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