Asia

This morning the alarm went off at six so that we would have a little internet time before our pick-up at eight. We are trying our best to keep this web effort going but the days start so early and end so late that we find it difficult to split out the web time six ways for email and still get this uploaded. There are pretty heavy charges for the internet so we only tie in sporadically.

We had no trouble recognizing our guide, Tong in the lobby this morning. She looked just like the picture we had seen on the internet. She will be our guide for the three full days we are touring here. Bangkok is a city of about 11 million people and it is gigantic. We will be visiting only a fraction of what is here. Tong actually lives a couple hours out of the city so she has a very long commute to meet her clients. She has been working at guiding about six years with the last two years being full time.

Our first visit of the day was to Wat Traimit which is the Temple of the Golden Buddha. This is the most famous of all golden images of Buddha and is located in Bangkok’s Chinatown. This particular temple was built in 1955. The Golden Buddha inside was only discovered at that time when it was moved here. Three meters high and weighing 5.5. tons it was covered in stucco to protect it from the invading Burmese in the 18^th century. When it slipped being moved by a crane the stucco cracked. Revealing the gold underneath. It’s hard to think about 5.5 tons of solid gold!!! While Wat Tramit is a temple, it is very touristy and hoards of people stream through. There is an entrance fee for paying respect to the Buddha image which would seem more appropriate for a museum.


Reclining Buddha's head	Thai Architecture	Our Guide, Tong

There was a little shopping close to this temple and Tong was able to negotiate some very good prices for the few things that were purchased. From here we attempted to visit the Teak House but it was closed for the holiday. Today was Coronation Day.

The next stop was the Grand Palace and we spent a good deal of time here. We were armed with umbrellas to shade ourselves from the sun which is pretty unrelenting. It is very hot and very humid! The Grand Palace complex was established in 1782 and it houses not only the royal residence and throne halls, but also a number of government offices as well as the renowned Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It covers an area of 218,00 square meters and is surrounded by four walls, 1900 meters in length.

The sacred image of the Emerald Buddha is clad with one of three seasonal costumes (summer, rainy season, and winter). Tong told us it could be said for hot, hotter and hottest seasons!) The costumes are changed three times a year in a ceremony presided over by His Majesty the King. The Emerald Buddha is in fact carved from a block of green jade and was first discovered in 1434 in a stupa in Chiang Rai. At that time it was covered with plaster and thought to be an ordinary Buddha image. Later, the abbot who had found the image noticed that the plaster on the nose had flaked off, revealing the green stone underneath. The abbot initially thought that the stone was emerald and thus the legend of the Emerald Buddha began. The image was taken at one time to Laos where it remained for 226 years. In 1778 it returned to Thailand due to the efforts of one who would later become King Rama I.

The monastery on the grounds consists of all the architectural features of a Buddhist monastery with without the residential quarters as no monks reside here. It also serves as the monarch’s private chapel. It is difficult to describe how ornate and colorful all the structures are and how massive they are. The mosaic work and details are a wonder… how long it took, how many workers, at what expense etc etc. Tong’s idea… something like this can only occur because of “belief”… you don’t know how or why sometimes but it happens. She compared it to the pyramids being built. Imagine either happening without the technology and equipment we would have today to do it and it would still be hard. It was all very beautiful and I’m sure one of the city’s most astounding sights. Masses of people were there to pay their respect.

Lunch today was at a very “local” establishment. We were the only non-Thai there. The food was authentic and wonderful. Everyone is enjoying Thai food!! It was almost two before we stopped for lunch and the retreat from heat and walking was welcome!!

Our last temple of the day was Wat Pho… Temple of the Reclining Buddha. The grounds of this temple contain over 1000 Buddha images, but the most famous is the 150 foot long Reclining Buddha. We were all drop jawed when we walked in. None of us were prepared for the size of this statue. It’s just about impossible to get a picture of it other than part by part. The statue was put in place here and then the temple was built around it. The Reclining Buddha is gold plated with inscriptions of the 108 auspicious characteristics of the true Buddha engraved on its feet. The temple is also famous for its traditional massage and for housing Thailand’s first university.

We visited one temple on the grounds and stayed until five o’clock when the monks gathered to chant. We had seen a large group of apprentice monks (young boys and men) earlier in the day elsewhere. This was a very mature group of monks. They were all dressed in bright orange and of course barefoot. All visitors in all temples must leave their shoes outside.

We arrived at our hotel about 5:45 and would be leaving at 6:30 for our dinner plans. It was a speedy turn-around. The staff hailed two cabs for us and we headed to the Oriental Hotel where we caught a beautiful wooden Thai style boat outlined in lights. It ferried us across the river to the Sala Rim Naam Restaurant where we had dinner and enjoyed a presentation of Thai Dancing. We were seated on pillows with our legs under the table in a depression in the floor. The meal was about 7 courses of lovely Thai food beautifully presented. It was a wonderful evening. The wall near the river was full glass and we could watch the boats going up and down the river. The lights at night are so pretty.

We arrived back at the hotel about ten. Once again it will be a short night and we should sleep well!!