April 20-21,
Hi All,
Bangkok…..hmmmm…..not many people we had talked to encouraged us to visit Bangkok…..it seemed many people did not care for it, a few did, but not many…..let’s see…… the hot weather, the pollution, the political instability……and about 15 million people plus tourists……this is right in Kathy’s sweet spot……NOT. But, we have learned to go see for ourselves especially when people say don’t go…….and we hedged our bet by booking just 2 nights…..we can always come back if it is not as bad as people said…….and now for our story……
“Bangkok, Thailand’s capital, is a large city known for ornate shrines and vibrant street life. The boat-filled Chao Phraya River feeds its network of canals, flowing past the Rattanakosin royal district, home to opulent Grand Palace and its sacred Wat Phra Kaew Temple. Nearby is Wat Pho Temple with an enormous reclining Buddha and, on the opposite shore, Wat Arun Temple with its steep steps and Khmer-style spire.”
We got to our hotel around 2pm after a nice flight on Thai Air Asia from Siem Reap……the Navalai River Resort……a great recommendation from our friends on sv Minnie B, who had been here a few years ago…..it was right on the Chao Phraya River…..perfect!!! But, Kathy had caught a bad cold/cough a few days ago….she womaned up in Siem Reap…in fact it seemed to have gotten better…..but by the time we got to Bangkok she was not feeling too good…….so, I gave her that husbandy smile…..too much partying eh…….why can wife’s get away with that and not husbands….arghhhhhh!!!! So, after checking in, topping up our Thai Sim card, seeing a tourist desk to book our tours for tomorrow, we decided to just go get some local Thai food and call it a day. We went just a block or so from the hotel and had some of the best Thai food we have had in a while. BOGO on the Chang beer….but he really said buy 2 get one free….cost for dinner….about $8…….sweet as!!!
After an early night Kathy was feeling better the next day so off we went……our tour was to see the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Cheang, a canal ride on a long-tail boat and then a local lunch. We had decided to do a private tour…..one hopefully that could avoid a lot of the crowds plus we had grown a little tired of the 10-20 size groups on the APT tours. Well, we get in the van and there are 2 other couples……hmmm, I tell the guide this is not what we paid for…..the driver says, show me your receipt which I do and he says…..hmmm, come with us and I’ll check it out….yeah right…..we never hear another word……yes, we got hustled…..arghhhhhh!!!! But, it turned out ok…..one couple was a little younger than us from England, but originally from Sri Lanka and was a delightful couple to talk Hindu and Buddhism with….the other couple was a young couple from Mexico…on their honeymoon ……yes, really…their goal was to travel the world so they picked our brains most of the tour……and our guide, Diamond, was a delightful and entertaining young man, although his knowledge of the history was a bit lacking!!!!
Grand Palace……OMG….if we thought the Palace in Phnom Penh was opulent, this was the rich uncle….wow!!! We did see the emerald Buddha inside the Wat Phra Krew but no pictures were allowed….it seemed a bit small given all the hype leading up to our viewing and our Hindu friends were surprised by the opulence surrounding Buddha…..who had given up all material wealth……Diamond said it was the people who placed all the gold and jewels around the statue in his honor….hmmmm…..not sure I follow all that!!!! Somewhere the dead King Bhumibol is lying in state in one of the temples……Diamond did not know which one and we are not allowed to view the body……the King will be mourned for one year before he is cremated.
There is a law in Thailand prohibiting anyone from criticizing the King….can you imagine that law in USA….please…..anyway, we had not heard anything negative until…..well, I won’t say our guide criticized outright, but he did mention many times about all the wealth in the King’s family….supposedly he was the richest King ever….and in the same sentence about how poor most people in Thailand are and how long and hard they must work to just get by……hmmm…….it was rather easy to connect the dots…..we wonder if there is something brewing politically????
“The Grand Palace is a complex of buildings at the heart of Bangkok, Thailand. The palace has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam (and later Thailand) since 1782. The king, his court and his royal government were based on the grounds of the palace until 1925. King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), resided at Chitralada Royal Villa and his successor Vajiralongkorn at Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall, both in the Dusit Palace, but the Grand Palace is still used for official events. Several royal ceremonies and state functions are held within the walls of the palace every year. The palace is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Thailand.
Construction of the palace began on May 6, 1782, at the order of King Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I), the founder of the Chakri Dynasty, when he moved the capital city from Thonburi to Bangkok. Throughout successive reigns, many new buildings and structures were added, especially during the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). By 1925, the king, the Royal Family and the government were no longer permanently settled at the palace, and had moved to other residences. After the abolition of absolute monarchy in 1932, all government agencies completely moved out of the palace.
In shape, the palace complex is roughly rectangular and has a combined area of 218,400 square metres (2,351,000 sq ft), surrounded by four walls. It is situated on the banks of the Chao Phraya River at the heart of the Rattanakosin Island, today in the Phra Nakhon District.
