Of Buddhas and Kings

We arrived in Bangkok from India at 5am and took a quick cat-nap at the hotel to recharge for making the most of our one day in Bangkok. We stayed at the Marriott Resort & Spa right on the bank of the main river that runs through Bangkok which made our sightseeing very easy as we used the river boats for our transport to the key sites of the city. We started off the day by booking a classic longboat that is like Bangkok's version of the Venetian gondoliers, but they have a big old outboard motor with a 10-foot long extension to the propeller that they wield around with amazing skill and precision. He took us through the tour of the canals on the west side of the main river which is the old capital of Thailand before they built Bangkok on the east-side of the River and the King declared it the new capital. Very interesting to see how the entire community is built around the transport and trade along the canal systems. We went through various stages of the canals, from industrial, to peasant ramshackle huts to very affluent homes – all with their own docks and riverboats for day-to-day access. Most interesting was the amount of kids swimming in the murky water that we would guess is not the cleanest of water but at every turn there was groups of kids having a great time playing and diving without a worry in the world. The boat ladies paddling their tourist trinkets, beer and bread to feed the swarming catfish were also great visuals.

After we rejoined the canal to the main river we stopped at the Temple of the Dawn, a classic old Buddhist temple that's main feature is a very tall and ornate central structure with stairs that take you up to the 30-40meter level where you get a great view of the temple grounds and across the river to the Grand Palace and the diverse and modern urban buildings of Bangkok all through the background. The stairs they built got progressively steeper, higher and shallower, and as we went up after a long night of travel we wanted to blast up to wake up our bodies again. Then coming down clinging to the railing reminded us of the arête you climb dropping into the Vale Blanche glacier at the top of the Agui du Midi in Chamonix! The quick hit of lactic acid left both our legs like jelly the rest of the day!!

Next stop was the Grand Palace, built in the mid 1700's by the first king of Thailand. The grounds contain both a huge temple as well as the royal palaces of that several of the kings have built for themselves over the years. The country is still a constitutional monarchy and the current King is highly regarded and profiled everywhere we went, but actually doesn't live at the Grand Palace any longer using it only for very special diplomatic functions or royal ceremonies. Buddhist protocol requires legs or shoulders not to be bared and to keep all tourists in accordance to this they actually give those arriving in shorts or tank-tops clothing to cover up with. We hired a guide and off we went in our very fashionable new garb (Paula's skirt was actually quite nice, but the shirts and pants were more like hospital scrubs). The main temple was built to worship the "Emerald Buddha" (actually made of jade) which was carved several hundred years prior to the building of this temple (legend has it lightening struck rock and created the Buddha) and the King acquired it and build this temple to worship this cute little green god. All the grounds are amazingly decorated, ornate and detailed beyond imagination and the main temple itself with all its painted story lines giving us the feeling similar to that of being inside the Sistine Chapel. It was also very interesting to learn of the many parallels and overlaps with Hinduism of India and Buddhism of Thailand.

The day concluded with more exploring of Bangkok's diverse public transport first on the river-bus, then taxied to a mall (shopping for a new camera as ours died – hence no pictures until we develop the disposable camera film - except a couple we poached on-line from wikapedia), Skytrain back to the river and then the hotel shuttle boat back for a perfect outdoor Thai dinner on the wharf at the hotel. Bangkok is a huge city and a vast contrast for us coming from Mumbai as it has much more modern and highly developed systems, but still with a great feel of tradition, aesthetics and honor. We are now off to Bali and are looking forward to more of the peaceful and sincere nature we have been experiencing as we travel through these Asian countries.