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Thailand Journal
We started our Thailand journey in Bangkok. To see journal entries from our other Thailand stops, just click the links at the top of the page.
Bangkok, Thailand
(
Lea) I did not envision spending my first morning in Bangkok standing on the
hotel bed, hanging up our underwear to dry by the room air conditioner. After 32
hours of travel time, we finally arrived in Thailand to discover our luggage was
lost. And we knew it would happen! We carried our bags on the planes all the way
from Detroit to LA. At LA China Air would not let us bring them on so they
"checked" them at the gate...but we did not see them until the end of
our first day in Bangkok. We got to the hotel at 3:00 am and decided to wash
everything and hang them to dry for the next day. We figured we would sleep
until 10:00 because we were so tired. No such luck! We woke up at 5:00 am and
spent the next 3 hours trying to dry the clothes faster. Finally we got out into
the city...
Bangkok is a city of contrasts. On one end, it is loud, noisy, dirty, and smelly. However, the people in the city dress really well (and are also quite pleasant), there are modern shops throughout the streets, and throughout the city are the beautiful wats, temples to the Buddha. Though I will soon be ready for fresh air, I love the fact that I am learning and seeing so many new sites.
The same day we visited the Golden Buddha and Wat Mangkon Kamalawat. I learned that 95% of Thai people are Theravada Buddhists, which is based on the older teachings of Buddhism, rather than the Mahayana Buddhists. They follow the teachings of Guatama, an Indian prince turned ascetic (as the Lonely Planet guidebook told me) who became the Guatama Buddha. Theravada Buddhism follows the four noble truths which summed up are that all people are tempted by desire (tanha) and following these desires results in dukkha (stress, dissatisfaction, disease). The goal is to eliminate dukkha by following the Enlightened path. This path includes right understanding, thought, speech, bodily conduct, livelihood, effort, attentiveness and concentration, basically living clean. Doing this will allow people to achieve nibbana, which means getting rid of all desire and therefore all suffering. At the wats we saw many Buddhist monks, who live extremely simply. Thai people appear very devoted to practicing Buddhism, as we also saw and crowds of Thais giving offerings to both the monks and Buddha statues. Almost every house or building has a small spirit house built next to it for spirits to live in.
We also visited Wat Pho (seen above), which was amazing. It is the oldest wat in Bangkok and houses the Emerald Buddha, made out of jade. This Wat is also the largest Thai massage and original medicine (herbal) school. The Wat housed several temples and stupas with intricate tiles. Since being here I am amazed that I will walk by and see a beautiful wat right next to shacks where people live.
(Keith)
Bangkok, what better place to start this trip. It is our first time in
Asia and seems to encompass many aspects of modern life, while holding onto
the traditions and beliefs of the past. For example, it is not
uncommon to see a Buddhist monk dressed in his monastic robes wandering the
streets amongst cell phones and motor scooters.
Upon arriving in this city (and trust me this is a city, a BIG city), we hailed a cab for a 40 minute ride to our hotel. Since it was the middle of the night, we could see very little and what we could see was written in Thai; therefore our fate was left in the hands of the driver. The next morning we set out to explore and, we were immediately accosted with the loud honking of horns and mufferless vehicles; the traffic was (and seems to always be) motionless. Hint: Learn to use the water buses; they travel up and down the Choa Phraya river and will save hours of traffic stress.
Once we got past the pollution and chaos, we explored Chinatown. As you can see from my picture, there are lots fresh vegetables, meats, and noodle shops packed within the tiny streets and alleys. As we made our way deeper and deeper into Chinatown, the senses were often overwhelmed: the smell of cooking food, raw fish, fresh vegetables, the claustrophobia of person after person vying for goods, and the omnipresent smog. Chinatown was a great experience, as we didn't see too many tourists, and is obviously an integral part of life.
Our remaining days in Bangkok were spent exploring Wat Pho and the Grand Palace. Thailand has a constitutional monarchy, thus it has a royal family. The Grand Palace was breath taking and houses the Emerald Buddha. As with the Virgin at Montserrat, the Emerald Buddha holds quit a mysterious past. It is made of 100% jade and no one knows where it was formed. It first appeared in Chiang Rai in the 15th century, was later captured by Laotian invaders, recaptured by King Taksin, and finally moved to the royal palace in Bangkok by Rama I. The Buddha is dressed in gold robes that the King ceremoniously changes for each season.
As Lea mentioned, Bangkok is a city of contrasts; where monks share buses with business executives; where luxury hotels share the same street with desolate dwellings; where Chinese noodle shops are next door to Pizza Hut. The one common thread throughout these contrasts is the friendliness of the people. Often we would be wandering the streets with our map in hand and smiling strangers (often speaking little English) would offer to help. This seems to be common in Thailand and makes for a very hospitable stay.
Check out more Bangkok Photos.