Sharing A Suitcase - What A Nightmare

Sunday 8 October

We woke up early this morning – must be the change of bed, although they are just as hard as those we have been sleeping on since arriving in China. Breakfast was typical fare for a conference hotel – fruit and cereals (although Colin didn’t find the cornflakes until after he had eaten his eggs and bacon, so had them for his final course – he is back to five or six courses again), a full range of cooked items, toast and croissants with jams, marmalade and honey, tea or coffee.

Having eaten our fill, the group met in the Lobby on time and left to explore Bangkok. Another set of tuk-tuks were hailed and we lurched off to our first destination (tuk-tuks are not the most stable form of transport, particularly when cornering, and there are no seat belts to hold you on board) - the Wat Pho Temple – the oldest temple in Bangkok – which we had visited last year with Juz and Dave. It had been one of the more interesting temples in Bangkok, with the third largest Reclining Buddha in Thailand – 48 metres long (almost 150 feet!) a huge gilded Buddha statue with intricate designs in mother of pearl on the soles of the feet. There are also four large stupas, (like huge tall elaborate cones, covered in multi-coloured mosaics) which contain the remains of members of ancient royal families, and ninety plus small stupas, for lesser officials’ remains. Another interesting feature at this temple is a collection of “hermits” in different poses that represent ancient doctors, who helped cure the Kings of the time. Each represents a specialist in particular ailment or medical problem, such as stomachs, bones, psychology, etc. – there used to be some 200 but theft and natural erosion means that there are only 50 or so left now. There are side chapels with drawings and writings on the walls about herbology, biology and Buddhism for ladies to learn from, as an ancient king recognized that women could be intelligent too!!!

On leaving the temple we walked to the river, via a street food market and an undercover market, to reach a pier – Chang Pie, or Elephant Pier – where a boat was waiting to take us around the canals of Bangkok. The water level is exceedingly high at present (much, much higher than when we were here before) and the sluice gates had been shut on some canals meaning that navigation there was impossible. But we rode up and down the river and one of the larger canals, where evidence of flooding, pumping out of temples and homes along the sides, and sandbagging could be clearly seen. We had seen an report in the newspaper whilst in Koh Samui, that an even greater rise in the water level is expected on 9th and 10th October, when the drain off from the recent heavy rains in the north, then running down through the country and would reach Bangkok. Luckily, we leave Bangkok tomorrow, so should miss any problems with flooding. The floors of many of the wooden houses along the canalside were either already under water, or just floating above it. The damage will be severe to these homes, if the water rises any further. But having said that, Pok told us that every year Bangkok floods and the people just do their best to combat the damage, and then get on with life.

After the canal trip we wandered back through the streets to another typical Thai restaurant, where we all ordered local food – simple but delicious and very cheap – beers cost significantly more than the food.

Our next stop was the Grand Palace – we didn’t have time to go there last year. It is divided into three sections – temples on the outside, middle and inner – the inner section is not open to the public as it contains the living quarters of some members of the current royal family – not the King or the Prince, who have their own palaces nearby. The decoration on the outside and inside of the temples is exquisite – lots of gold and brilliantly coloured glass and stones covering the outside of the buildings, which often twinkled in the sunshine and looked like they were covered with fairy lights. Round the bases of several stupsas were lots of demons and monkey statutes – all very lavish and along the gallery walls were some beautiful paintings, depicting life here in a bygone age – currently to be seen being restored by painstaking artists..

The Palace was built by the first King of Thailand – Rama I – in 1782. Prior to this the capital of Thailand had originally been at Ayutthaya – until overrun and destroyed by the Burmese in the 1600s, when the ruling family moved the capital to the west bank of the River Chao Phraya – opposite this palace. Since then all the Kings have been named Rama and we now up to number 9. He has been on the throne for 60 years – just longer than our Queen, and the Thai people really support him. On Mondays, for instance, loads of Thai people wear bright yellow tops (Tshirts, shirts and blouses) to show their respect for the King (he was born on a Monday, and Monday’s colour is yellow (the only other dayI know is Saturday and that is purple). We had seen this support on Koh Samui – all the staff at Smile wore yellow on Mondays – but it is even more evident on the mainland, where there are also pictures of the King and yellow flags bearing his symbol, everywhere, on buildings, such as all over the new airport, at the front of houses and public buildings, together with yellow and blue swagging (blue representing the country of Thailand) adorning bridges and shops and hotels. The country is awash with yellow and its support for the King. (I think the situation is similar to ours in England, where the Queen is loved by most people, but the Prince/heir apparent is not so popular.)