Rather than being a single structure, the Grand Palace is made up of numerous buildings, halls, pavilions set around open lawns, gardens and courtyards. Its asymmetry and eclectic styles are due to its organic development, with additions and rebuilding being made by successive reigning kings over 200 years of history. It is divided into several quarters: the Temple of the Emerald Buddha; the Outer Court, with many public buildings; the Middle Court, including the Phra Maha Monthien Buildings, the Phra Maha Prasat Buildings and the Chakri Maha Prasat Buildings; the Inner Court and the Siwalai Gardens quarter. The Grand Palace is currently partially open to the public as a museum, but it remains a working palace, with several royal offices still situated inside.”
The only drawback to our visit was the thousands of other tourists. 8 million tourists visit the Grand Palace each year…..that is about 25k per day…yikes. And, while I do not like to criticize another country…….sidebar……no one in the countries we have visited have said kind words about the Chinese tourists…..loud, obnoxious, rude, pushy…..our guides were the most critical…..another sidebar…..in Vietnam and Cambodia the guides were not allowed to criticize China…..so they just said “our big brother” when they referred to the cheap and poor quality goods. The sun was out and many people were using umbrellas for sun shading…but, these people are short…..most of them were aware and would raise their umbrellas as we passed….but it only takes a few….and after getting smacked in the head a few times…well, you sort of get irritated…..in fact one lady just flat out ran into me……I had enough time to get my arms up for protection as I could not go left or right so I stopped and she hit me with a loud umffff…..I’m much bigger so she took the brunt….but still, no apology just a shove to get out of the way….really lady…..arghhhhhh!!!
After that we went to Wat Pho to see the reclining Buddha…..whoa…impressive and it is huge!!!
“The temple is first on the list of six temples in Thailand classed as the highest grade of the first-class royal temples. It is associated with King Rama I who rebuilt the temple complex on an earlier temple site, and became his main temple where some of his ashes are enshrined. The temple was later expanded and extensively renovated by Rama III. The temple complex houses the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand, including a 46 m long reclining Buddha. The temple is considered the earliest centre for public education in Thailand, and the marble illustrations and inscriptions placed in the temple for public instructions has been recognised by UNESCO in its Memory of the World Programme. It houses a school of Thai medicine, and is also known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage which is still taught and practiced at the temple.”
Then is was to Wat Arun or Wat Chaeng….it is on the other side of the river so you just take a ferry across. The huge stupa was under renovation but still very impressive. It supposedly is best seen at dawn or sunset……not happening on this trip…..and is considered one of the most beautiful temples in all of Thailand…..yep, we agree!!
Then it was off to a canal trip on a long-tail river boat……it was actually one of the highlights…..I think we were getting templed out especially with the heat and crowds….and getting a breeze on the water was a true delight. One of the customs at temples is to feed the fish bread…..something about giving back to the fish that feed us…..anyway, they used huge loaves of bread and huge catfish went crazy…nothing like a polluted canal water shower….ugh!!!! After that was a local buffet lunch on a river boat….of course, along with 200 of our best tourist friends….but the food was quite good and the company was a delight!!!!
We made it back to the hotel mid-afternoon pretty tuckered out. We were thinking about going to the Sky-Bar at the State Tower for a sunset drink….but, when we inquired at the hotel reception how to get there….they all looked surprised…yes, it is a fun thing to do…but very expensive and very, very crowded and there is a dress code and you might have to wait in a long line to get in and miss sunset…ok, we will pass…..we’ve been to a lot of revolving bars…we can skip this one. So a cool down period, nap and shower then we went walk about on the local streets……lots of markets and street scenes….we made it to a local pizza joint…wood fired and a little off the beaten path…..oh, wow…what is that……silence….hmmmm….cold beer, excellent pizza and good tunes…..wow, in the middle of Bangkok…go figure!!!!
Oh….we did go back to the tourist desk and confront the woman…oh no, I said semi private…..if you wanted private it cost you much more….what part of a tour for 2 people, which I said about 5 times, did you not understand….no, you did not understand…..yep, hustled in Bangkok….I’m sure we are not the first!!!!
Have I mentioned the heat…..maybe just a little:))))…..well, we had a balcony that faced west over the river…..lots of river activity……great, we can watch and enjoy the sunset…..NOT….couldn’t see the sun due to the pollution……and it was like 120*F sauna…..the tiles and concrete would heat up….I sat out the the 1st night around 6:30 to watch the sunset and the 2nd night maybe 8:30ish……both with a wee dram……came back inside after 30 min completely drenched…like my 3rd change for the day….but I did sweat out the toxins!!!!!
So we leave Bangkok with a mixed feeling…..some wonderful temples and Grand Palace….the people were super nice at the hotel…the Italian pizza place a delight, the Thai food cheap and excellent……we did not make it to some of the finer restaurants as we were still overstuffed from all the food on the APT tour…..but way too many obnoxious tourists, dishonest travel agent, loud street noises, lots of aggressive hawkers, horrible traffic (think LA), polluted rivers and the air quality sucked…almost as bad as Kathmandu…..I doubt we will return!!!
Now it is on the Chiang Mai and we hope a much calmer atmosphere!!!
Hope all is well!!!
John
on the home stretch of this road trip
PS: Pictures on the website: https://mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/nggallery/main-album/Bangkok-Thailand
—
