Farewell, sweet Bangkok
Hello again from the capitol of Thailand!
It has been an eventful past few days. Lissa and I have been all over the city, which has been both a wonderful and... interesting... experience.
Things I have learned in the last 2 days:
When in Bangkok, don't let anyone tell you to take a tuk-tuk to the Lucky Buddha. This is a SCAM. Lissa and I found ourselves going to private tailor shops in between temples so we could buy custom-made suits and dresses... apparently these tailor shops give tuk-tuk drivers gasoline cards for every foreigner (farang) who buys something from them.
When shopping, if you get to the point during haggling when the seller touches your arm, there's no real way to get out of buying the object. There really is something to looking as disinterested as humanly possible when shopping, and never, never touch the object unless you intend to buy it or something like it.
Elephant ivory is more common than I'm comfortable with (I was offered a sadly beautiful piece in the shape of an elephant for a mere 100 baht, or about $3 US)
Thai food from the street vendors is absolutely delicious.
Just because a taxi has a "Taxi--Meter" sign doesn't actually mean it has a meter.
No wonder the rest of the world has some views about the promiscuity of American women-- the way some of these tourists dress is completely inappropriate for this culture. Yeah, it's hot, but that doesn't mean you can show off all that cleavage and midriff.
The Thai people love their king like none other. I don't think I've ever seen this much complete devotion to a political figure (well, in this case political family) ever before.
Yesterday, Lissa and I had the opportunity to visit several Buddha statues (and really, despite the tour being a scam, we sure did get to see some amazing temples out of it). One statue was of a Buddha plated in gold that stood 45 feet tall, and another was a Buddha that was made completely of gold. After we had left our tuk-tuk driver and walked back to the guesthouse, we decided to take a taxi to the Grand Palace, where most of the King's ceremonies take place. Oh goodness, it was SO beautiful. Surrounding the palace itself were a dozen or so buildings plated in gold and glass mosaics, with statues of elephants and half-angel, half-birds everywhere, and a temple for one of the most revered Buddha statues in the country-- the Emerald Buddha.
The Emerald Buddha was a sight to behold, set up high surrounded by gold and glistening green. Apparently this statue, which looked like it was about 3 feet tall and in the sitting position, was discovered in the early 1400s, covered in stucco or plaster, so they thought that it was just another buddha statue. When the abbot who discovered it saw a fleck of green underneath a piece of chipped plaster on the nose, he realized that the Buddha was made out of jade (which he mistook for emerald at first, giving it the name it's been called ever since).
I wish I could describe the Palace itself well, but all I can really say is that it was breathtaking. It is huge in size, and very impressive in structure. Bonsai trees surrounded one courtyard, and statues of guards (and real ones, too) stood at every entrance. I took a lot of pictures, so hopefully I will be able to upload some soon.
Today we went to a number of museums opened by the King and royal family. We looked at ancient tapestries, pottery, and photography and artwork done by the suprisingly artistic King Rama IX (the current King). We also toured the largest teakwood mansion ever created, which was made by Rama V in the late 1800s. This mansion was created without a single nail-- it is entirely teakwood. It has 72 rooms, divided into 5 "apartments" for various royal activities and people-- the King's quarters, the consorts' quarters, etc. It was really quite impressive. However, by the time we were finished taking the tour, both Lissa and I were too worn out to even see the other 5 or 6 museums in this enormous area.
Tonight we are taking the bus to the airport, and will fly to Kolkata at 5:50 AM tomorrow morning. I can't even describe how excited I am to finally be on my way to India. I've been looking forward to this for over 6 months. I've loved my time in Bangkok, but I'm ready to get on my way. I'm glad we had this short visit here, though, because I feel like it's made me a little more street-smart for a city entirely foreign to me. Bangkok hasn't been too difficult for me to get used to, but the experiences I've had in my short time here have definitely helped prepare me, even just a little bit more, for being completely out of my "element".
