Bangkok

January 19—Love Bangkok

Love Bangkok!  At least my one couple hour evening of it in this little corner where my hotel is.  (The "Love Bangkok" is in the context of having avoided it for years, given its smog and sex trafficking reputation, and anticipating a stay there with apprehension.).

sticky rice last morning

My flight was uneventful—after saying good-byes at IBEC, I'd gone into a little airport shop at Mandalay to see if there was anything for my last 300 kyat (30 cents)—and ended up spending more than a hundred times that amount, and making it to the gate just as my plane was boarding!  

last dinner

I'd taken a bag of sticky rice which they had prepared in the kitchen for my breakfast and lunch.  The night before Aung Khaing Soe, Thuzar Win, Richard, Si Mon, and (I'm blanking on her name) went out for a farewell dinner in town

pots next to restaurant last night in Sagaing

At the Bangkok airport the young man of a very nice English couple carried my bag to passport control—they taught a year in Korea, and are on their way to Vietnam where they'll look for teaching jobs too. They gave high recommendations for me to visit Wat Pho, the Reclining Buddha temple, while in Bangkok.  They said it was the one they most liked. [note: for which advice I am very grateful.  It wasn't among the other four recommendations I'd received ("the emerald Buddha," (the token vender I'd gotten to know at the Thai Temple Sunday brunch in Berkeley) the Grand Palace, a river trip (Richard at IBEC), and Ayutthaya), and I'd well might have missed it. As it was, in retrospect, if I could only have gone one of the four, that would be my choice.]

spirit house near entrance

Waited in a very long queue with four corded off lanes for a taxi (first you register for it at a little booth just by the airport doors).  Even with my printed off map with directions in Thai, the driver had to call the hotel once or twice toward the end, before depositing me in front of its inconspicuous sign on a small side street, where I register at the desk of the courtyard lobby. 

It turns out the $34 for the 4-person dorm room option was for the whole room, not one person, so I ended up splurging more than I thought in taking the deluxe standard private room (there are no non-deluxe standard rooms, just like there are no non-large eggs in our supermarkets), not just $9 more a night.  Oh well. I have a lovely quiet room with a king size bed, a nice view out the window for the brief minutes I've spent there, and a lovely private bathroom.  (And who knows who I might have unlucked out with as roommates, and even if I was the only one, my king size bed (if I ever stop writing to go to it) is much nicer than a bunk bed.  Also, as it ends, I might have been the one keeping my roommates up, so good I have my own room for their sake.

fountain in courtyard at night

There's a beautiful courtyard with trees and pools, and a large fountain in the center, and there's quite a calm, quiet feel to the place, I am so happy with it, and it's central and close to everything, without being touristy.  My only wish at this point is that I had scheduled a few days here, but at least now I've broken through my Bangkok phobia and prejudice (years ago I was told the smog was unbearable, the traffic horrible, overrun with backpackers, and with fat Europeans exploiting trafficked girls).  

shrine across canal

canal near hotel

After getting settled and taking a few minutes at the little computer  in the courtyard to send off yesterday's email, I walked along a little canal a few feet from the hotel, past little shops/apartments with their Buddha shrines, and work area, table or bed, behind closed grillwork, and beautiful flowering trees, street lamps; and across a little bridge with bright lights and music, a  golden shrine with Buddha, elephants, incense and candles and little food stalls in dark alleyways leading off to the side. I returned then to the main street and walked up a couple blocks looking for a place to eat, when I passed a beautiful Buddhist temple by the name of Wat Suthat, and went inside. 
 

Wat Suthat

Rows of Buddhas circled the periphery, with folded mosquito nets above folded cushions where monks or lay retreatants must sit for meditation.  Climbed the steps to the temple patio, where Thai people were praying with incense and flowers, and lighted candles. There I left my shoes (here, people wear shoes in the temple grounds unlike Burma, only taking them off at the threshold of the temple shrine room itself)  and climbed further up into the temple itself with its towering golden Buddha against beautifully painted walls that looked quite old, and tall windows opening to the dusk.  People were seated, kneeling, listening to a calm gentle monk's voice coming from I'm don't know where (as well as answering the occasional cell phone call or checking their messages).  Later, after I'd left, I heard chanting.  

Wat Suthat interior

There was a sign requesting an admission fee of foreigners but the booth to was closed.  I followed another sign to the toilets around the corner, and there was a sign there which requested a 3 baht donation. I showed my miscellaneous coins to someone who showed me what a baht looked like, and a kind bystander gave me a third one to add to the two I had.

Just googled Wat Suthat, and apparently it's a royal temple whose construction was begun by King Rama I in 1807 (B.E. 2350); and it's one of the oldest and largest temples in Bangkok, famed for its beautiful roof line, golden Buddha, magnificent frescoes, and giant swing out front.  If you want to see some images of it, you can go to:

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/thailand/bangkok-wat-suthat-and-giant-swing

By now, it was quite dark on the street, and several streets converging around the center square with its huge swing ediface, so I asked a passer-by where I was on my little map, and where I might find some food stalls.  He told me about a Bangkok-famous pad thai restaurant, and ended up walking me there. It was in his general direction, but he went a bit out of the way to walk me all the way—he was coming from work (he is in the MInistry of the Interior) and was very kind. 

Wat Suthat

 The place had a huge line, but diminished quickly, and I shifted over to the take-out line (50 baht instead of 80 baht, and no wait) for some delicious looking pad thai with huge prawns and tofu, all wrapped in an ultra-thin omelet pouch. I crossed the street (there are actually lights here, and pedestrians seem to have as much rights as drivers, unlike Myanmar) down the little street my guide had shown me, stopping to buy a 5 baht egg to boil for my breakfast before my 6:30 am pickup, then asked another couple people my way, and which was the safest streets to walk. Everyone assured me it was safe to walk alone, but to hold my purse in front of me, and some streets were darker than others.  A sweet young man on a motorcycle I'd asked directions of actually caught up with me later, sort of like a guardian angel making sure I was finding my way.  So I felt very supported, and that Thai people are really are lovely too.

love to you all,

Zoe