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We had a few days to spare before we left Thailand for the next leg of our journey. Bangkok is a huge city with people everywhere. After visiting quiet islands and towns it was quite a shock to find where everyone's been hiding. I met up with Celia and we were crossing the city to get to the hostel, loaded down with her backpack. I got turned around and we walked a few blocks the wrong way so it took us longer to get there than originally planned. We made it to our street though it was the far end of the street and a man stopped right in front of us to make a little bow to the temple across the street. "It's good luck," he said, "you can make a wish. You want married, you want baby, you want good luck, you make a wish at temple." He was very friendly and was telling us that today was a Buddhist holiday and that one of the temples was open for visitors but just for that day and it was closing soon. And, in effort to increase tourism in Thailand, the governments were subsidising the "Thai tuk-tuks" so we could get really cheap fares. Wouldn't you know it, there was one of the "Thai tuk-tuks" not 20 feet away! He chatted with the driver and he said he would take us to see 3 different temples for only 10 Baht each (that's just $.30!). Wow! What luck! "Hurry, it close 15 minute!" "Can we go to the hostel first to drop off our stuff?" we asked the driver. "No time, finish finish!"
We got to the first temple to see the "black buddha." We walked into the gates and the doors were closed for a prayer ceremony. Dang, we must have taken too long getting there.
Next up was the temple with the "lucky Buddha." "Is this the Buddha where you make a wish?" Celia asked to one of the ladies outside the main building. She didn't seem to know what we were talking about.
Next stop jewelry shop... Huh?
Next stop tailor... Huh?
Turns out that shops will give these tuk-tuk drivers gas coupons if they bring tourists to their shops. But the sales people don't like it much because the tourists don't want to buy jewelry or suits. The salesguy at the tailor was actually pretty rude to us so we told our driver we were done with the little tour de Thai town and wanted to get to our hotel... finally.
Later, I noticed on my map a little yellow box that said, "Beware of people offering discount tours and lucky Buddhas. If you encounter any, please call the tourist police."
I should have studied my map more thoroughly.
We did the tourist thing and saw the major attractions including the beautiful palace where the King & Queen live. Inside the palace walls there is also a major temple with a gigantic reclining Buddha that's got to be 100 feet long. Along the back wall are metal bowls about the size of soccer balls and you can get a cup full of miniature coins and you drop a coin in each bowl. There is a nonstop metallic tinkling as you walk around the statue because of all of the people dropping coins. I'm not sure of the reason but it made an interesting atmosphere.
This is the Giant Swing. I believe it was a gift from the Chinese government in the 1800's. I should check my facts. I'm not sure if it originally was a humungus swingset or if they just call it a swing but I thought it had a cool look to it anyway.
Before I left on my trip, my co-worker, Susan, was telling me about a must-see show in Thailand called Siam Niramit. So we went and I thought it was fantastic. The stage is in the Guinness Book of World Records for it's size and there is a huge cast, tons of costumes, etc.
photos borrowed from siamniramit.com
It was an incredible show.Another cultural event that I checked out was traditional Thai puppetry. In this art, three-foot tall puppets are manipulated by three puppeteers who also appear on stage. One is holding the body with his right hand like a regular hand puppet, and controls the puppets left hand with a stick. A second person moves the puppet's right hand with a stick and the third person moves the feet. Everything is perfectly timed. When the puppet's head moves, the three puppeteers move their heads in the same way. Since puppets' faces don't change, emotion is shown by the puppeteers. Whenever the puppeteers walk it is in unison with the movements of the puppet's feet. Like they're all Siamese quadruplets that are connected and make every movement in perfect synchronization. (Did you know that before Thailand was Thailand, it was Siam? Siamese... coincidence?)
Overall, I enjoyed Bangkok. I like cities bustling with life, transportation, and things to see and do. This was no disappointment. I met some cool people and saw some interesting things. But for now, this is the end of my Thai adventure... Off to Indonesia!
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