On each floor there's an exit off the spiral staircase. The walls of each floor are surrounded by buddhas. Behind each Buddha is a window, and the floor are open. So standing at one side you can look through to the other side, where there's a window facing you and another Buddha sitting.
It took me probably a good hour and a half to go up each floor and walk around to see the buddhas. Finally, at the top, you can go out onto the roof which gives you a 360 degree view of the city neighbourhood below. I was very taken with this Wat.
Finally, I was heading home, heading in the direction of Democracy monument when I spied another temple entrance. As this didn't have any sign or offical designation that I could see or read I guessed it probably wasn't on the tourist trail. As I stepped in over the transem I stood quietly expecting perhaps to be asked to leave because it was private. To my left there was a large group of Thai sitting on a raised platform obviously celebrating something.
Stepping in further I could see that there was something happening in the Shrine itself. Gingerly I took off my shoes and walked up the steps. Looking in the door I saw a group of monks sitting close to Buddha, with a second group sitting a little further back. Some thai family groups seemed to be sitting to the back and side. The monks were chanting and as the chanting finished one of them got up and walked back towards the back wall. This happened twice more, with who I think were novice monks. Then the elder monk walked back to them and continued the chanting after which the rejoined all the monks at the front. My guess is that it was an initiation ceremony. I was so lucky to have happened on it.
Finally I got back to our accommodation, just before a thunderstorm broke. What timing. Later when Jeff got home we had dinner at the restaurant below as it was still raining and I'd just had my hair washed and blow dried yesterday.
I got my rain jacket and Jeff headed to the room to do more work. I walked over to Khao san road, got some contact lense solution in Boots and headed to the Grand bar for a beer and a movie. It was Bend it Like Beckham. A great movie. Mid-showing though a large cockroach decided to take a walk along the bar where I was sitting. It took a good whack with the little menu stand to push him off and have him fly away somewhere else.
Jeff headed off to 'work' at his 'office'. My goal for the day was to see the National Museum. Apparently it's huge and takes at least 3-4 hours to tour around. And it's essential to take the free 9:30am early morning tour or you'll just be too confused about how things are laid out and what it's all about.. Unfortunately it's closed on Mondays. Having walked all the way there from our accommodation in Banglampoo, I figured it was best to see what else was within walking distance. Having noticed a Tourist Center on my walk over to the Museum I headed back there.
The tourist centre is pretty good, it's clean, well staffed and has some basic good brochures about what to do around Bangkok. I'm sure they could have given me more information than what I asked for too.
I headed for the Wat Suthat - Temple of immesureable charm. Also called the Big Swing Wat. This Wat has a 14th century Buddha statue from the Sukhothai period, surrounded by surreal depictions of the Buddha's last 24 lives. The courtyard is filled with odd statues of scholars and sailors, brought as ballast in rice boats returning from China, while the doors of the Wat have been carved by King Rama II. In an annual ceremony to celebrate the rice harves that was still observed just before World War II, men used to ride on the Giant Swing and try to grab a bag of silver coins attached to a pole. Only the teak arch remains. All around this particular Wat is a huge number of shops that have every Buddhist ecclesiastic image or supply you could want.
I was utterly charmed by this Wat. Perhaps because I was practically the only person there when I first went in. And for 20 baht it was well worth it. I spent about an hour and a half walking around taking photos and just enjoying the peace.
The Wat is rectangular in shape, but lots smaller than more others I've seen. The outer walls are surrounded by statues of Buddha, covered from the elements by concrete canopies. Each wall had 8 buddhas, a total of 24 for the 24 lives of Buddha presumably. Each of courfse was unique.
The Buddha in the Temple itself is enormous and like many of them covered completely in gold leaf. There were quite a lot of Thai devotees paying their respects to the Buddha. It seems to be a more real, used, ordinary persons temple than many of the other highly decorated and visited ones.
Other tourists were discretely taking photos, which is ok here. I sat quietly enjoying the peace until some ignorant tourists wanted to take photos standing in front of the Buddha. The group of 3 people were probably from one of the former Soviet Union countries, judging by their language and accent. The man and woman stood in front of the Buddha behind the devotees, which in itself was ok. But the Grandpa sat on the door transem, which is a big NO NO and then proceeded to point his feet at Buddha! I was so upset.
