create your own visited country map The Stoop: PhotoSafari: Bangkok

Thursday, August 31, 2006

PhotoSafari: Bangkok



We reached Bangok by flying out of Macau with Air Asia, a very reasonable flight at less than $200 round trip, after about 3 and one half hours we arrived at Bangkok Airport, to the hottest climate I had ever experienced; about 40 degrees celsius and 90 percent humidity.

Photography inside the airport was strongly discouraged and, given the ubiquity of sings informing me that I would be put to death for smuggling drugs, I heeded the "suggestions."

After emerging into the night, we caught a taxi for the 25km ride into the center of the city. If you are not leaving or arriving in the dead of night, allow yourself a great deal of time (at least two hours) just to get from the city to the airport.

Upon leaving the hotel the next morning to walk around the city, the first thing we stumbled upon was a religious ceremony in a small curbside open air shrine.



Thailand is Buddhist, and very devout at that. The Buddhism of Thailand also seems to be of a totally different nature than that of China (at least as far as the temple architecture goes) and I am lead to undersand that the follow the therevada tradition rather than the mahayana. I'm not sure about doctrinal differences, but it seems to me to be a more "old-school" sort of buddhism.



Also, whereas Chinese Buddhists are fat and generally happy, Thai buddhas are rather thin and ascetic looking. I'm not sure what this means. One would never rub a Thai Buddha's belly for luck, of that I am sure.

We wanted to go to a place called Wat Pho, which is the home of Thailand's biggest reclining Buddha. So we hired a "tuk-tuk," the thai version of the gypsy cab, whose driver immediately attempted to take us to, of all places, a carpet shop. I would have expected this in Turkey, but have never considered Thailand a prime source of carpets. Needless to say, we declined. So the driver drove us a ways, and dropped us off to see the "sleeping Buddha."



This was the temple at which we arrived. It was actually quite difficult to get properly exposed photos, as the "whiteness" of the marble tended to drive my camera's autoexposure system to distraction. As I had had this camera approximately 2 weeks at this time, I am afraid I was not up to the challenge.

The temple was quite nice, but I was a bit underimpressed at Thailand's greatest Wat.



The marble was beautiful, and the whole place was impeccably maintained. But the greatest religious center in all Thailand. Hmmm.....


Auto-Exposure gone wild

It was here that we encountered our first Buddhist Monks.



I continued to be amazed at a number of things; first, the lack of tourists at the famous Wat Pho, two- the fact that, though very nice, it certainly seemed to lack the presence of a "national cathedral," and three- if this was the biggest reclining buddha in Thailand, then the others must be very small indeed.



The architecture was very cool, particularly the roof gables.



This was a monestary attached to the wat.

Also, I discovered the great reverance accorded to Monks by the surprising tomb of Nob Buhvadi. His mummified corpse was on display in a glass alcove, along with the following sign:




So, we left "Wat Pho" and began looking for the Grand Palace which was supposed to be next door. We failed to find it. After about an hour of attempting to navigate with the map, we realized that in fact we were no where near Wat Pho. The tuk-tuk driver, seeing that there would be no carpet sale today, had dropped us off at a conveniently nearby Wat with a reclining Buddha. To this day, we have no idea what temple we were wandering through- we call it "Wat Faux." So we headed toward the river, and took a ferry to the center.

the Chao Phraya river is heavily trafficed, with a lot of goods transported by water (travelling by road is nearly impossible in Bangkok traffic).


The Thai version of the Pepsi Truck


We were literally an hour and a half away from the Grand Palace. At this point the unpleasant bit of Thailand surfaced- our encounter with the con-man/tuk-tuk driver was unfortunately not an unusual one. I had heard that Buddhists had a reputation for sterling honesty, but apparently this did was not able to overcome the temptation for a few to blatently lie to tourists.

For the two days we were in Bangkok, whenever we attempted to take anything other than a standard taxi, or attempted to enter a landmark, we were assailed by folks who, inexplicably, attempted to sell us carpets (apparently some tourists think they have flown to Istanbul). Also, we were repeatedly assured that the [enter appropriate temple] was closed due to a Buddhist holiday. Even when we were directly in front of the Grand Palace and dozens of westerners were streaming through the gates. If you go to Bangkok, ignore these people.


The Grand Palace

The Grand Palace was indeed grand, and heavily laden with Gold. It contains dozens of chedi, both large and small.



There are also countless statues and figurines, some gilt and others mosaiced with bright tiles and jewels.





I find it amazing how the artisans who designed these statues made their facial expressions- divine power and majesty, but also a certain weariness at being trapped in the cycle of existence. It is an interesting way to capture, in sculpture, an important element of Buddhist theology.





The Central Stupa at the Grand Palace Temple Complex

Right Across from the Grand Palace is the real Wat Pho. It is very beautiful, and choked with people. There are also quite a few monks around.


Monks employing the latest digital cameras while pursuing Nibbana


Wat Pho in the distance, with Cannon from the Military Academy

Wat Pho contains an enormous sleeping Buddha, so we were clearl in the right place.







The Royal Palace complex (including Wat Pho) is a hive of activity, being an active palace and a center of religious activity.


Two Monks arranging their clothing




We realy had very little time in Bangkok, which was a pity, as it is a fascinating place. Difficult to navigate, a little more like the middle east in terms of scamminess (suprisingly, this was totally absent in Zhuhai, Hong Kong, and Macau), but overall a place deserving of a lot of time to see.

So we went back to the Airport the nex morning, and caught our flight to Rangoon, the great unknown.

I'll leave you with a photo from my favorite monument, the Bangkok temple of the municipal penis. Every city of note in Thailand has a symbolic phallus, with its own temple.

Here is a temple inhabitant engaged (I assume) in sacred ritual transvestitism. You have left the judeo-christian world far, far behind.






__________________

3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I read that you visited a temple in Bangkok with a dried corpse. I have been there too. It is called Mahaputtharam Temple, situated in the centre between the river and the railway station.

Regards
Renaat Brenard
renaat.brenard@skynet.be

7:54 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Greetings. I've got a question about one of your Thailand photos. If you wouldn't mind, send me a quick note and I'll pose the question. It's probably a pretty simple yes or no.

Many thanks.

Frank

11:17 PM  
Anonymous Find Bangkok Hotels said...

Very perfect picture. Many thanks with your good story. If i have a chance to visit in Bangkok again , i will go to Grand Palace and looking for the hotel around Kaosarn Road. I think that Kaosarn Road is good for young travellers. Around the street, there are a number of old buildings and temples, some of which have been transformed into restaurants and even tattoo parlours, although you will still find quiet family homes if you look deep enough. Aside from some interesting architecture, Banglampoo shows the mix of peoples and heritages that is the character of Bangkok. There are Muslims, Buddhists, Mons, and of course a great number of foreigners in this small area. All of this makes the area an interesting place for a glimpse of Thai life. Thais also appreciate the area for the many types of traditional kanom or Thai snacks and desserts available and the cheap clothing available in the Banglampoo Market

12:04 AM  

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