GETTING HERE
Greg, Mark and I are off on a long adventure to Southeast Asia and Japan. The first 4 weeks we’ll be on a Gate 1 tour, and then we’ll continue on our own for a whirlwind taste of Japan on our own.
M-K had Japanese meals on planes. G Thai and Intl.
First course - savory, sweet, salty, satisfying.
Tokyo airport is super modern. Rodeo Drive shopping experience. Robot wheelchairs, available to all, politely and silently navigate the concourses.
The ANA lounge is grazing heaven.
BANGKOK - Day 1. On our own
Wat Arun, Temple of Dawn, a Buddhist temple named after a Hindu god, is one of Bangkok’s most recognizable landmarks.
Wat Arun has existed since at least the 17th century when an early French map first referenced it. The central spire (prang), representing sacred Mount Meru, was finished in 1851. At 270 ft, it’s the tallest temple in Bangkok
The temple rests on the shoulders of giants, gods and monkeys.
Porcelain shards and shells used as ballast in ships from China sparkle on the spires and walls.
Thotsaken, mythical giant demon guarding main chapel.
Ordination Hall
For $5, men and women can rent traditional costumes to wear while visiting the Wat. Professional photographers are on site to capture, for a fee, your best you.
(taken by an amateur)
Then my foot got caught in a narrow gutter and I ended up in the ER with a broken bone in my foot. Our wonderful Gate 1 guide Kaew (Kay) accompanied me. I was going to wait until tomorrow afternoon when nothing was scheduled, but am glad we went this afternoon. I have a cast. A kind family donated crutches to me while we waited for a cab back to the hotel. The young teen insisted he didn’t need them anymore as he’d just gotten his own cast. Kay will probably pick up a cane for me tomorrow. What a way to start a long trip, but this is probably the best city and timing for this to happen and I was in good hands.
Mark and Greg spent the evening on a Bangkok Backstreets Food Tour, with about a dozen stops and 19 foods to taste. It all looked and sounded amazing. Everything from soups to skewers to durian (stinky fruit) to pancakes to stews to soy ice cream.
BANGKOK - Day 2
Gate 1 tour officially began. This a four country tour, with 10 days in Thailand, 2 in Laos, 3 in Cambodia and 11 in Vietnam. We are a large group of 36 people, though many will peel off after Thailand or Cambodia. We’ll end with a few days on our own in Japan.
Bangkok is the 4th capital of Thailand, population 14 million with 4 million cars.
City tour by coach started with drive through Chinatown and the Indian market to the 24/7 flower market.
Seedy side of Chinatown
The flower market is immense, supplying flowers to Bangkok for hotels, restaurants, funerals, weddings, etc. It is busiest in the very early morning hours.
Rows and rows of marigolds
Most of the workers here are not Thai, but from China, Cambodia, etc.
We learned how to peel a lotus blossom to reveal the flower inside, and left them at a temple as an offering
Buddhist temple War Po (aka Wat Pho) is the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok. I visited it 7 years ago and found it just as impressive - but more crowded. The grounds are dotted with colorful stupa, which are used as burial places for ashes.
It was the first center for public education (science, religion, literature), and still operates a Thai massage school on site.
As with all Buddhist temples, dress modesty is required. Women must have shoulders and knees covered, men wear long pants and shirts with sleeves. Shoes are removed before entering sacred spaces.
So many gold plated Buddhas
Snake Buddha
The Reclining Buddha was placed here around 200 years ago by order of King Rama III. 150 ft long and nearly 50 high.
Serenely gold-plated with mother-of-pearl eyes.
The soles of his 16 ft long feet are decorated with inlaid mother-of-pearl depicting the 108 positive actions of Buddha with which he transitioned to Nirwana (not a typo).
As with the pottery and shells incorporated in Wat Arun, stone statues (originally arriving from China as ballast) are scattered around the temple grounds.
Marco Polo (who knew!), first western visitor to Thailand
I stayed in the rest of the day to rest my foot after navigating on crutches this morning, while G and M went exploring, shopping, geocaching. The day ended with orientation and a Gate 1 welcoming dinner.
BANGKOK DAY 3
I skipped the morning optional tour to the Grand Palace as I’ve been there before and want to give my foot a rest. A 90 minute Thai massage in our hotel room was a welcome diversion.
Guest Narrator: Thanksgiving morning activities below are from Mark, so a brief narration change
I’m still struggling with the time zone adjustment so went exploring early this morning and found this closed but well lit Hindu temple near the hotel.
The royal palace, above, is massive and incredibly opulent. It and the surrounding temples are heavily influenced by Indian and Hindu architecture.
The palace was built to house the royal family and the emerald Buddha (actually made of jade). The former lived in residence until the death of the king 15 years ago while the Buddha remains on site.
A shrine in honor of a prior king. Do not touch the elephants. Ever.
This most noble of birds was represented in statues and architecture throughout.
Murals with gold inlay surrounded many of the temples. They were massive and very striking, but largely ignored by the crowds
We were lucky to be there early in the day, avoiding the worst of the crowds and the heat
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
The 3 of us took a Manohra Dining Cruise this evening through the center of Bangkok on the Chao Phraya River.
The restored antique rice barge was beautiful, heavily lacquered and comfortably set up with 8 tables.
For two hours we cruised through 7 courses as the skies darkened, our attention divided between the beautifully prepared food and city landmarks.
IconSiam, a huge luxury shopping complex with over 7,000 shops, 100 restaurants and a floating indoor market.
Wat Arun
Rama VIII Bridge
Back to our hotel by 8 to prepare for our morning departure to Ayuttahaya.
I remember a lot of these places! We did a lotus blossom too! Looks like you are seeing a lot of great places.
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