I interrupted them and told them with gestures they should point their feet back away from Buddha. Notices are posted everywhere and it's in all the tour guides, you do NOT point your feet at Buddha. But there are still some people who don't pay attention to the details.
For me the old Chinese statues were the most fascinating. Their expressions ranged from scowling fiercely to happy Buddha laughs.
Chinese Ballast statuery
After that I took my leave and wandered off heading in the general direction of Wat Ratchanatda. But still not being too familiar with the city I got a bit lost. However that turned out for the best.
I happened on an entrance that looked like it was going to a Wat. It was down an alleyway where some vendors had Buddha statutes and other accessories for sale. Walking through the alley I saw no distinct entrance or evena a sign for an entrance. When I reached the end of the alley I turned right and just as I did so a little Thai gentleman started pointing to a gate. At this point I had figured out I'd come in the back door. He was trying to point me in the right direction to enter, and with no English all he could do was gesture. I followed him and found the next wonderous Wat.
I don't know what it's name was, and there was no entrance fee with an official ticket, just a donation box. It think there were about 4 people in total looking around this particular Wat.
This Wat is wonderous because it doesn't have a large central shrine, in fact it's so small I can see why it's rarely visited. It's also in not the greatest of condition and doesn't have the fancy decorations other Wats do. But it does have an amazing spiral staircase up the centre which rises 4 floors high. On each floor there's an exit off the spiral staircase. The walls of each floor are surrounded by buddhas. Behind each Buddha is a window, and the floor are open. So standing at one side you can look through to the other side, where there's a window facing you and another Buddha sitting.
It took me probably a good hour and a half to go up each floor and walk around to see the buddhas. Finally, at the top, you can go out onto the roof which gives you a 360 degree view of the city neighbourhood below. I was very taken with this Wat.
Finally, I was heading home, heading in the direction of Democracy monument when I spied another temple entrance. As this didn't have any sign or offical designation that I could see or read I guessed it probably wasn't on the tourist trail. As I stepped in over the transem I stood quietly expecting perhaps to be asked to leave because it was private. To my left there was a large group of Thai sitting on a raised platform obviously celebrating something.
Stepping in further I could see that there was something happening in the Shrine itself. Gingerly I took off my shoes and walked up the steps. Looking in the door I saw a group of monks sitting close to Buddha, with a second group sitting a little further back. Some thai family groups seemed to be sitting to the back and side. The monks were chanting and as the chanting finished one of them got up and walked back towards the back wall. This happened twice more, with who I think were novice monks. Then the elder monk walked back to them and continued the chanting after which the rejoined all the monks at the front. My guess is that it was an initiation ceremony. I was so lucky to have happened on it.
Finally I got back to our accommodation, just before a thunderstorm broke. What timing. Later when Jeff got home we had dinner at the restaurant below as it was still raining and I'd just had my hair washed and blow dried yesterday.
I got my rain jacket and Jeff headed to the room to do more work. I walked over to Khao san road, got some contact lense solution in Boots and headed to the Grand bar for a beer and a movie. It was Bend it Like Beckham. A great movie. Mid-showing though a large cockroach decided to take a walk along the bar where I was sitting. It took a good whack with the little menu stand to push him off and have him fly away somewhere else.
Royal Palace and Wat Po
This truly was the first touristy day in Bangkok. Jeff headed off to work, and I headed off for the temples. Over in Siam Square Jeff found Starbucks with a wireless network, but just as he sat down and looked to logon to their network, he found an Apple network popped up. Looking out the window he saw the Apple Store across the way. Free internet access all day long! Yeah!
With a little bit of trepidation about getting myself around on my own, I covered myself with long pants, a respectable T-shirt and brought a pair of socks to wear with my sandals for the purpose of visiting temples and the Royal Palace. In lots of temples you must be modestly dressed to enter. You are after all visiting the house of Buddha and to reveal too much flesh is unacceptable.
