Cultural learnings in Bangkok

While in Singapore, I got a chance to (finally!) spend time in Bangkok unlike the last few times when I had just stopped there while in transit. And frankly I was impressed even more than I was expecting. Somehow Bangkok as a tourist place always gets overlooked as people prefer to go to the beaches and shopping in Thailand rather than explore its past.

These structures are the symbols
 of Thailand

Anyways I was excited to be in Bangkok and for the first day, we just explored a couple of temples in the city. The first was the Grand Palace, the symbol of Thailand and what a grand place was that! It is spread in a huge area and there are multiple sections and structures within. The first part is where all the temples and other religious places are located. The second is where the royal buildings are located where the king's coronation and other events take place. And then there was the royal palace in one section where the King's royal guests now stay.

Ravana guarding the idols

Each of these sections are full of stupas, temples, huge statues and other religious structures. Each has been exquisitely decorated with mirrors, coloured mosaics, gold plating and carvings. Everywhere in these structures, you will notice multiple influences of Hindu mythology. You find imagines of Garuda, Vishnu and Sheshnag in many of the depictions. There are even statues of Ravana (the good version) guarding their idols!

The first area is where the temples are located, especially the one with the emerald Buddha as well as the royal library, royal chapel, the library, the replica of the Angkor Vat and many others.

Emerald Buddha

The Emerald Buddha is actually not made of emerald but of jade! It is a small exquisite statue of Buddha which was apparently discovered in the ground and has had an interesting sequence of locations it has been to! The Emerald Buddha is also clothed differently in the different seasons of the year. It was a delicate looking statue and the temple around it was well decorated , with artistic and colourful paintings all around shining in gold.

Ramayana paintings

The royal chapel and library are not open to the public. They are just well crafted buildings with an interesting architecture, to look at and admire. As is the stone replica of Angkor Wat, the biggest Hindu temple which is located in Combodia. Just next to the temples is a wall on which are painted scenes from the Ramayana, but of course the Thai version which has some differences from the Indian version that we all are used to.

Royal buildings

The second part of the Palace includes some royal buildings where the royal thrones are and where the coronations happen. All these were closed when we visited but they are open sometimes during the year.

It takes at least a couple of hours to explore this Palace fully and its a heaven for photographers to practice their skills:). There is just so much art and painting (and gold) all around. For  a person  interested in intricate craftsmanship, its the perfect place to get lost and lose all sense of time!

Sitting Buddha

The next temple complex we saw was the Wat Po (or the temple of the Reclining Buddha). It is comprised of 3 temples inside, one of a standing Buddha, one of the sitting Buddha and the main one of the reclining Buddha. The temple of the sitting Buddha has hundreds of statues of Buddha in sitting pose all around the temple.





The Reclining Buddha temple has the statue of the Buddha reclining, but with his eyes open signifying him attaining Nirvana.

The face with half closed eyes

Reclining Buddha

Stupas

Just outside the complex is a Bodhi tree which is supposed to be from the same tree where Buddha attained nirvana. This complex also has many stupas within the compound and 4 big ones dedicated to the kings of Thailand. Am sure there is a lot more to the history of this temple except that our guide was a very old man who could barely speak English, so we did not manage to catch much of what he was trying to tell us!!

Wat Arun

The last temple we went to was the Wat Arun, a tall tower with engravings all around and which you can climb to geta look of the river and the city beyond. The last section of stairs leading up the Wat are very steep and not for the faint hearted. But the view from the top is worth it. You get a view of the river and the other temples and palaces at a distance.

Grand Palace from Wat Arun

The river with the tourist boats

You also get a good view of the river and the expanse of it breaking apart (and joining) the city! The river in Bangkok is a hub for a lot of activities. You can take boat rides on the river which take you through the maze that the river creates. In fact for the same reason, Bangkok is sometimes called the Venice of the East.

Also the ferry across the river is very cheap. We took a ferry to Wat Arun and it costed just about 2-3 THB which is about 4-5 Indian Rupees and some cents or pence in USD and GBP. Had totally forgotten things could be so cheap anymore:).