Until next time,
Jenn
It has been an eventful past few days. Lissa and I have been all over the city, which has been both a wonderful and... interesting... experience.
Things I have learned in the last 2 days:
When in Bangkok, don't let anyone tell you to take a tuk-tuk to the Lucky Buddha. This is a SCAM. Lissa and I found ourselves going to private tailor shops in between temples so we could buy custom-made suits and dresses... apparently these tailor shops give tuk-tuk drivers gasoline cards for every foreigner (farang) who buys something from them.
When shopping, if you get to the point during haggling when the seller touches your arm, there's no real way to get out of buying the object. There really is something to looking as disinterested as humanly possible when shopping, and never, never touch the object unless you intend to buy it or something like it.
Elephant ivory is more common than I'm comfortable with (I was offered a sadly beautiful piece in the shape of an elephant for a mere 100 baht, or about $3 US)
Thai food from the street vendors is absolutely delicious.
Just because a taxi has a "Taxi--Meter" sign doesn't actually mean it has a meter.
No wonder the rest of the world has some views about the promiscuity of American women-- the way some of these tourists dress is completely inappropriate for this culture. Yeah, it's hot, but that doesn't mean you can show off all that cleavage and midriff.
The Thai people love their king like none other. I don't think I've ever seen this much complete devotion to a political figure (well, in this case political family) ever before.
Yesterday, Lissa and I had the opportunity to visit several Buddha statues (and really, despite the tour being a scam, we sure did get to see some amazing temples out of it). One statue was of a Buddha plated in gold that stood 45 feet tall, and another was a Buddha that was made completely of gold. After we had left our tuk-tuk driver and walked back to the guesthouse, we decided to take a taxi to the Grand Palace, where most of the King's ceremonies take place. Oh goodness, it was SO beautiful. Surrounding the palace itself were a dozen or so buildings plated in gold and glass mosaics, with statues of elephants and half-angel, half-birds everywhere, and a temple for one of the most revered Buddha statues in the country-- the Emerald Buddha.
The Emerald Buddha was a sight to behold, set up high surrounded by gold and glistening green. Apparently this statue, which looked like it was about 3 feet tall and in the sitting position, was discovered in the early 1400s, covered in stucco or plaster, so they thought that it was just another buddha statue. When the abbot who discovered it saw a fleck of green underneath a piece of chipped plaster on the nose, he realized that the Buddha was made out of jade (which he mistook for emerald at first, giving it the name it's been called ever since).
I wish I could describe the Palace itself well, but all I can really say is that it was breathtaking. It is huge in size, and very impressive in structure. Bonsai trees surrounded one courtyard, and statues of guards (and real ones, too) stood at every entrance. I took a lot of pictures, so hopefully I will be able to upload some soon.
Today we went to a number of museums opened by the King and royal family. We looked at ancient tapestries, pottery, and photography and artwork done by the suprisingly artistic King Rama IX (the current King). We also toured the largest teakwood mansion ever created, which was made by Rama V in the late 1800s. This mansion was created without a single nail-- it is entirely teakwood. It has 72 rooms, divided into 5 "apartments" for various royal activities and people-- the King's quarters, the consorts' quarters, etc. It was really quite impressive. However, by the time we were finished taking the tour, both Lissa and I were too worn out to even see the other 5 or 6 museums in this enormous area.
Tonight we are taking the bus to the airport, and will fly to Kolkata at 5:50 AM tomorrow morning. I can't even describe how excited I am to finally be on my way to India. I've been looking forward to this for over 6 months. I've loved my time in Bangkok, but I'm ready to get on my way. I'm glad we had this short visit here, though, because I feel like it's made me a little more street-smart for a city entirely foreign to me. Bangkok hasn't been too difficult for me to get used to, but the experiences I've had in my short time here have definitely helped prepare me, even just a little bit more, for being completely out of my "element".
Until next time,
Jenn