The Royal Palace Bangkok
The first part of the trip was the express boat from Tha Arthit at Banglampoo to Tha Chang, close to the Royal Palace. It cost a whole 8 baht, which if I work it out is about 20c, Visiting the Royal Palace again was still as awesome a first sight and experience as the very first time. Today being Sunday it was too busy. The crowds were overwhelming. But I did manage to wander around and take some photos for about 2 hours. At one point two local school children came up to me and asked to practice their English. They were very polite, and asking the questions in English was obviously very difficult for them. But they got through it bravely and now I've got 2 'friends' who have my email address. I wonder if I'll ever hear from them?
The second place was Wat Po. Much has been written about Wat Po and it's all true, except at this visit. It's in a state of being repaired so all the wonders are not quite as visible as the last time we were here. But that's good. They'll repair things and keep the temple going for more time.
This time the scaffolding around the reclining Buddha had been removed so I had the best opportunity to see it I've ever had, and to take photos. Surprisingly, in contrast to the Royal Palace, Wat Po was empty, I nearly had the place to myself.
Again, during my trip around the Wat, I was approached by two school children, this time from South Korea, who wanted to practice their English. They had a better command of the language than the first school children, and were more lively and entertaining. One of the questions they asked was what did I think of South Korea and what first came to mind when I thought of South Korea. Then they asked what did I think of North Korea and to be honest I couldn't tell them war and trouble, so I told them as I didn't hear very much about North Korea I didn't really know. Again they got my email address and I have two more 'friends', plus photos of these two.
Walking back to Tha Thien I was debating whether or not to call it a day and head for home as it was already 3:00pm or whether to take the ferry across to Wat Arun. Wat Arun won and I'm so glad it did.
Wat Arun is nothing to write home about in that it's not ornately decorated like the Royal Palace or not as intricate as Wat Po, or as large, but it's unusual in that the ceramic decorations that are attached to the monuments are pieces of dishaware from China. Apparently the ships from China needed something to weigh them down with, so broken china was put in the bottoms of the boats. Once in Bangkok what to do with it? Well the Thai had ways of using it, so Wat Arun was decorated.
Walking around I noticed a couple of small groups of school children, with one monk each, sitting under some trees. As I passed by one of the monks smiled at me and gestured for me to come over. Joining them he explained he was trying to each conversational English to the Thai children as he felt they needed to know it so that they could participate in the global world. So they pulled up a seat for me beside the monk and began to interview me. It was a lovely lovely experience.
During the interview the monk and I had some conversations about the need for people to learn who they are within. He feels the monks and Thai people in general need to have conversational English in order to pass on and teach medidation. He feels that though all religions have their own moralities and ethics, meditation is non-religion specific but it is the most needed skill for all the Western worl. As the Western world is so materially oriented and the developing countries are aiming to take part in the global economy, they become more materialistic losing the reality of whoe they are, their cultures etc. I completely agree with him.
I know one of the reasons I'm on this extended trip is to get away from materialism, to see who I now think I am inside and to meditate on where next. The monk wisely said you don't have to sit cross-legged in the 'ohm' position to be meditating, as long as you're aware of every moment of the day you're in and live it with care and consideration, you're meditating. This was the most awesome experience of the trip so far. I feel like going back and having more conversations with him. I wish I had taken a photo of them.
Dinner at 'Comme' last night was lovely. Walking around after dinner we came across the local park which had a raised dias on which a local instrumental orchestra was playing. It was a group of about 12 players sitting crossed legged and holding traditional thai instruments. The sound was just gorgeous. We stood and listened for a while. Jeff of course was nearly immediately approached by a Thai person. Apparently he was about 70, looked about 45, and had traveled around 50 countries throughout his life. He stayed chatting to Jeff for quite a while. Actually chatting is the wrong word, he talked at Jeff for a while telling him each and every country he'd been to. Apparently he had been a missionary.
Anyway towards the end of the conversation he kept mentioning this lovely girl, very sexy. I wasn't so hot on that and when I stood really close to Jeff and say I number 1, he understood. But I wonder what he was really up to with that line of conversation, he being a "missionary" and all.