The modes of travel in the city are numerous. Taxis (even in pink colour!) and tuktuks abound. The tuktuks are cool actually, and their drivers maneuvre it like they was a scooter! Though beware, they charge tourists for their ignorance. And then there is the metro and the ferries to go longer distances or along/across the rivers. So all in all, very easy to go around the town.

Anyways I think this was the end of the cultural aspect of our trip. Thereafter we got what Thailand is famous for, the Thai massage! Its unbeleivably cheap, just about 300 THB for an hour in a good massage place in a mall. Is difficult to imagine this even in India anymore!

View across from the Deck

In terms of eating, we tried a couple of places which were good. One was the Deck near the Wat Po, it was a three tiered restaurant just next to the river with a view of Wat Arun across the river. Though the food was decent, the location of the restaurant is its best selling point. Its nice to sit there in the heat with the river wind keeping you cool. Plus once the lights come on, and twinkle in the water, the view looks even better. The other restaurant we tried was the Nahm restaurant which has some very awesome Thai fusion food. A definite recommend.

For partying we went to an area called RCA, and what a sight it was. A huge street closed to traffic, and a line of clubs playing loud music in the open. There was dancing inside and lot of seating outside. It did seem like a fun place:).

Erawan Brahma statue

Just next to the hotel we were staying in was a very interesting sight, a Brahma temple site called Erawan. There was this open space in the middle of a bustling market place with the statue of Brahma in the middle and people praying in the open. There was a continuous crowd there at night as well the next morning and on one side of the place

Dancers at Erawan

were some Thai dancers also dancing continuously. I found this very surprising, especially since there are so few Brahma temples in India. A lively site nonetheless.

Bangkok is definitely the place to shop. There are multiple malls which sell branded stuff for cheap, as well as the Chatuchak market for branded fakes. In fact, any street you walk on in the central district is full of people on the side selling all kinds of stuff. Its really surprising to see people selling things with no consistency at all!! I missed shopping when in Bangkok this time but its definitely a must-go.

I had also heard a lot about lady boys in Thailand, who are actually men but who dress up and live an ordinary life as a woman. It was a thought which is difficult to imagine elsewhere in the world I guess. But I did see it in Thailand, I met two ladyboys in the airport who no one could have said were not women! I for one found it quite interesting and open as a society.

One disturbing thing I saw in Bangkok though was the number of European men walking around hand in hand with local Thai women. What it stands for makes you feel bad for Thailand as a whole, how sad would it be for a country to have the reputation it has?

People in the city were mostly helpful to us. Even though most of them know some English but still not enough to help you get by comfortably. So many times we found ourselves stuck,  trying to explain what we wanted to and finally giving up. Everytime we were in the cab, we would always pray we reach the right destination since we were never sure if the driver understood what we were saying or not! Also, as tourists, it makes sense to be very careful when in Bangkok. People try to con you all the time. Just outside the Grand Palace, a couple of people told us to go somewhere else as the Palace was closed at that point! Which was not true at all! Wonder why they did that!

Anyways, on the whole loved my time exploring the past of Bangkok and would definitely recommend it to anyone going to Thailand. Do spend a couple of days getting to know and feel Bangkok. It will be worth it!

P.S. We all went crazy clicking photographs when in Bangkok. They are nice ones and thought will share them anyways!

AT THE GRAND PALACE - THE HINDUISM EFFECT

Royal Chapel

Hanuman and demons supporting the stupa

Garudas holding up the temple

Angkor Wat replica in stone

A golden statue

Golden Garuda, carrying Vishnu

TEMPLE OF RECLINING BUDDHA

Stupas of the kings

Vegas baby!

Vegas, the Sin City! I did not find it so sinful though:). But it was an interesting experience nonetheless.This summer, we stayed a couple of days in Vegas before going off to the National Parks in Utah and Arizona, and to be frank, I did feel a bit letdown by Vegas. It wasn't really as good or out of this world as I had always imagined, especially given that we have been hearing and seeing and reading about this city for ages!

Venetian at night

When in Vegas, we stayed in the Venetian, which was on the strip itself. It was a good hotel, with well done up and huge rooms but the decor did feel a little garish with all the Venice based paintings and lighting everywhere in the hotel (but isn't that what Vegas stands for?).

