Trampled in Thailand (Bangkok)

It’s another long drive from the port at Laem Cabang to the city of Bangkok.  Even the closest metropolis is an hour shuttle ride away.  We’re docked here for two days and we decide to take the first day off to recover from the Cambodia trip. 

On day two we take the two hour bus ride into Bangkok.  All along the way are factories with familiar names, like Trane, Mitsubishi, and many others we see in our daily lives.

The excursion is entitled “Bangkok in Depth.”  On the schedule are two temples, one palace, lunch and a boat ride.  We learn that a state function has closed the Grand Palace in the morning.  Consequently, all tours that are scheduled to visit the palace would go there in the afternoon. 

The first stop is at Wat Pho, a Buddhist temple complex full of very colorful ceramic studded stupas.  Remember, we learned about stupas back in February at Borobudur Temple in Java, Indonesia.  That was such a long time ago.  The stupas house the ashes and bone particles of the departed.  Within the complex is a temple which houses the famous reclining Buddha.

We’ve been told that we must dress modestly for all the temples and palaces.  That’s been the case all along the way in both Muslim and Buddhist temples.  Some countries and facilities are more stringent about this than others.  Men and women must cover shoulders and ankles, no cleavages, short shorts or tight-fitting pants.  Every day we’ve been wearing long pants and long sleeves in this incredible heat.  We’re not used to it, but all the locals are covered up, too.  At the temple of the reclining Buddha we have to take our shoes off and file past the 46 meter long gold leaf statue.  On the back side are 108 bronze bowls where worshipers leave alms. 

Leaving this temple, we pass workers touching up the gold on the rafters.  The ladders and scaffolding are constructed of bamboo lengths tied together.  This, in fact, we have seen all around Southeast Asia.  It’s fascinating to see huge scaffolding erected around buildings that’s completely made of bamboo, instead of steel that we’re accustomed to seeing.

Lunch is at the Mandarin Oriental, a five star hotel that has a cooking school associated with it.  This was a delicious Thai meal, the best dining out experience so far, in my estimation.  Wish it wasn’t at midday on a 97 degree day. 

We board a boat just outside the restaurant for a scenic cruise to the Grand Palace, the symbolic home of the royal family and home to the emerald Buddha, Thailand’s most revered icon. 

Disembarking the boat, the streets are crammed with people as we make our way to the gates that surround the palace.  We join a crush of tourists entering through the narrow passage.  It’s akin to the soccer stadium stampedes that you hear about.  We’re surrounded by Chinese who seem to be in their element.  We’re pushed, squeezed, shoved, and swept through to the open courtyard.  Most of us have lost track of our guide.  After we reassemble, about half of us decide that we won’t go any further.  Bob decides to move forward with the throng and was warned that there’s no turning back.  About twenty minutes later he returns, having just gotten as far as the ticket office.  Because the palace had been closed in the morning, all tours are in the afternoon, but they didn’t have the foresight to limit admissions.  As we’re sitting there waiting for our other half to make their way to the exit, one entire bus from our ship passes by.  They had a consensus and decided to take a pass on it.  As it turns out, the precious emerald Buddha was about ten inches high, you couldn’t get close enough to see it, and you weren’t allowed to take pictures.

Looking at the Grand Palace over the fence

It’s time to travel the two hours back to the ship.  It’s rush hour now, so it’s more like two and a half hours.  Passing those factories we passed in the morning, we see lines of uniformed young women filing out and boarding company buses at the end of their shifts.

By the way, Bob and I have seen enough temples, palaces, and mosques, but I'm afraid there's more in our future.