With a little bit of trepidation about getting myself around on my own, I covered myself with long pants, a respectable T-shirt and brought a pair of socks to wear with my sandals for the purpose of visiting temples and the Royal Palace. In lots of temples you must be modestly dressed to enter. You are after all visiting the house of Buddha and to reveal too much flesh is unacceptable.
The Royal Palace Bangkok
The first part of the trip was the express boat from Tha Arthit at Banglampoo to Tha Chang, close to the Royal Palace. It cost a whole 8 baht, which if I work it out is about 20c, Visiting the Royal Palace again was still as awesome a first sight and experience as the very first time. Today being Sunday it was too busy. The crowds were overwhelming. But I did manage to wander around and take some photos for about 2 hours. At one point two local school children came up to me and asked to practice their English. They were very polite, and asking the questions in English was obviously very difficult for them. But they got through it bravely and now I've got 2 'friends' who have my email address. I wonder if I'll ever hear from them?
The second place was Wat Po. Much has been written about Wat Po and it's all true, except at this visit. It's in a state of being repaired so all the wonders are not quite as visible as the last time we were here. But that's good. They'll repair things and keep the temple going for more time.
This time the scaffolding around the reclining Buddha had been removed so I had the best opportunity to see it I've ever had, and to take photos. Surprisingly, in contrast to the Royal Palace, Wat Po was empty, I nearly had the place to myself.
Again, during my trip around the Wat, I was approached by two school children, this time from South Korea, who wanted to practice their English. They had a better command of the language than the first school children, and were more lively and entertaining. One of the questions they asked was what did I think of South Korea and what first came to mind when I thought of South Korea. Then they asked what did I think of North Korea and to be honest I couldn't tell them war and trouble, so I told them as I didn't hear very much about North Korea I didn't really know. Again they got my email address and I have two more 'friends', plus photos of these two.
Walking back to Tha Thien I was debating whether or not to call it a day and head for home as it was already 3:00pm or whether to take the ferry across to Wat Arun. Wat Arun won and I'm so glad it did.
Wat Arun is nothing to write home about in that it's not ornately decorated like the Royal Palace or not as intricate as Wat Po, or as large, but it's unusual in that the ceramic decorations that are attached to the monuments are pieces of dishaware from China. Apparently the ships from China needed something to weigh them down with, so broken china was put in the bottoms of the boats. Once in Bangkok what to do with it? Well the Thai had ways of using it, so Wat Arun was decorated.
Walking around I noticed a couple of small groups of school children, with one monk each, sitting under some trees. As I passed by one of the monks smiled at me and gestured for me to come over. Joining them he explained he was trying to each conversational English to the Thai children as he felt they needed to know it so that they could participate in the global world. So they pulled up a seat for me beside the monk and began to interview me. It was a lovely lovely experience.
During the interview the monk and I had some conversations about the need for people to learn who they are within. He feels the monks and Thai people in general need to have conversational English in order to pass on and teach medidation. He feels that though all religions have their own moralities and ethics, meditation is non-religion specific but it is the most needed skill for all the Western worl. As the Western world is so materially oriented and the developing countries are aiming to take part in the global economy, they become more materialistic losing the reality of whoe they are, their cultures etc. I completely agree with him.
I know one of the reasons I'm on this extended trip is to get away from materialism, to see who I now think I am inside and to meditate on where next. The monk wisely said you don't have to sit cross-legged in the 'ohm' position to be meditating, as long as you're aware of every moment of the day you're in and live it with care and consideration, you're meditating. This was the most awesome experience of the trip so far. I feel like going back and having more conversations with him. I wish I had taken a photo of them.
Dinner at 'Comme' last night was lovely. Walking around after dinner we came across the local park which had a raised dias on which a local instrumental orchestra was playing. It was a group of about 12 players sitting crossed legged and holding traditional thai instruments. The sound was just gorgeous. We stood and listened for a while. Jeff of course was nearly immediately approached by a Thai person. Apparently he was about 70, looked about 45, and had traveled around 50 countries throughout his life. He stayed chatting to Jeff for quite a while. Actually chatting is the wrong word, he talked at Jeff for a while telling him each and every country he'd been to. Apparently he had been a missionary.
