Day 93: Bangkok, Thailand

Sunday, 9 April 2017
Overnight at Klong Toey Cruise Terminal, Bangkok

Stats @ Ship’s Time 9:50p (MST) … UTC 2:50p (9 April)
Temp: 84.7F (29.3C)
Position: 13.42.12N / 100.34.71E

There is no medium in Siam; it is either gorgeously gilded palaces
and fantastically adorned temples, or filthy looking huts.
~ Captain GJ Younghusband … speaking in 1888 ~

(As to the filth, things have changed since then … but palaces and temples still abound.)

Welcome to Thailand … once known to the world as Siam … very appropriately nicknamed “The Land of Smiles.”  Today marked our first visit to this country.

But this port day started at sea.  Up at 5:30a, I enjoyed a beautiful pink sunrise before settling down to enjoy this precious morning as the ship cleaved through a calm sea.  The veranda was in the shade, so I made good use of it … editing blog posts while snacking on the light breakfast Mui brought down for me from the Waves Grill.

Insignia, which had slowed down to pick up the pilot around 8:30a, once again sped up around 9:00a.  It was an invitation for terns to follow in our wake and pick up tidbits churned to the surface by the ship’s powerful propellers.  Anyway, By 9:30a, I was done.  Turning a blind eye to the temptation to start working on the post for our last day in Vietnam, I sat with Mui to review notes for today’s scheduled tour in Bangkok — one that I organized with BKK Tours, a local company owned/operated by a husband and wife team.

Under the rule of Ayutthaya back in the 15th century, Bangkok started out as a village on the Chao Phraya River.  A city with a long history, today it is home to 8 million — add another 6 million to cover the metropolitan area.  The land on which Bangkok sits was once a swampland … later drained and irrigated by canals, some of which form shortcuts for navigating the meandering river even today.  All these canals led to the city being nicknamed the “Venice of the East” during the 19th century.

The approach to Bangkok —the modern day capital of Thailand — requires a lengthy sail up the Chao Phraya River … it took us about three hours to make our way to our berth at Khlong Toei (or Toey).  No complaints, though, as the alternative docking area of Laem Chabang, used by larger ships, would have required a drive of at least two hours just to get to the city.  Compared to the sail in to Saigon, I didn’t think this one was as interesting, though I did spy several temples along the way.  By this time, it was too hot to be on the veranda, which bore the brunt of the brutal sun, so I found myself popping in and out as I prepared for the first half of our overnight visit to Bangkok.

We were docked by noon.  Since we had such a late arrival, I had booked a city highlights tour with BKK for THB 2800/person (~ USD $80).  Joining us were the Zs and the Holloways.  We were off the ship as soon as it was cleared.  Following instructions Michiel had provided, we disregarded the written instructions in the Currents that we needed to take a shuttle to the port entrance to meet up with our guide.  In fact, Air had a permit that allowed her to pick us up just a few steps from the gangway.

After introductions all around, we got into a comfortable 9-pax van.  Yes we could have accommodated more people, but it would have been a tight fit, and as hot as it was in the city, the extra space — and the air conditioning — were most welcome throughout the day … not to mention the pre-packaged disposable cotton washcloths that Air and Mr A (our driver) kept on ice and distributed freely after each hot wander that took us away from our air conditioned haven.  It was, after all 97F (36C) officially — and that’s without taking into consideration the heat index.

Our first stop was the Grand Palace overlooking the Chao Phraya River in the heart of the city.  A complex of buildings that extends over 2,350,000 sq ft (about 218,400 sq m), this was the official residence of the kings when the country was known as Siam — from 1782 until 1925.  It’s construction began on the orders of Rama I — the title by which King Phutthayotfa Chulalok is commonly and more easily referred to.  He is the founder of the current dynasty that continues to rule the country.  If the name Chulalok seems familiar … well, think of the movie King & I … Chulalongkorn (Rama V later) was the eldest son of Rama IV …. portrayed by Yul Brynner.  (That movie, by the way, is banned in Thailand … due to historical inaccuracies.)

