"When you realize how
perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky."-
the Buddha
Well, it was actually two days in Thailand. The first was on one of its storied
resort islands: Koh Samui. All I
can say is that it was a wonderful, relaxing day at the beach. Yes, it could have been at any nice
resort anywhere in the world that features nice resorts. But it was in
Thailand, and it was a great respite from exploring.
The next day was Bangkok, and whatever is the opposite of
relaxing. Our ship was docked in Laem Chabang, about 75 miles from
Bangkok. It took about an hour to get
to the outer limits of Bangkok, then over an hour to get downtown, thanks to
that city’s infamous traffic.
I did not find the pollution to be as bad as I’d
heard—indeed, I’d thought it much worse in Kuala Lumpur—but perhaps it all
depends on the day that you are there.
Unfortunately, our ship was there only for the day, so I
had little time to explore the city. Plus, I was on a ship's bus tour, which is not
ideal for such a place. But given the tight timing, I was hesitant not to take
a ship’s excursion for fear of not getting back to the ship on time. Not ideal, but at least I got a small
taste of this major metropolis.
Thailand stands out in Southeast Asia as the only country
in the region never to have been colonized. And it has influenced its neighbors more than it has been
influenced by them.
The nation is a constitutional monarchy, with a
long-serving, 89-year-old king. He is much revered, though it should be noted
that the law makes such reverence something of an obligation. Insults to the king, or to Buddha, are
taken seriously here. News reports
note that a man just received a lengthy jail sentence for insulting the king’s
dog. But the sense I had was that the reverence is largely sincere, or else
such harshness would not have been tolerated by the people. This reverence may also be related to
the fact that Thailand is fairly prosperous, and such prosperity in a country
neighboring great poverty cannot be discounted.
Temples are all over the city. We visited Wat Trimitr, home of a famous, 5-1/2 ton golden
Buddha. We then proceeded to the
Grand Palace, a massive complex of temples and residences. While the king does
not reside there, it is considered his official residence (he lived there for
one week after coronation), and certainly it was home to past monarchs. Most of it is now open to the public,
including Wat Phra Keo, home to the legendary Emerald Buddha. Alas, no photos are allowed inside, but it was a sight to see, with a green face (which actually is
jasper, not emerald) and clothed in gold.
Other buildings in the complex were in many ways more
spectacular, with ornate decorations and frescos telling the stories that form
the basis of the Buddhist teachings. We spent around three hours at this complex, and yet it was barely enough time to scratch the surface.
Interestingly, the walls held a series of (I think) 19 frescoes that told a
story that reminded me in many of its details of the story told by the Hindu
dances in Bali. I suppose that
shouldn’t be too surprising, as Hinduism and Buddhism co-exist in this region
and undoubtedly borrow from one another.
Unfortunately, I got to see little of daily life in
Bangkok from my bus window, but one thing that stood out to me, oddly enough,
was the electrical wires.
Everywhere we went, we saw massive tangles of wires attached to poles in
even bigger tangles. I cannot imagine what happens when there is a wire break—it
must be nightmarish to find the source.
Yet the power seemed to buzz along on the streets, in the shops, and
wherever else we could see.
An unsatisfying day, because of the limitations of time
and mode of travel about town, but nevertheless interesting.
Next up: Cambodia and, in particular, Angkor Wat
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