Gondola on Grand Canal

The first day, we did some sightseeing within the Venetian itself which was grand. There is the canal with the gondolas and the gondoliers singing while rowing passengers along the canal (within the hotel itself!). There is a St Marks square and many other eating, shopping and sitting places just next to the canals, all covered with a fake blue roof.

Masks at the Venetian

There are performers everywhere around in the hotel and lot of people wearing Venetian masks, entertaining tourists and clicking pictures with them. The hotel was decorated with waterfalls and flower arrangements and stuff all over. There were lot of events also happening within the hotel, given that it was Carnevale time. In fact there is enough to see within the hotel itself for a couple of hours.

Grand Canal

St Marks Square at Venetian

Venetian from outside

Ceilings at Venetian

The Strip

The Venetian was at one end of the Strip, which is kind of the high street of Vegas. All the major hotels are located on this Strip itself and its the place to stay if you really want to explore the area. For a budget traveller, you can easily stay just off the strip too in very cheap places but if you can, do stay here. Its easy to get out and see the sights this way.

We walked a lot along the Strip to check out all the interesting hotels and sights it had to offer. Each hotel had some interesting architecture and characteristics based on its theme and was interesting to just walk around taking in the feel (and clicking pictures).

Mirage volcano

The Mirage has a fake volcano erupting regularly in the evenings. Bellagio has the famous musical fountains in front, going off every 15 minutes.

Paris

Paris is based on Paris; New York New York on (you guessed it!) New York, with a roller coaster taking you up and down its sights; Ceasars Palace is based on the Roman empire, with statues of their Gods and a Fontana de Trevi copy; Monte Carlo on its namesake; Hotel Luxor on Egypt and so on. You get to see all these famous places of the world without having to even go there! How American:). The MGM and the Wynn have a more sober look, not based on any city or theme. Then there are the low-end Flamingo and Ballys hotels and casinos.

Vegas at night

Its just fun to walk along the strip and see all these garish images. There are multiple performers in various costumes all along the road, dressed up in all characters you can imagine. At nights the whole area is lighted up brightly. Its fun to see it all actually, but somehow I did not find it warm or inviting at all!

And all along the road, there are all these high-end shops. In fact each of the hotels also have their own shopping arcades. I found that weird, who would shop on a vacation? But in fact that iss the standard template for all the big hotels. There is a hotel theme which defines its decor, and then loads of shops and eating places, casinos, gardens, bars, pools and clubs within each hotel. And the hotel rooms are relatively cheap given their quality. The hotels make all their money from gambling rather than room rent. Also, even though all the hotel themes are different but on the inside, they start looking the same after a point!

Flower garden at the Wynn

In terms of eating, Vegas is a haven. Each hotel has some 20-30 restaurants within; any cuisine you want, any rate you want it at and its all there! We went to a couple of places which were good. Most of the time though we ate at the Venetian, Sushi Samba was tasty as was Aria on Tao Beach, the restaurant next to the Venetian pool. Pearl at the MGM was a nice Chinese place and the Terrace Garden Cafe at the Wynn good for a nice breakfast. My favorite though was Jasmine, which was in the Bellagio next to the musical fountains. It was a Chinese food place but I loved it just for the view of the musical fountains outside! Other than that, apparently the breakfast buffet at Bellagio is supposed to be great, though we could not eat there. But a definite must try I would say!

Vegas at night

Of course there is gambling in Vegas (of course!), but to be honest, I did not feel as interested in that and we spent very less time in the casinos. But each of the hotels have casinos and even off the Strip, there are multiple other smaller casinos to lose your money in:).

If gambling is not your hobby, there are loads of other activities in Vegas to keep you busy . During the day lot of organised trips leave for Powell Dam, Grand Canyon etc, which are quite interesting places all located nearby. You can also take a trip to the Vegas downtown which apparently has lot of places playing good music in the evening, and a fun slightly non-Vegas place to go. We did not go there but have heard the experience is different.

One thing anyone going to Vegas must definitely do is check out one of the many stage shows that happen there. There are a couple which are popular, La rev, O etc. but the one we saw was 'Love', by Cirque de Soleil based on the Beatles at the Mirage and it was amazing. It was a well choreographed show, with many performers on the stage at once, beautifully choreographed and riveting and performing to Beatles music. Loved it!