Anyway towards the end of the conversation he kept mentioning this lovely girl, very sexy. I wasn't so hot on that and when I stood really close to Jeff and say I number 1, he understood. But I wonder what he was really up to with that line of conversation, he being a "missionary" and all.
Moving from the D&D Inn to the Wild Orchid Inn
What did we do Sunday? After waking up early enough to sing with the dawn chorus of birds, we headed out for breakfast again at D'R Us, got the same cafe latte and croissant. Surprisingly everything wakes up early here. Breakfast is available from about 6:00am in most little cafes. It's to catch the early bus tour people. Folks that are going to Ayurthaya or like places for the day or more.
Wandering around after breakfast for a few hours we got the silver pretend wedding rings out of the way. Spent a little while on the internet checking up on email and bill payments, sorting out health insurance payment for August. About 10:30am we headed back to the D&D Inn to pack and move to the Wild Orchid. It was a very short walk, but with very heavy packs. Again I need to see if there are things I can dump from it as this won't do for too long.
Had lunch at the Wild Orchid, did a bit more people watching by walking around and at 4:00pm Jeff was jaded. Headed back to the room to watch a movie and maybe have a short nap. The nap was a bit longer than that, we both woke up at mid-night. Did watch a movie then and managed another couple of hours sleep up to about 5:45am. Oh Well off again on an early start day.
Wandering around after breakfast for a few hours we got the silver pretend wedding rings out of the way. Spent a little while on the internet checking up on email and bill payments, sorting out health insurance payment for August. About 10:30am we headed back to the D&D Inn to pack and move to the Wild Orchid. It was a very short walk, but with very heavy packs. Again I need to see if there are things I can dump from it as this won't do for too long.
Had lunch at the Wild Orchid, did a bit more people watching by walking around and at 4:00pm Jeff was jaded. Headed back to the room to watch a movie and maybe have a short nap. The nap was a bit longer than that, we both woke up at mid-night. Did watch a movie then and managed another couple of hours sleep up to about 5:45am. Oh Well off again on an early start day.
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
First breakfast on Khao san road
Since we crossed the International Date Line we lost a day, so our first day in Thailand was actually 6th and not the 5th. We were awake early and I seemed to have survived the mozzies through the night. The Silk sleep sack probably helped a lot, as well as the Sawyer insect repellent cream. I had one itchy spot on my right foot, which I was suspicious of, but it didn’t balloon like most mozzie bites can do so I ignored it.
Anyway, we had breakfast at the D’R Us CafÈ across and down the street a little. My first impression in daylight is that Khao sarn road has cleaned itself up a bit and is beginning to recognize the opportunity to cater to the tourist tastes, rather than serve it’s own native Thai foods.
At D’R Us CafÈ you could have waffles, French toast, croissant and several varieties of expresso coffee. Last time were here the only coffee available was instant Nescafe. The people watching was fascinatcing. A very blonde lade with two very dark tousled headed sons, about 11 and 14, was talking to one of the hair braiding vendors with what sounded like a Scandinavian accent, negotiating a deal for all three to get braided. Apparently she couldn’t get the deal she wanted so they paid their CafÈ bill and took off.
There was a French couple sitting beside us at another table who were talking about the travels they had already done. It seems like there are two types of travelers so far. Those who are here for the first time, have never seen Asia and are doing the obvious things like Khao sarn road, getting very drunk, chatting up the Thai girls and unfortunately taking them back to their rooms in a drunken state. It’s more obvious right now that there’s prostitution going on. I don’t remember seeing so much of it last time. Perhaps it’s seasonal – for example the tourists seem to be mostly European at the moment, perhaps that engenders more activity of one type or another. But I speculate.
The early morning was bringing out the monks gathering alms. I watched a few walk down the street. Could I really live that simple a life? Apparently not, even in trying to pack light, I packed an awful lot of stuff I think ‘I need".
After breakfast we wandered down into the Banglampoo area, through what was a decrepit alley. In the alley local’s were getting the business of their day underway. Improvement of the area hasn’t made it down into the little alleys yet, but I’m sure it will some time in the future.