Glimpse of the palace before we go in to explore the grounds.

Consisting of numerous halls, pavilions, and temple structures, our first sight of the complex left us standing with our mouths agape.  WOW!  When we had asked her how much time we would have here, Air had said an hour … if she kept the pace fast.  We could have spent all day here and still not put a dent in seeing all the wonderful details.  In no way did we do it justice today.

Mui and I immediately thought, “We have to come back.”  And we asked Air when the best time to visit was.  She responded that the winter months were best because the temps are more moderate.  Just as we were thinking that would be perfect, however, she dashed our hopes by telling us that if we thought the palace was jam packed with visitors today, it would be even more so during those months.  Having seen the crowds today, I can’t imagine that one would be able to walk around the palace then — certainly the experience would be highly unpleasant.  In any event, taking any decent photographs of the buildings — especially without an extra-wide lens — was an impossibility, and after trying a few times, I gave up.  I will just have to make do with snapshots.

I couldn’t begin to even tell you what we saw in the palace complex … there was so much to see.  Suffice to say that everything was over-the-top awe-inspiring.  As we dodged the umbrella carrying Chinese and the selfie stick-wielding tourists from around the world, we were lambasted by the heat reflecting off all the gold decorating the buildings and the statues.  It was mind-boggling.

The highlight of any visit to the palace is Wat [temple] Phra Kaew — or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.  Considered the most sacred Buddhist temple in all of Thailand, no photos are allowed inside — and the postcards I found didn’t do it justice, so I saved my money.  Some believe that the 26-inch (66 cm) tall Buddha was crafted in Thailand in the 14th century.  However, legend has it that it originated in India, where a sage prophesied that it would bring “prosperity and pre-eminence to each country in which it resides.”  Believers of the legend thus say that the statue was brought to Thailand in 1762 during the reign of Rama I.  The fact that no historian has been allowed a close-up look at the image keeps the mystery of its origins intact to this day.

Contrary to its name, the Buddha image is not carved out of an emerald, but rather from a single piece of jade … emerald in the Thai language refers to the color of the stone not to the type.  The statue has seasonal clothes — summer, rainy, and winter — and it is dressed by the king or the crown prince  … the only ones allowed to touch the statue.  We saw it wearing its summer outfit.

Air showed us the proper way to bow to the Buddha and sit — feet bottoms facing away — so we could enjoy the temple for a few minutes.  Frankly, the Buddha, small in stature anyway, was so far away that it was overwhelmed by the magnificent interior of the temple, so that’s what I focused on enjoying.

Our fast paced tour of the grounds took us out a gate where the former king — Rama IX — lies in state since his passing in October 2016.  The body will remain there for the Thai people to continue to visit and pay their respects until the cremation ceremony scheduled for December 26 of this year.  A gigantic crematorium is in the process of being built in a nearby park.  Once cremated, his ashes will be enshrined at one of the Buddhist temples in the palace complex.

After leaving the palace, we walked a short distance to the Navy Club, which is said to have a coveted location on the Chao Phraya with excellent views of the area.  The heat — or hunger … or a combination of both — must have put the scenery out of my mind as I didn’t take a single photograph of what was outside the windows.  I did remember to take photos of the excellent food though.  Air ordered a bunch of dishes which we shared family-style … there was a lot of food, but not much remained on the plates by the time we were done.  What did we eat?  There was pad thai, another dish described as pad thai with flat noodles, spring rolls, dumplings of some sort, and I think a few other dishes.  Mui washed it all down with iced Thai coffee — made with condensed milk as they do in Vietnam.  And I shared a bottle of cold Chang [elephant] beer with Tom.

