Yes, I realize this happened almost a year ago and I left you hanging after the first installment. Many apologies! My goal is to have all of the honeymoon details posted before the end of the month!The crew on our flight from Tokyo to Bangkok said something interesting.
"Please tell your friends our country is safe."
And so I shall. This portion of the trip almost didn't happen. As you might recall, the
People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) held a political protest in Bangkok last November and
successfully closed the airport, which
re-opened just days before we were to land.
The ramifications of this were immediately seen. What is usually a full capacity flight from Tokyo to Bangkok was sparsely filled with travelers. The flight crew told me about the hundreds of cancellations Thai Airways was experiencing and were worried about the lack of foreign tourists in the coming months.
The silver lining? Multiple flight attendants that doted on us as we had the cabin to ourselves, although I think the crew secretly wanted us to pass out and sleep for the six hour flight based on the amount of alcohol they kept pouring down our throats; we each had two glasses of champagne before the plane pushed back from the gate.
At this point, I must state that hands down Thai Airways is the absolute best airline I've ever flown. I'm sure it had something to do with flying first class, but I've
never been treated this well on an airplane.
But it didn't stop after we landed.
On our way off the plane, the crew handed us a bottle of champagne and when the door opened another employee was waiting for us. We were escorted away from the madness of Passport Control and instead brought through the section reserved for foreign diplomats and Ambassadors. One quick stamp later we were handed off to another set of airport employees that walked us to the appropriate baggage carousel and insisted that we take a seat while they gathered our things and helped us to the car sent by the hotel.
Suvarnabhumi (su-warn-na-poo-mi) Airport (
ท่าอากาศยานสุวรรณภูมิ) is like no other. Once travelers come through the doors that lead into the public area you are blasted with the Southeast Asian humidity and the deafening noise of thousands upon thousands of voices. Here we were, slightly intoxicated from the flight down, desperately looking for written signs that could shuffle us in the right direction while being swarmed and offers of a ride shouted from all directions. Needless to say, we did not "blend in" with the local population and the peddlers, beggars and various "taxi" drivers targeting us were to become a constant presence.
After 30 minutes of utter confusion, our car was located and thus began one of many adventures of being a passenger in Asia, where traffic lights, lanes and signs are merely suggestions. Pedestrians need to keep their wits about them as the sidewalks are ad hoc moped lanes.
The
hotel was beautiful and conveniently located near a stop on the
Sky Train; Bangkok's new and improved mass transit trains. With signs in English, modern platforms and easy-to-follow maps, utilizing this mode of transportation was quite simple.
I'm not a huge fan of guided tours, but after reviewing the options, we decided to go ahead and book a day trip around Bangkok. Our guide was amazing and our group consisted of a couple from Kuala Lumpur and a student from New Caledonia (
both places, I have decided, I must see before I die).
Standing before the
Reclining Buddha,
Standing Buddha and
Temple of the Dawn was surreal; these were place that I had only seen via photographs and televised travel documentaries. I never doubted their existence, but often found myself saying, "They're real!"
We were shown many more Wats (
Temples), sacred spaces, the Royal Palace and a
King's previous residence. Although I enjoyed kicking off my sandals before entering most of these places, my bare feet never got used to walking on blistering hot tiles that had been baking in the sun for hours.
But it was worth every minute.
Other than the guided tour, we had no set schedule. We usually woke early to spend the morning riding the train to explore the city and then returned to the hotel after lunch for a few hours poolside, avoiding the afternoon heat and humidity. I adored all of the outdoor markets and various food stalls and for the most part, my vegetarian-trained stomach did fairly well with the unavoidable fish sauce.
After four days, it was time to advance to our next stop of the trip. It wasn't nearly enough time and I don't know what would be an appropriate amount of time to explore the rest of Bangkok, let alone the entire country of Thailand. However, with the time I was granted, these were my favorite places:
1. Wat Arun (วัดอรุณราชวรารามราชวรมหาวิหาร or
Temple of the Dawn).