We came across the Wild Orchids Villa, which is a lovely B&B. the entrance is open to the air, with lots of comfortable low seating. And boy does it have a huge collection of buddhas and other staturey on display. Some obviously Burmese, some Thai and oddities from unknown countries.
We booked ourselves in from Saturday for a week. The room is lovely, with the bathroom strategically placed out on the balcony that overlooks the alley. The Wild Orchids is certainly located off the beaten track, but not too far. It’s close to the river so we can catch Express boat ferries easily up or down the river, or simply to the nearest BTS station.
The lady at reception was all business like, but I think if we get on her friendly side she’ll be nice to deal with. The room is 600 baht a night (about 16 dollars), and has no TV, but it has a sense of peace. Above the bed is a Thai wooden display piece, something like a bed head, but not actually attached to the bed.
Today was a get our business done day, so we walked down to the river, took the express boat to Saphon Taksin, transferred to the BTS and headed for MBK, one of the better large mall shopping areas. We needed a cim for the cell phone and this was the best place to get it. We had a gorgeous latte and very spicy Tom Yum ghai soup in the Black Canyon coffee shop. It’s a chain and they can be found all over the place here now.
Looking for internet wireless access we walked several blocks to the Pantip center, which is the Akehabara of Bangkok. After many hours wandering around, and gathering of two cheap VCD movies, we took a cab home.
Unfortunately somewhere during the day my lower legs had been either bitten or had rubbed up against something that caused them to have a reaction and develop a rash. I don’t think it’s fatal, but it looks ugly. Oh well.
That evening we did our internet access at the Grand, while sitting have bier Singhas. It’s strong. After his large one and a second small one Jeff was wiped out. So we headed back to our room and tried to watch one of the movies. At 8:30pm we were both sound asleep.
My impressions of the first real day on the road are that Khao sarn road is slowly getting more sophisticated. It won’t be long before it will be unaffordable to backpackers.
The Thai people, despite the Cabbie experience, are still as warm and friendly as ever. It keeps me smiling more throughout the day. Roll on Saturday, let’s see what else we experience.
Anyway, we had breakfast at the D’R Us CafÈ across and down the street a little. My first impression in daylight is that Khao sarn road has cleaned itself up a bit and is beginning to recognize the opportunity to cater to the tourist tastes, rather than serve it’s own native Thai foods.
At D’R Us CafÈ you could have waffles, French toast, croissant and several varieties of expresso coffee. Last time were here the only coffee available was instant Nescafe. The people watching was fascinatcing. A very blonde lade with two very dark tousled headed sons, about 11 and 14, was talking to one of the hair braiding vendors with what sounded like a Scandinavian accent, negotiating a deal for all three to get braided. Apparently she couldn’t get the deal she wanted so they paid their CafÈ bill and took off.
There was a French couple sitting beside us at another table who were talking about the travels they had already done. It seems like there are two types of travelers so far. Those who are here for the first time, have never seen Asia and are doing the obvious things like Khao sarn road, getting very drunk, chatting up the Thai girls and unfortunately taking them back to their rooms in a drunken state. It’s more obvious right now that there’s prostitution going on. I don’t remember seeing so much of it last time. Perhaps it’s seasonal – for example the tourists seem to be mostly European at the moment, perhaps that engenders more activity of one type or another. But I speculate.
The early morning was bringing out the monks gathering alms. I watched a few walk down the street. Could I really live that simple a life? Apparently not, even in trying to pack light, I packed an awful lot of stuff I think ‘I need".
After breakfast we wandered down into the Banglampoo area, through what was a decrepit alley. In the alley local’s were getting the business of their day underway. Improvement of the area hasn’t made it down into the little alleys yet, but I’m sure it will some time in the future.
We came across the Wild Orchids Villa, which is a lovely B&B. the entrance is open to the air, with lots of comfortable low seating. And boy does it have a huge collection of buddhas and other staturey on display. Some obviously Burmese, some Thai and oddities from unknown countries.