After a day and a half in Vegas we had left for the National Parks and when we drove back, I got the feeling of an oasis looking at the city. It is surrounded by miles and miles of desert wastelands all around, and then suddenly you see this collection of high rise brightly lit high rises in the middle of the desert. Whoever thought of making Vegas must have been quite a visionary, thinking of creating such a world in the middle of nowhere is quite a brilliant idea!!

On the whole though, I found Vegas very weird. There are loads of tourists just walking around doing the same stuff in every hotel. The feel of Vegas wasnt as 'fun' as i thought it would be. It just felt too standard, the same everywhere.

Bellagio fountains

The one thing about Vegas which I just loved were the Bellagio fountains! They were the best part of the trip for me. Very well designed and executed, the huge streams of water flowing in tune with the music, and to a different song everytime. Just amazing to sit by it and take it all in. Its a definite multiple times must-do.

National Parks of US (2): Bryce and Zion

BRYCE NATIONAL PARK

Onwards on our trip of the US National Parks, we drove from Grand Canyon to Bryce National Park in about 6 hours, even though the direct distance between the two parks is only about 150 miles! That is because you have to drive all the way around the canyon for double this distance.

Once you cross from Arizona into Utah, you will realise why this state is famous for national parks. Everywhere you go, the landscape is different and you see various types of land formations. And even though Utah is a desert, you still see mountains everywhere in different shapes, sizes and colours. Its a real treat for the eyes and a very difficult experience to describe!

On the drive, you pass through some minor canyons like the one formed by the Little Colorado river and also there there is the city of Page where you can visit the Glen Canyon, Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend. We did not get a chance to spend time there, but they are a nice place to spend some time. Also, on the way you will pass through many other National Parks, all tempting you with a visit. If you have a lot of time, you can definitely explore these other places too.

Anyways, once at the Bryce Park, we stayed at the only lodge inside the park, the Bryce Canyon Lodge. Its a nice wooden-rustic-feeling kind of lodge located within the forests. There is a dining room at the lodge itself, which offers decent meals as well as a Pizzeria next to the lodge which offers snacks in between times. We stayed one day at the Park, in the morning going on one of the trails and in the evening just spending time at the various viewpoints as well as watching the sunset from Sunset Point.

We did one trail in the canyon, the Fairyland trail. Its an 8 mile, 4.5 hour trek which takes you down in the canyon, while you walk around the hoodos (which is what the Bryce Park is famous for!). You walk up and down admiring these weird looking structures which are very soft and made of sand at some places and clay at others. So they alternate between being very soft and very hard at times. They are all around you, and its interesting to see shapes in them, the bridges, the arches, the standing army, the fairytale castle and anything else your mind wants to imagine!

The trek was interesting and at times tough since it was so hot throughout but once we were out of the canyon, and walking along the rim, it started raining out of the blue!! And raining really hard, with zero visibility and hails falling too. That was quite an interesting and surprising phenomenon, and then lo and behold, the rain clouds left as suddenly as they had appeared and it was hot and sunny again! The land around though looked satiated and green and happy:) just after the rain while the dry streamlets at the bottom of the canyon started gushing with water suddenly. Quite a wonderful view that was!

Apparently all these hoodoo structures were made over time by the wind as well as the Paria river which flows through the canyon. Except that the river is very tiny and at the time we went, non-existent! So its still very difficult to imagine how it could have made all these structures!

After the trek, we visited the viewpoints along the park, the Rainbow point, the Natural Bridge and Fairview points, Bryce point etc. The view from Bryce point was good, of the amphitheater which has the highest concentration of the hoodos in the canyon. We went to Sunset Point at sunset, but did not find anything interesting to see; maybe sunrise brings out better colours and shadows on the hoodos?

One thing would suggest is to take the horse riding tours in the canyon. They sound cool, are guided so a lot of fun and informative I guess and makes it a lot more easier to explore the canyon than walking around in the sun:).

