She was a hyper drama queen who got on my nerves before we had even passed the gates of the port. She never stopped talking – even when she promised she would. And it wasn’t like she was talking about anything interesting. It was the most inane chatter about God knows what. I tried to tune her out quite quickly. Unfortunately, it was a two-hour bus ride to Bangkok. Somebody get me a stun gun. Quick! There was some relief though, because we had about five faculty members on the bus who wrested control of the microphone away from Demento Dee Dee. I guess they didn’t appreciate her either. The faculty gave an impromptu lecture about Thailand that was so much better than the drivel that Demento Dee Dee was dishing out. Having the professors talk was an act of mercy as far as I was concerned!
We finally arrived in Bangkok and slowly made our way through the traffic to the main river, Chao Phraya. Traffic in the city was heinous – it took forever to get anywhere. We made a quick to the happy place (bathroom) and got on board the boat for a one-hour tour of the “alleys” of the canal. It was fascinating to see the houses and temples along the river. The majority of the houses were dilapidated shacks but you could tell the people took care with their houses as best they could by the profusion of potted plants and royal flags (images and symbols of the King are everywhere!). Another great feature of the boat ride was that the motor was so loud that it drowned out Demento Dee Dee on the microphone. We couldn’t hear a word she was saying the entire time. Sweet!
We eventually emerged from the canals onto the main river again and cruised up to the Wat Arun or Temple of the Dawn. It was a spectacular structure and very beautiful. Not only was it a striking architectural structure but the detail on the temple itself was notable too. The photos describe it best.After the all too brief visit to the temple we went across the river to a restaurant. The food was unbelievably good. Several of us were trying to figure out how to make some of the dishes when we are back home. I don’t think we’ll have much success but it will be fun to try.
Replete with the tasty lunch, we abandoned the boat and walked down the road to the Grand Palace. The complex of buildings and temples was established in 1782 when King Rama I decided to move the capital to Bangkok from Thonburi. A tome of adjectives wouldn’t even come close to describing the beauty of the complex. The façade of each temple was covered in gold leaf and a mosaic of colored glass (to represent gems). Mythical creatures guarded the entrances and were also covered in gold and gems. The detail on each structure and statue was overwhelming.
I hope the photos convey some of the details of the place. One of the buildings contained the Emerald Buddha which is one of the most venerated sites in Thailand. The Buddha is enshrined on a golden Thai-style throne and is clad in one of the three seasonal costumes (summer, rainy season, and winter). The costumes are changed three times a year by the King. One of the interesting facts about the Emerald Buddha is that it was carved from a block of green jade and was first discovered in 1434. At that time the image was covered with plaster and was thought to be an ordinary Buddha image. Later, the abbot who had found the image noticed that the plaster on the nose had flaked off, revealing the green stone underneath. The abbot initially thought that the stone was emerald and the legend of the Emerald Buddha began.
We wandered around the temples for about an hour soaking in their beauty before walking to the Grand Palace which is where the Thai State dinners and such are held. Very impressive. We arrived just as the changing of the guard was concluding and was able to see at least a little bit of the ceremony.After the Grand Palace we walked back to the bus for a “quick” trip (traffic, don’t ya know) to the Reclining Buddha which is an amazingly large Buddha that is reclining…hence the name. Go figure. We spent 10 minutes admiring the ginormous Buddha and then were herded back to the bus for another traffic jam-laden bus ride to a jewelry factory. Huh? It turns out the purpose to the factory was to take advantage of the free transportation that they provided to anyone who spent at least 15 minutes getting a hard-core sales pitch. Because we had participants in the tour who wanted to stay in Bangkok rather than return to the ship, Demento Dee Dee decided to complicate matters to a phenomenal degree by “organizing” our departure from the tour. She went into a frenzy of phone calls and planning that was total overkill. She decided that this factory was the best way to provide transportation for the people staying in the city. We could easily have taken taxis or tuk-tuks but this was never considered to be an option by D.D.D.
The 12 participants (including myself) who left the tour were dropped off at the shopping mall where the shuttle bus for the ship would be picking us up on Monday. Fortunately, I was close enough to my hotel to walk there rather. Thank goodness! The thought of sitting in Bangkok traffic again was unappealing.
I made plans to have dinner with a couple who were staying at a different hotel and then set off for my place. 15 hot and muggy minutes later I found the hotel and gratefully galloped into the lobby – drenched in sweat and totally bedraggled. The staff was very gracious and overlooked my appearance and quickly processed the paperwork.
I was soon in my room where I cranked the air conditioner to arctic-like temperatures. I kiss the feet of the person who invented air conditioning. I sprawled out on the bed and let the cool air do its job of making me human again while I channel surfed. I waited for the couple to call me but the phone never rang (I later found out that they tried many times to call the hotel but were never successful). So at 8:00 pm I went to the end of the street where a Burger King was located and had a quick meal that I wolfed down. Back to the hotel and the fantastic, marvelous, stupendous air conditioner and then bed-time.
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