Thailand: Day 2 - Bangkok

We took a ferry boat from our hotel down the Chao Phraya River to spend a day at the  main Buddist Temple - Wat Pho. (Pronounced "watt-po").  Wat Pho is a huge campus in the Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand.  Located on Rattanakosin Island, it is directly south of the Grand Palace.

The campus consists of various Pagodas (in which the cremains of the dead are stored); worship areas and hundreds of Buddha statutes - (sitting, standing and a HUGE reclining Buddah statue).  The campus is a sacred place where 300 monks live; Bangkok residents come to worship; and thousands of visitors come to tour every year.

Buddhism is practiced by 94% of the Thai people.  Their Buddha is not the "fat and happy" version - but rather, Thai people worship the Gautama Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama).  Gautama Buddha is the primary figure in Buddhism; he was a real person and a spiritual leader that lived over 2,500 years ago.  His teachings eventually became the foundation of Buddhism, and he is recognized by Buddhists as the “enlightened” one.

The following pictures are all from the campus of Wat Pho.  Everything on the campus is intricate in design and detail - with glass mosaic designs and gold foil overlays as well as extraordinary stone carvings.   The temple is considered the earliest center for public education in  medicine/healing in Thailand.  It houses a school of Thai medicine  and is also known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage.  Thai massage is still taught and practiced at the temple.

A few of the many pagan statues guarding the various entrances of the Wat Pho campus. 

Sitting Buddhas - there are over 170 of them throughout the campus. 

This Buddha statute, inside one of the worship temples, is almost 3 stories high. 

Hundreds of intricate Pagodas, with cut glass and ceramic craftmanship are scattered throughout Wat Pho.  The cremains of Bangkok citizens are housed in the Pagodas.  In Thailand, after death, bodies are cremated and not buried. 

Standing Buddhas line this particular worship hall.  There are over 200 standing Buddahs 

Many of the Pagodas are several stories high; this one is at least 4 stories. 

Unique waterfalls on the campus provide worshipers an opportunity to pay homage to statutes of gods
 that are situated in and among the flora. 

This reclining Buddha is 50 feet high and 150 feet long.  It was built by King Rama III in 1832; the Buddha was constructed first and the building surrounding the Buddha was built to house the figure.  More intricate pictures can be found at this site: https://www.photodharma.net/Thailand/Wat-Pho-Buildings/Wat-Pho-Buildings.htm 

Smaller statues are located inside the temple of the reclining Buddha

Thailand: Day 1 - Bangkok

Welll!  What can I say about that crazy loooonng flight with two plane transfers?  Other than you want to be in first class if you are going to be on a plane for over 20 hours!  Whaaah!  Economy class is all I could afford.    All I know is that if you can swing it?  I DEFINITELY recommend first class. Enough said.  

So.   My first day in Thailand!  A warm 78 degrees!  I appreciate that, since it was 10 degrees when I left the US.   After making my way through the super busy airport, I adventurously found my way to a taxi and had a local taxi driver take me into town.  Lovely man! He is just the type of friendly taxi driver I imagined I would encounter!  He tried his best to help me with my attempt to speak a few words of hastily-learned Thai.   

Expressway Sign - Bangkok, Thailand

It was a lost cause.  So -  I just stopped TRYING to talk Thai and I started observing. 

Signs like the one to the left are not too intimidating, though.  There is a huge advantage here for United States tourists, in that almost everything I need to know is written in English subcaps.  I don’t have to go very far to see something written in English or hear some American tune on the radio.  I even walked by an apartment today that was playing a DVD of Ms. Congeniality (the Sandra Bullock film from a few years ago.)

I took a solo walking tour this afternoon and got lost on a few back streets in downtown Bangkok. I was overwhelmed by the amount of activity in this incredibly crowded city.  (Think New York City Chinatown on steroids).   Each street is utterly jam packed and crammed to the gills with street vendors; hole-in-the-wall eateries; apartments; car repair shops; shoe shops; food trucks; mopeds; cats and dogs (feral and tame); pigeons and crows; barber shops; and all manner of bustling activity.  Thousands of vendors are all competing for a piece of the monetary pie that tourists and locals pour into the economy.  Many of the businesses in the city of Bangkok are operated out of  storefronts that can’t be much more than 10 feet wide – so there can be 20 or more storefronts on one block: 

Typical Bangkok street- Downtown Bangkok

Downtown Bangkok

Shops and businesses - Bangkok

Street taxi - downtown Bangkok

Typical street business - a woman outside a storefront, selling food

Local printing store (think Staples for your printing needs)

  

The majority of apartments I have seen thus far are what Americans would consider tenement conditions in the US: 

Bangkok apartments - downtown Bangkok

Bangkok apartments - downtown Bangkok

Yet, in the midst of the organized chaos, there are true moments of beauty in the cacophony of sounds, smells and visuals. For example, I walked through an alley that was littered with debris and poorly paved – and at the end of the alley, what do I see but beautiful splashes of color that show God’s handiwork:

Beauty in a concrete world - Bangkok

Goodbye from Bangkok!

Well, that’s it for the day! Tomorrow is a group day with group tours starting.  I am staying at a nice hotel – but it’s very “touristy” and shows only the best side of Bangkok with its amenities and guest services.   There are hostels right next door that look just like the apartment buildings I have seen.  http://www.nouvocityhotel.com.  Nice touch about the Nouvo City Hotel?  Creative towels. I am going to start folding my towels like this, too! 

Thailand Here I Come - But I've Gotta get out of DC First!

Hello, visitors!  Merry Christmas to all!  I hope Santa has been good to everyone.

Okay, so ...   I have been plenty of places in my life, but never have I actually documented my travels and tried to keep a record of memories that extends beyond a few pictures tucked away in a dusty photo album that sits in a closet somewhere.  This is my commitment to begin a habit that I plan on carrying through the rest of my life - memorializing my travels.  I am headed to Bangkok, Thailand - leaving out of Ronald Reagan Airport in DC on Tuesday evening, December 26, 2017.   I am excited about this trip because it is the first time I have ever been to the far east!!  The length of the flight  I'm not so excited about ...  it's over 20 hours, two plane changes (one change in New York city; one in Hong Kong) and 8,700 miles.   But, if I just kick back and relax (and hopefully sleep the whole night through on the plane), it shouldn't be that bad.

I am traveling to Bangkok solo, but I will be meeting up with a group of 12 -  so I am hopeful that I will get to know some new and pretty cool people.   What's even more exciting?  I will be on a warm, sunny Thailand beach for New Year's day!   I don't come back to the United States until January 5th, 2018.

Our travel itinerary is as follows: we start in Bangkok; begin to wind our way down to the far southern city of Phuket.  Along the way, we spend some time in Surat Thani; Ao Nang; and Ko Yao Noi.  Planes, trains, boats AND automobiles will be involved in this adventure!  Whoo-hoo!  That's a lot of diversity in traveling!

I plan on updating the blog everyday.  I mean, how else is this traveling, jet-setting, 'round the way kinda girl gonna capture fresh memories if I don't write about them immediately?!  : )  So, check back here periodically to see what is new and exciting. (Or, even subscribe to my blog so you get updated when I post).  Unless something crazy happens in one of the airports that would be worth noting, I will post again as soon as I get to Bangkok!  (Which should be interesting ... I don't speak a word of Thai.  I guess I should learn the basic phrases on the plane, like "where's the bathroom?" or "EXCUSE ME ... ummm ... is this on sale?!?"