ZION NATIONAL PARK

After Bryce, we stopped for half a day at the Zion National Park (in Utah itself) on the way back to Vegas. The park is just another canyon (by this time, we had had enough of the canyons!), this park had huge red mountains on both sides with the Virgin river flowing in between. It was again dry like a desert, and honestly other than having huge mountains with sheer cliff sides, it wasn't anything too new or exciting.


But we did one trek here, which is maybe one of the toughest and riskiest treks I have ever done. We did the Angels Landing trail which is about 5 miles round trip and takes about 4 hours. Initially it was a tough climb, very steep and hot. In between there was a portion called 'the Dark Canyon' which was shaded and hence relatively easier to walk through, but on the whole this was one of the tougher treks we did (or so we thought!)


Till we came to the last and the toughest part of the trek, which was the 0.5 miles one way trek up the Angels Landing. Honestly, we took a couple of minutes to decide whether we should even be doing this or not! This last part of the trek is along a ledge on this mountain, with sheer fall on both sides. There are railing on one side of the trek at some places for you to hold while you climb the mountain and sometimes there is none!


You walk up scrambling and sitting, holding tightly to the railing for your life, and if you look down, you can easily freeze! It was scary and I questioned many times why we are doing something so risky but somehow we did it! And what a feeling it was:). At the top of the mountain, there was a flat stretch and you get a view of the canyon below.

We felt safe though only once we had come back from this last stretch of the trek though! (and I still think it was too risky a trek to do and wonder why people do it still?). Anyways after the trek, we had a quick lunch at the Zion Lodge and drove back to Vegas and then back to NY after an amazing time at the National Parks.

We had driven about 900 miles during the last 5 days through some amazing sceneries and landscapes. We had trekked each day and found all the three treks to be unique in their own way. My favourite was definitely the Angels Landing trail, just for the sheer amount of risk we took. Something will definitely remember forever.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARKS

In terms of wildlife, the most common animals here were the Elk, mule deer, prairie dogs (which look like squirrels), chipmunks, big and small lizards and apparently mountain lions and bears which we did not see. There are many rare birds also which you will encounter here, including the famous condor at the Grand Canyon.

The fee is $25 for each of the national parks and $80 for a yearly pass to all US national parks. If you plan to travel regularly, the yearly pass definitely makes sense. And all the national parks give maps with details of the treks and trails that can be done there, as well as other events that they all have.

Another good thing about these national parks is the free shuttle bus they run within the park. The buses connect all the important view points, trail heads etc in the park and run pretty regularly. It makes exploring the parks quite easy without having to drive through these areas yourself. All these parks also have lodges within for people to stay and explore them from close.

Also, another point to note, even though we visited the Parks in summer and the trails though hot were still do-able, I would definitely recommend them to be visited in the spring. The weather will be a lot cooler and easier to walk and visit. Plus a lot of water bodies dry up in the summer, would definitely look a lot photogenic and inviting in the spring than in the hot sun!

Was really impressed with how well organised these Parks were, definitely makes the whole experience a lot more enjoyable and convenient. Looking forward to exploring a couple of more such US Parks!

Pittsburgh sojourn

I spent a week in Pittsburgh this fall for an office training and just thought would put in my views on that stay. I did not see much of the city as most of my time was spent in the CMU campus. We stayed at the Omni hotel which is a tastefully done grand old place, with an old world charm and a different era ambiance. The weather in Pittsburgh was already cold by September and fall colours had started to show up. There isn't much to do in Pittsburgh though. Its an old steel mill town of the US, through which 3 rivers flow which provides it with some beauty. Its also a university town, with at least 5-6 universities based there!


I did one touristy thing though, took the cable car named Duquesne up Mount Washington from just next to the river to the top of the hill and ate at a seafood restaurant, called Monterey Bay. The cable car is made of wood and very rustic. It even makes creaking sounds as it goes up which makes it scary. Plus you get to see nice views of the city as you keep gaining height. And they run the cable car even for 2-3 people only!

The Monterey Bay restaurant is built on top of a high rise on top of Mount Washington and has glass walls all around which is great for a top view of the city. Pittsburgh looks dazzling at night, with the rivers merging and the downtown all lighted up with the lights.

The food at the Bay was very tasty, mostly seafood but yum and with great service. Would say its a must-do if you every land up in Pittsburgh!