We booked ourselves in from Saturday for a week. The room is lovely, with the bathroom strategically placed out on the balcony that overlooks the alley. The Wild Orchids is certainly located off the beaten track, but not too far. It’s close to the river so we can catch Express boat ferries easily up or down the river, or simply to the nearest BTS station.
The lady at reception was all business like, but I think if we get on her friendly side she’ll be nice to deal with. The room is 600 baht a night (about 16 dollars), and has no TV, but it has a sense of peace. Above the bed is a Thai wooden display piece, something like a bed head, but not actually attached to the bed.
Today was a get our business done day, so we walked down to the river, took the express boat to Saphon Taksin, transferred to the BTS and headed for MBK, one of the better large mall shopping areas. We needed a cim for the cell phone and this was the best place to get it. We had a gorgeous latte and very spicy Tom Yum ghai soup in the Black Canyon coffee shop. It’s a chain and they can be found all over the place here now.
Looking for internet wireless access we walked several blocks to the Pantip center, which is the Akehabara of Bangkok. After many hours wandering around, and gathering of two cheap VCD movies, we took a cab home.
Unfortunately somewhere during the day my lower legs had been either bitten or had rubbed up against something that caused them to have a reaction and develop a rash. I don’t think it’s fatal, but it looks ugly. Oh well.
That evening we did our internet access at the Grand, while sitting have bier Singhas. It’s strong. After his large one and a second small one Jeff was wiped out. So we headed back to our room and tried to watch one of the movies. At 8:30pm we were both sound asleep.
My impressions of the first real day on the road are that Khao sarn road is slowly getting more sophisticated. It won’t be long before it will be unaffordable to backpackers.
The Thai people, despite the Cabbie experience, are still as warm and friendly as ever. It keeps me smiling more throughout the day. Roll on Saturday, let’s see what else we experience.
Thursday, August 05, 2004
Bangkok - Our first cab experience
We rose early, about 6:30am. Jeff was up first, but Ken and Evelyn were already up and about. They’re still suffering from jet lag. I was tired but excited. We had a long journey ahead of us, Honolulu to Tokyo and Tokyo to BKK. It rained as we left Honolulu. I like to think the island was sorry to see us go. But we’ll be back some day.
Being in Tokyo airport again was very interesting. It was so familiar, it almost felt like we were still at home. Having lived in Japan for 15 months it was still easy to recognize how things worked to get service etc. which is usually difficult for first time tourists to a new unknown culture and country.
On to Bangkok, the flight was uneventful and full. I slept a little, which turned out to be good as we wouldn’t get to our hotel until 2:00am BKK time, 7:00am the previous day Honolulu time. We had been traveling for close to 24 hours in all.
We landed at Bangkok at 10:30am, and we got our luggage very quickly, it was the process of getting a cab and and getting into the city center that took the extra hours.
First the Cab was a piece of junk. The engine was so noisy we could have been traveling on a tractor. One third of our way to Bangkok the cabbie had to pull over on the road, make some repairs to the wiring up front- he actually used a bic lighter to fry some wires together to get us going!
About two thirds of the way we began to slow down on the highway, as if the car had lost power. Out hops the cabbie and does something to the gas supply in the trunk which stops the AC. We get off on the road again and he says he needs to get gas for the car as it’s out. Now that the AC was off, the windscreen started to fox up due to the rain outside and us 3 bodies inside. He was driving with an open window and a fox front screen, slowly, to the gas station.
We passed a few Esso stations which we thought he could have stopped at, and said so. No, he needed natural gas and there was a special cabbie stop where he got it at. Finally we pulled into the cabbie stop and he backed up to the natural gas pump because the refueling happens at the rear of the car. Jeff jumped out and stood watching as we were in a very dark, way off the road, little pump station and I wasn’t too sure how safe they would be without us keep our eyes on them.
While the gas was filling the pump attendants rudely stared at me, I put it down to the fact that I’m fair skinned and blue eyed. It felt awful.
Finally the gas was full, the cabbie paid the money, and got in to start the car. But no luck. Now it looked like the battery was dead. Finally, after fostering around under the hood for a little, he got the attendants and Jeff to push the car for a jump start. That got us going.