Depending on what side of the Chao Phraya River you're on, you may need to take a quick boat ride to reach this Buddhist Wat.
I was thrilled with the view from the river, but seeing the detailed mosaics up close were worth crossing the choppy waters in the over-crowded death trap of a water taxi.
The central prang (Khmer-style tower or spire) has a series of harrowing stairs that lead to a terrace dedicated to the Hindu God Indra (พระอินทร์) riding Erawan (
เอราวัณ), King of All Elephants. The ridiculously steep staircases were an ongoing theme; purposely constructed to humble the climber and bring him or her to their knees upon reaching the top of these Holy places.
2. Wat Pho (วัดพระเชตุพนวิมลมังคลารามราชวรมหาวิหาร).
Most famous for housing the Reclining Buddha, this Wat is Siam's first university and frequently said to be the birthplace of Thai Massage. Still a school of massage and traditional medicine, the locals flock to purchase hand-mixed powders, ointments and other remedies for what ails them.
The School of Massage originated during a time of great illiteracy; look for ancient anatomy carvings and stone statues depicting pressure points and massage technique for the masses to copy down.
Monks are still responsible for educating children and we were lucky enough to observe a school day in progress.
While viewing the awesome Reclining Buddha, I was slightly distracted by a metallic sound and discovered attached to a long wall was 108 bowls (representing the 108 auspicious characteristics of the true Buddha) and a line of people dropping a coin in each bowl, offering prayers to Buddha as they went along. Tradition states Buddha will grant you luck if you do this. Tradition also states that only Buddhists can do this and they will have no qualms about yanking an ignorant tourist out of line to say so.
3. Chatuchak Weekend Market (จตุจักร)
With over 5,000 stalls, this is the place to find everything. Everything. Silk, rabbits, freshly butchered poultry, jewelry, house plants, silver amulets, chairs for your dining room, shoes, baskets, parakeets, vegetable seeds, eggs, black market clothing and cows.
I recommend obtaining a map before going in. It's the ultimate maze; once you're in it's easy to become disoriented. Stagnant, humid air under hot plastic tarps and the smell of curry, blood, manure and cigarettes surround you.
This market often makes appearances on animal welfare watch lists and it was difficult not to be offended by some of what I saw. Many of the questionable stalls selling animals also had posted signs clearly stating "NO PHOTOS" in multiple languages.
But the glorious food and drink stalls! Language barrier be damned, just wave some money and point your way to deliciousness.
4. Erawan Shrine (ศาลพระพรหม).
What amused me most was the location of this sacred Hindu shrine. In front of a hotel and high-end boutiques geared towards Western tourists, at the intersection of two extremely busy streets and under a commuter train platform.
Popular with tourists and religious pilgrims alike, this tiny space is choked with incense smoke and people overflow into the street.
Traditional Thai dancers and musicians will "help" your prayer reach it's destination for a small price and it was a treat to hear them so often; our hotel was a short walk away.
5. Lumphini Park (สวนลุมพินี).
A 140-acre oasis in a city of over 8 million inhabitants, this is Bangkok's "Central Park". Obviously loved and well-cared for by the locals, I really enjoyed walking along the paths and stopping at the docks on the man-made lake.
Tables shaded by palm trees were coveted by elderly men playing dominoes and I was awestruck by the plethora of lush, green grass and gorgeous tropical flowers. A little piece of serenity - Holy shit! What the hell was that?
Giant (4+ feet in length) monitor lizards live in the park and seem to be everywhere; how I would see squirrels in a park in the States. These lizards were sauntering through the grass and taking cool dips in the lake.
We thought twice about that boat rental.
This was probably more information than you required, but I cannot speak highly enough of our quick stay in the Thai capital. Complete photo album can be viewed here or by clicking the link in the column to the right. Note: playing the "slide show" will omit video clips and photo captions.
Up next: Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