Our first activity after lunch saw us in one of the long tail boats that ply the river and khlongs [canals].  These high-prowed boats, shaped not unlike the gondolas of Venice, are powered by Isuzu engines recycled from trucks — V6 or V8.  Air organized a boat just for our group, so we had plenty of room to spread around and take photos out of both sides as we explored the canals.  Here we saw houses on stilts — some little more than slums, others rather modern-looking buildings.  There were restaurants, and shops, and temples, and all sorts of other places … just like one might find in a land-based neighborhood.  Gone were the dirty, stinky canals mom saw in 1975 when she and dad traveled to Southeast Asia.  If there were any floating vendors plying the waterway, I did not see them. The first came as a nice surprise … the latter I was sorry not to see.  But at least we saw a couple of giant monitor lizards sunning themselves … which was quite unexpected.  And the few Thai people who were out and about waved and greeted us with smiles.

Near the end of our boat cruise, we arrived at a lock.  We had glimpsed several of them in passing, and I assumed they were used to regulate the water level.  In fact, they are used to lock in boats in a manner not unlike the Panama Canal.  We ended up being locked with 14 other boats and waited for the water level to even up with the Chao Phraya before we crossed the river to the pier where we disembarked the boat.

Our next stop was a visit to a flower market.  To get there, however, we had to walk through the local food market.  It was the end of the day, and there wasn’t much action here.  I have to admit it was stinky in places, and dark — and I don’t think Air was joking when she said all the cats we saw were afraid of the rats that are common here.  Anyway, we saw no rats thankfully, but did check out all manner of vegetables and fruits and spices before we arrived at our destination.

The flower market we visited is not where one would go to buy blooms to take home.  Rather, it is where flowers are sold for temple offerings.  The color that dominated was gold — the color of royalty — but there was all manner of flowers being sold.  Duly warned that the scent of the flowers was reserved for the spirits to which the offerings are made, we refrained from sniffing or touching the abundance of blooms in evidence everywhere.  Bundles of flowers were being sold in some stalls, while women made garlands and packaged flowers in others.  It was quite a unique place for us to visit.

Leaving the market, we had a short walk to where our van was awaiting us.  En route, we glimpsed local color in the form of more shops and mobile vendors selling street food.  We were too full to eat, so we refrained from tasting anything, but it was certainly interesting to see it all.

Our next stop was at Wat Pho — a Buddhist complex commonly known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha.  I won’t even attempt to write the full name of the temple, but I will say that it is derived from Photaram or Podharam, and is a reference to the Monastery of the Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaya, India … where, it is said, Buddha attained enlightenment.  The temple is apparently #1 on what Wikipedia describes are “six temples in Thailand classed as the highest grade of the first-class royal temples.”

Originally built by Rama I, the complex was expanded and renovated by Rama III.  It houses the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand.  The reason most people visit is to see the 151-foot (46m) long reclining Buddha, which represents Buddha’s entry into nirvana and the end of all reincarnations.  The statue is made of brick that has been plastered over and gilded with gold leaf.  The head, supported by Buddha’s right arm, stands 49 feet (15m) high.  Snails are said to cover the head … to keep Buddha cool.   The feet stand nearly 10 feet (3m) high.  It was an amazing sight to behold … with recesses in the railing allowing a full glimpse of its length.  The lower legs were covered — I assume for restoration work.

After seeing the statue, we wandered around the grounds for a while.  Having arrived shortly before the 6:00p closing time, we had the place practically to ourselves, so it was a peaceful visit.  We saw several monks and quite a few novices wandering around — which was a nice addition to the ambiance of our surroundings.

It was 6:30p by the time we left Wat Pho.  As dusk turned to night, we drove to Asiatique, a large open-air mall, to drop off the Holloways, who had plans to join fellow-passengers — and some crew members — to see a ladyboy show … in which all the performers are transvestites.  I later heard it was amazing.  Too bad I did not hear about it earlier … we might have tagged along.  Then again, with a 7:00a start scheduled for tomorrow, it was probably best that we return to the ship as we did.

Today we explored the modern day capital of the country … tomorrow we go inland to visit the ancient capital.

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