We arrived at Khao sarn road about 1:30am, got a room at the well known D&D Inn and took off for some food onto Khao sarn road. It was pretty dead but we got some Pad Thai from a street vendor and tried to get a beer, but all the bars were closed. Back to bed and a good nights rest.
Being in Tokyo airport again was very interesting. It was so familiar, it almost felt like we were still at home. Having lived in Japan for 15 months it was still easy to recognize how things worked to get service etc. which is usually difficult for first time tourists to a new unknown culture and country.
On to Bangkok, the flight was uneventful and full. I slept a little, which turned out to be good as we wouldn’t get to our hotel until 2:00am BKK time, 7:00am the previous day Honolulu time. We had been traveling for close to 24 hours in all.
We landed at Bangkok at 10:30am, and we got our luggage very quickly, it was the process of getting a cab and and getting into the city center that took the extra hours.
First the Cab was a piece of junk. The engine was so noisy we could have been traveling on a tractor. One third of our way to Bangkok the cabbie had to pull over on the road, make some repairs to the wiring up front- he actually used a bic lighter to fry some wires together to get us going!
About two thirds of the way we began to slow down on the highway, as if the car had lost power. Out hops the cabbie and does something to the gas supply in the trunk which stops the AC. We get off on the road again and he says he needs to get gas for the car as it’s out. Now that the AC was off, the windscreen started to fox up due to the rain outside and us 3 bodies inside. He was driving with an open window and a fox front screen, slowly, to the gas station.
We passed a few Esso stations which we thought he could have stopped at, and said so. No, he needed natural gas and there was a special cabbie stop where he got it at. Finally we pulled into the cabbie stop and he backed up to the natural gas pump because the refueling happens at the rear of the car. Jeff jumped out and stood watching as we were in a very dark, way off the road, little pump station and I wasn’t too sure how safe they would be without us keep our eyes on them.
While the gas was filling the pump attendants rudely stared at me, I put it down to the fact that I’m fair skinned and blue eyed. It felt awful.
Finally the gas was full, the cabbie paid the money, and got in to start the car. But no luck. Now it looked like the battery was dead. Finally, after fostering around under the hood for a little, he got the attendants and Jeff to push the car for a jump start. That got us going.
We arrived at Khao sarn road about 1:30am, got a room at the well known D&D Inn and took off for some food onto Khao sarn road. It was pretty dead but we got some Pad Thai from a street vendor and tried to get a beer, but all the bars were closed. Back to bed and a good nights rest.
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
On Our Way
Finally at the Honolulu airport ready to catch our flight to Bangkok. The backpacks are overloaded, but it's not as bad as it looks. There are some items we will be dropping off in Bangkok to lighten the load.
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
Cold Honolulu
For the last 3.5 weeks we've been opening the doors at 8:00am in the morning because of the heat and humidity. Today I closed them to keep me warm! I have to say it is unusual weather. It's been raining and windy for the last 2 days. And it will continue until Thursday morning. It's all due to a tropical storm off the way south east of the Islands.
I can't complain, we've had about the most perfect weather so far. Now we head for Bangkok who's daily weather report for the next 10 days is 'thunderstorms'. Welcome to Bangkok's rainy season.
Having 'lived' in Honolulu for the better part of a month my impression of the people is that they are very warm and welcoming. They smile a lot and are very polite drivers. Or as Jeff and I call it 'caring' they don't drive, they car. Jeff's a been driven a bit nuts with how slow the traffic 'cars' here and how drivers polite actions cause traffic jams. We know it's in good intentions, but when an oncoming car stops to let you do a left turn, it blocks up the traffic behind. I think it's better to let the natural flow happen and have the one person waiting to turn left wait, then only one person is inconvenienced.
Ken and Evelyn had a great vacation. I wonder what we will think of Oslo and Stockholm and St. Petersburg? I'm sure we'll get there at some point.
Ken read us some of his old journals from when he visited Oslo in 1968. It would be a cool thing to put them online with his updated ones of their most recent visit. Do a comparison between then and now.
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