The Emerald Buddha is housed in the Ordination Hall at the Great Palace – it is only about 18 inches tall and 12 inches wide – and was carved from a piece of jade found in a stupa at Chiang Rai in 1434. The statue was first kept at Chang Mai, but in 1552 was taken by a Laotian Prince, married to a Thai Princess, when he returned home to claim the Laos throne, where it remained until the 1770s when the Thai army captured Vientiane (capital of Laos) and returned the Emerald Buddha to Thailand. When King Rama I built the city of Bangkok, he installed this Buddha in his Grand Palace. The statue has three sets of apparel – one for summer, one for the rainy season and one for the winter. Only the King can remove the crown, therefore, three times a year, the King mounts a ladder at the rear of the statue, and removes the crown, before an official then changes the apparel and the King replaces the crown. The Thai folk are very superstitious and keep up their ancient customs. Apparently the ceremony is shown on television now so all the Thai people can see this ceremony.

Unfortunately most of the middle area buildings were closed today – not sure why, but perhaps for some renovations – but we did see the Royal Guest House, a large palace built in western style in 1903 by Rama V for his son and heir, who hated it and refused to live there. The present King has had refurbishments carried out and now it is used to house visiting dignitaries. There was also the Royal Banqueting House – luckily nearby to the Guest House, where dignitaries are entertained at dinner parties. This building is also western style, but the planned domes on the roof were replaced by typical Thai style roofs, to appease the Thai people. By now, everyone was extremely hot and sticky – the sun had shone all day, and the temperatures were well up in the 30’s, so the tour ended and we returned to the hotel for a swim. Trip Advisor had said that the pool here was “small but adequate”, when in fact, it was similar in size to that at Smile and proved very refreshing after the tour. Some members of the group went off to MBK (?) a large shopping mall on eight floors, but we decided to give that a miss.

After the swim, I blogged and then we sorted our suitcases ready for the trekking experience. We have decided to only take one case with us (probably mine) and leave the other at this hotel, to be collected at the end of Stage 1 of the tour. We definitely don’t need anything smart, but do need long trousers and long-sleeved Tshirts (to avoid the leeches we are told!!!) and our jarmies – we are all sleeping in the same room for a couple of nights! Colin sorted out his clothes and promptly filled one half of my case, without all the extra goodies like chemisty items, computer, plugs and the hundred and one other small things needed on a trek! We eventually sorted it all out, putting the overspill in Colin’s hand luggage bag. Repacking is hard work and a real thirsty job and we needed a drink, so down to the bar, where we met Linda and Jill, sending emails on the hotel computer. While we were having a few drinks wit them, Pok joined us in the bar and entertained us with some of his life’s anecdotes. He learnt his English while in Australia studying Photography in Perth, and has worked as a Court translator at the airport court for five years. He still lives at home with his Mum and Dad.

By this time it was getting late, so we popped into the Western/Thai food restaurant at the hotel (there are also Japanese, Chinese and Italian restaurants to choose from, but we decided on Thai – are we get hooked on chillis?). We chose Thai soups, beef fillet in red curry sauce and some pork and noodles in gravy. All very delicious.

Then back to the room to finish sorting the packing – again – and finish blogging, and get to bed early, as we have to be ready to leave by 07.30 in the morning – and Colin wants breakfast.

Over the next few days it may sometimes be difficult to get connected, or we may not even have the computer with us, so do not get concerned if we are not publishing blogs – I will be making notes in the jungle to write up when we return to civilization.