MONDAY, APRIL 2 : BEDAZZLED BY BANGKOK

April 2, 2012

Unfortunately the port for Ho chi Minh City was cancelled on April 1 cause of Typhoon Pakhar which was to have a direct hit on the city. It was a disappointment of course and Captain Justin Lawes handled the situation with professionalism and class. He ended up promising us two days in the Bangkok area thus we could get to see more of the famous city. It was not an April Fools’ joke.

On Monday, April 2 at 8AM we pulled into the busiest port that I have ever seen which Laem Chabang was. I dressed in an orange dress with short sleeves that was very light and airy since Bangkok was to be hot and sticky all day long. April is the start of their summer season. Joe wore khaki shorts and a t-shirt. Our shoes were closed toe since we were visiting temples and palaces. The dress code for these places is very strict and was policed by soldiers at the sites.

There were four large very comfortable air-conditioned buses to take us on our tour to Bangkok but it was a long two hour drive to downtown Bangkok. I sat by a large window so I could take photos during our trek. My first impression was the enormous port with thousand of containers stacked up five to six high over acres and acres. There were so many port areas for ships and many roads in the area that were filled with trucks of all sizes. The air was thick with haze which was heavy duty air pollution of the highest sort that I have ever been around. The roads were miles long in the port and were the size of a moderate size city with action happening 24 hours a day. All those cheap exports are headed out to the far corners of the earth particularly the USA. It was a very modern port with up to date technology. Our cruise terminal is a fly in the middle of the city of piers, terminals and roads. It was a modern facility and on the bottom floor there were some shops but we knew we would find cheaper goods in the city.

Along the way there were many different types of housing from metal side by side shacks with laundry hanging outside, to older apartment buildings, new condos, some single family homes, some villa types, and homes on stilts in the well used Bangkok canals. Out tour guide told us that the government has been trying to persuade the eyesore tin shacks to move to the nicer apartment homes with a monetary incentive but the people refused to move since they are with generations of family and friends as well as being dirt cheap. They are truly and eyesore so I can see why the government wants them gone to portray the country as modern rather than third world. As we got closer to the city of Bangkok with toll roads, the modern skyscrapers reached to the sky next to colorful temples everywhere. The smog was thick so seeing into the distance is not possible. The traffic in Bangkok is legendary with their lack of pollution control with millions of mopeds, tri-wheeled taxis, buses, trucks and all kinds of motors killing the air. The toll roads were 12 lanes across and bumper to bumper. Most of the cars were Toyotas and Hondas.

The bus driver did a fantastic job maneuvering through the traffic in the city where lanes are just a suggestion. It was not unusual to see 30 motorbikes at a traffic light. I was fascinated with all the different types of shops and people working very hard at sewing machines and creating shoes since you could see into the darken shops. The signs were bright and colorful with many in their native language and English. They drive on the left like the English but I have finally gotten use to it since it has been that way everywhere we have visited.

Our first stop was at Wat Trimitir, The Temple of The Golden Buddha (Sukhothai Traimut) which is a holy place and the largest golden Buddha in the world. The Buddha is almost 16 feet high and 12.5 feet wide with it weighing about 5 tons! It is 700 years old and is a valuable treasure of Thailand and Buddhism. At one time the Golden Buddha was covered with plaster to conceal it from the enemy that was invading Thailand. The Temple was deserted in 1931 when some workmen were removing the statue to a new temple in 1955 when a workman noticed the gold under the cracked plaster. It was made of pure gold. The Golden Buddha image blesses your visit and for you to have good luck and fulfill all your wishes.

Our next stop was the Grand Palace which needs a grander phrase to describe the acres of manicured grounds, temples, shrines, Buddhas, jeweled figures and temples that are astonishing to see such expensive adornment. The colors were vivid and detailed art works are gifts to the world. The Grand Palace surrounded by high walls with machine gun soldiers guarding the entrance gates for troublemakers as well as people who are improperly dressed. Joe had to put on some wild cotton pants to cover his legs. Women in shorts or Capri’s had to put saris around their waists. People who had open toed shoes were not permitted into the complex or shooed out.

