MORNING
The temple of the Emerald Buddha is one of the highlights of Bangkok. It is the most important Buddhist temple in Thailand enshrining an image of Buddha carved from a single block of Jade (hence emerald or green). But the complex also contains other artifacts. An interesting artifact is the miniature version of Angkor Wat in the temple complex.
We started out around 9 am and went through the city by tour bus to get to the temple. The drive through the city was interesting. What struck me was that despite choking traffic there was no honking. It seems like the Thai people are the most patient people on earth. If one considered that the temperature was rising, I marveled at the discipline shown by the Thais in not yelling, screaming and honking at each other.
Some other characteristics of the city. The electrical cabling is a (or at least looks like) a horrendous mess. It is hard to fathom how the city doesn't blow up with short circuited cables. It almost looks like people have just gone and drawn cabling for themselves without going through 'proper channels'!
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Jumbled up electric cables on a typical Bangkok street
Back to our exploration of Bangkok. We arrived at the temple complex slightly before ten. Even though it was early, the place was packed with tour groups and individual tourists. I had simply forgotten how crazy it feels to be packed in with hordes of people. Of course, this being the Chinese New Year week, every single person seemed to be Chinese. In fact the guards and others who were trying to control this humanity were continually shouting 'Lai Lai'. I asked Ranee what this meant. She said this was Mandarin for 'keep moving, folks' -- although I doubt there is anything like 'folks' in mandarin!
By the time it got to around 10:30, the Sun was beating down mercilessly. Our cheeks, ears and neck were literally burning. The sweat was pouring down in buckets. I was surprised to realize that I was liking this. Sandhya was miserable. She had this far away look that told me she was not really enjoying the show put on by the Sun. As far as I was concerned this felt like I was in a Spa. It's always good to be a little bit delusional -- this way you won't feel miserable. Some wise person once said it was best to enjoy what cannot be avoided! Later in the evening Sandhya looked up the max temperature of the day. It was an unbelievable 91º F with humidity around 50%! I have to say this heat was very, very intense.
But then the sights at the temple made up for the discomfort. A common theme through out the complex was the statues of Garuda and Naga and the eternal fight between the two. All temples have spires that represent Garuda's beak with Naga's tail coming on top. Renee had a whole host of stories on Buddha, Garuda, Naga, Hindu mythology. Of course there were a bunch of Indians in the group who were somewhat argumentative with her about her depiction of what they probably thought was the domain of Indians and only Indians. The fact that she was half-Indian was of no import to them. Thankfully it was brief and Ranee skillfully parried their challenges and smoothly moved on. I am posting several images here of the temple complex. A fascinating set of murals depicts Ramayana spanning several walls. The murals were rich in expression, showing continuity from the time Sita was abducted and finally rescued. It included the 'trial by fire' of Sita. Hanuman was not known as Hanuman, but the white monkey.
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The evening was dedicated to fun of the earthly kind, namely, eating drinking and dancing (if you can). There are several river cruise companies in Bangkok. Gate1 had booked us on a one-hour cruise for our party of 18. This was an optional tour and about a quarter of the group opted out. We arrived at the cruise terminal around quarter to 7. The cruise was to start around 7 (have you guys noticed, I am no longer precise? I have started using Asian time and not German time).
While we were standing around waiting in the terminal, some very beautiful thai girls, dressed in traditional, saree type of an outfit came over and pinned flowers on our shoulders and then took a picture (we later bought the framed picture). Then we all walked over to the ramp on the pier and waited for the boat to arrive. The boat docked and the ladies, again in traditional dress, did a dance routine on the landing. There were other girls on the upper deck doing the traditional dance. This was about 5 minutes or so.
We then all walked on to the boat. We had reservations at the front end of the top deck. Perfect setting. Right next to the singers and the DJ.
As we settled down at our tables, the music had already started. A young man was on a saxophone belting out some Kenny G song. Followed by a bunch of female singers. Lots of golden oldies (think Abba). Of course, when there is music and the beat is good, we dance -- a lot. Needless to say, when people saw us dancing they started trickling over to the tiny space. Soon the crowd was large enough for us to get out and watch.
A great fun day, tiring to start with. But hey when you end the day with some dancing to golden oldies, I would consider that a great day.
We are leaving for Siem Reap (Cambodia). Looking forward to it. Thailand was fun, interesting and hot
By the time it got to around 10:30, the Sun was beating down mercilessly. Our cheeks, ears and neck were literally burning. The sweat was pouring down in buckets. I was surprised to realize that I was liking this. Sandhya was miserable. She had this far away look that told me she was not really enjoying the show put on by the Sun. As far as I was concerned this felt like I was in a Spa. It's always good to be a little bit delusional -- this way you won't feel miserable. Some wise person once said it was best to enjoy what cannot be avoided! Later in the evening Sandhya looked up the max temperature of the day. It was an unbelievable 91º F with humidity around 50%! I have to say this heat was very, very intense.
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The temple complex
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EVENING
The evening was dedicated to fun of the earthly kind, namely, eating drinking and dancing (if you can). There are several river cruise companies in Bangkok. Gate1 had booked us on a one-hour cruise for our party of 18. This was an optional tour and about a quarter of the group opted out. We arrived at the cruise terminal around quarter to 7. The cruise was to start around 7 (have you guys noticed, I am no longer precise? I have started using Asian time and not German time).
While we were standing around waiting in the terminal, some very beautiful thai girls, dressed in traditional, saree type of an outfit came over and pinned flowers on our shoulders and then took a picture (we later bought the framed picture). Then we all walked over to the ramp on the pier and waited for the boat to arrive. The boat docked and the ladies, again in traditional dress, did a dance routine on the landing. There were other girls on the upper deck doing the traditional dance. This was about 5 minutes or so.
We then all walked on to the boat. We had reservations at the front end of the top deck. Perfect setting. Right next to the singers and the DJ.
As we settled down at our tables, the music had already started. A young man was on a saxophone belting out some Kenny G song. Followed by a bunch of female singers. Lots of golden oldies (think Abba). Of course, when there is music and the beat is good, we dance -- a lot. Needless to say, when people saw us dancing they started trickling over to the tiny space. Soon the crowd was large enough for us to get out and watch.
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Our Evening Cruise on the River
We are leaving for Siem Reap (Cambodia). Looking forward to it. Thailand was fun, interesting and hot
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