Scatterlings of Africa: Amazing trip: Temples Galore in Bangkok

Our second day in Bangkok (Fri 7 Oct),we set out to see the old city, Ko Ratanakosin. We took a boat taxi on the Mae Nam Chao Phraya (river). The river used to be one of the main thoroughfares in the city, and these water taxis are still used by local commuters. There are also still a number of canals in the city (it used to be called the Venice of Asia).

Molly & Ryan on the water taxi.

Wat Arun

Wat Arun across the river, with several long-tail boats passing by. Long tail boats are long boats, but they're so-named for their motors, which dangle from on a two-foot pole into the water. Wat Arun was our land-mark, to know when it was our stop. But there were so many smaller temples (wats) along the side of the river that we kept getting psyched out. Finally we asked another passenger, a woman member of the Royal Navy, and she helped us not to miss our stop.

A big market area just off the water taxi stop.

Instead of being overwhelmed by hawkers like we were used to in Zambia, we were overwhelmed by the smell of delicious food. So of course, we shared a plate of noodles (Phad Kee Maow).

We didn't have time to do it all, so we had to focus on a few main attractions. First, we visited the Grand Palace complex, which included the royal residence, throne halls and Wat Phra Kaew, the renowned Temple of the Emerald Buddha). This place was huge and had ornate buildings one after another. It covers an area of 218,000 square meters and is surrounded by four walls, 1900 meters in length. It also has a strict dress-code, so Ryan had to borrow some pants.

Molly & Ryan in front of part of the Grand Palace.

Murals

Every Wat had amazing murals on the walls. These murals were on the walls around the Royal Monastery of the Emerald Buddha, depicting the entire Ramakien (the cycle of stories of Rama, the Hindu God).

The Royal Pantheon (Right), Buddhist Scripture Repository (middle), and Golden Reliquary (left).

Outside the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

No pictures were allowed inside, but you can catch a peek in. The Emerald Buddha is actually quite small, and made of Jade. Outside you can see a picture of the current king (King Rama IX), and Thai Buddist devotees blessing themselves with lotus buds dipped in water--then sprinkling it on their heads.

a golden chedi (= stupa = pointy Buddist shrine) held up by demons

demon holding up the chedi

Ornate decoration on the outside of one of another chedi.

wildlife of the Royal Palace--frogs

wildlife of the Royal Palace--kittens

Guards enter the Royal residence (built in the Western style), now used primarily to house visiting diplomats and dignitaries. We were wondering if President Obama ever stayed there.

We didn't get to see all of the Palace complex in much detail because 1) we got lost and couldn't find our way of the Monastery area and thus spent most of our time there, 2) it started to rain, 3) we ran out of time, and 4) a few areas were closed for a funeral.

On our way to the next temple, a crowd was gathering around the river to watch the Royal Navy practice for the King's river procession later this month. There were boat after boat filled with Navy rowers clad all in the same color (some boats had all blue, or all peach,or all pink, or all yellow). And they chanted while rowing.

Royal Navy practices

The king's boat had a golden dragon mast and fancy throne-like golden chair.

High waters--the river in Bangkok was already starting to overflow its banks.

Our next stop was Wat Pho, home of the reclining Buddha (a.k.a. Sleeping Buddha), a standing Buddha, renowned massage school, and a collection of 324 collected Buddhas around the perimeter. We'd actually been surprised when we saw how small the Emerald Buddha was--but the reclining Buddha was more what we'd expected. Amazing!

The HUGE Reclining Buddha.

Look at those huge toes!

Dropping coins in 108 jars--alot of coins to make one wish!

A Chinese sculpture of a lucky lion. You moved the concrete balls in its mouth for luck.

324 collected Buddhas surround one of the Wats. The black one is being repaired--every 25 years, the gold leaf coating has to be replaced, which costs thousands of dollars.

Monk meditating in a temple with a sitting Buddha.

Wat Pho at night

We had the best massage there! Our feet had been really hurting from walking all day, and even though they barely touched our feet, they really pressed on our pressure points, and afterward, our feet felt great! like walking on air!

That evening, we went to see "Khon" traditional masked dance theater. It was portraying an episode from the Ramakien. The costumes were gorgeous. (Photos are not allowed in the theatre. The following are from CNNgo.com.)

My favorite character was Hanuman, the head of the monkey-army.

Ryan's favorites were the demons. It was incredible how they did cartwheels and such in the masks.

It was an awesome spectacle, kind of a Thai ballet. We really enjoyed it!

The next morning, we left Bangkok in the rain, just as we had arrived. As you may already know, Thailand has been experiencing some pretty bad flooding this month. Our contacts in Thailand advised us of this in advance and suggested we reevaluate our means of travel, insisting that we fly in and out of Chiang Mai instead of taking trains, buses and boats. Though we were disappointed not to get the chance to see more of the countryside, we knew we needed to be safe.