The Grand Palace complex was established in 1782 and it consists of not only the royal residence which you cannot enter but also throne halls. There are also a number of government offices as well as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The complex covers 218,000 square meters and is surrounded by four walls, 1900 meters in length.

After King Rama I ascended to the throne in 1782, the palace was built after he decided he did not like the palace being on the other side of the river. It was his royal command that the Grand Palace be built.

We entered the Royal Monastery of the Emerald Buddha who is enshrined on a golden traditional Thai-style throne made of gilded-carve wood in the ordination hall of the royal monastery. The sacred image is clad in one of three seasonal costumes (summer, rainy season and winter). The costumes are changed three times a year in a ceremony presided over by His Majesty the King.

The Emerald Buddha is carved from a block of green jade and was first discovered in 1434. It was also covered with plaster but an Abbott notice that the plaster has flaked off on his nose revealing the green stone. The walls of the ordination hall are decorated with mural paintings that depict selected events of the Lord Buddha’s like including his birth, childhood, youth and the Great Renunciation. The murals are quite detailed and pretty with golden gild.

The Upper Terrace has a detailed miniature Angkor Wat. Around this area there are statues of elephants and mythical beings.

The Phra Maha Monthian Group consists of three green oriental pitched roofs. In the hall there is a throne which is surmounted by a nine tiered white canopy, flanked by two white seven tiered while umbrella. This is where the coronation of the King occurs.

The Dusit Group consists of the Throne Hall and Amphorn Pavilion which was built by King Rama I. He intended that it be used for his own lying-in-state ceremony.

There are many other temples and shrines, amazing golden temple tiers. One temple tier looked like an overdone decorated birthday cake. There were lots of pretty plants, bonsai trees, water gardens.

The Grand Palace was packed with thousands of visitors. Eventually we were overheated, drenched and thirsty since the heat of the sun bear down on us and the thick humid smoggy air. We were glad to leave the Grand Palace complex to walk over to the riverboat cruise on the Chao Phraya River. The dock was very similar to the ones in Venice. Once you are cruising on the motorboat with a cover, you see why the city is called the Venice of the East with all the canals with all kinds of different vessels with one even looking like a gondola. As we boarded our guided boat tour, we were all handed an iced wash cloth in a sealed plastic wrap. AHHHHHHHH!!!! It felt so great to wipe the sweat from your arms, legs, back, hair, and face as we started to move down the canals. The guide also gave us some cold bottled water which was needed by everyone to prevent dehydration. We all loved cruising in the river and looking from side to side at the various temples, shrines, hotels, pheasant homes on stilts. We also could see the new skyscrapers and condos that bring Bangkok to the modern age. New condos next to the water, 1500 sq feet, were selling for $135,000 US. What a view!

Our guide also took us down some of the smaller canals and we stopped in front of the Temple for the Fish. Our guides gave us chunks of bread to feed the huge wide mouth hungry catfish that numbered in the thousands since the water in front of the temple is off limits to fishing and the fish know it. I told a bunch of amazing pictures of the catfish in a feeding frenzy.

Our next stop was a buffet lunch at the Ramada Plaza on the river where a Thai lunch was prepared. Some items were very spicy. There was green curry and white curry, fish, chicken, lamb, beef, veggies, and beautiful desserts. As I walked to the front of the hotel to get on a bus to get us back to port, I saw a large purple swimming pool. Yipes!

There was a non-optional stop at a high pressured large jewelry store that perturbed me. The sales girls were pretty young, well dressed, Thai young ladies. They greeted you with a fresh cold drink and escorted you around the huge complex. We did not buy a thing.

We got back to the ship about 6:30pm and we were beat from the long day being in the heat and lots of walking but it was worth it.

We had to get ready for supper since it was a head waiter, George, last night before he flew home for two month to see his wife and two kids. He was such fun and was the best waiter Joe and I ever had on a cruise ship. He sure knew how to make us laugh and served us great all the time. Each couple gave him an added bonus as a good bye gift.

Our next day will be spent at the beach town of Pattaya on Tuesday. Pattaya used to be a quiet fishing village until the US servicemen from the Vietnam War came over to rest on the beach and now it is filled with resorts, massage parlors and places that are seedy. I will write about that another time.