Thailand Holiday - Bangkok

We had planned our trip to Thailand to be at the end of Golden Week for about five nights. We wanted to spend some time in Bangkok but also on the coast. So it was that we headed off to Bangkok. We had checked out the foreign affairs website to see what the current situation was in Thailand and were glad we weren't going at the end of last year.

As soon as we arrived at the airport in Bangkok we knew it was different - so very many obvious tourists, and the english! Signs were mainly in both Thai and english. We took a taxi to the Hotel Ibis and decided that we liked our driver, who spoke just enough english to arrange for him to come back to the hotel and drive us to Pattaya on the third day. Our rooms, though spartan, were adequate for just sleeping in. We rearranged the two beds so that an adult and child could share without dropping onto the floor!We planned our first day to go by boat to see the Grand Palace and various Wats with a catch-up lunch with our friends, the second day would be a visit to Ayutthaya (the old Thai capital) with a Chao Praya River cruise - plus Mummy wanted to check out the markets. Then for our third and fourth days we'd shoot off to Pattaya on the coast and see an animal park on the way there, returning to the airport on the fifth day to head back to China.

And so, Brett was in charge of getting us to the river ferry station from our hotel - and with our smattering of Thai phrases we managed (after being lost) to arrive at a different ferry station than we intended. We had walked to the next one by accident. The water seemed quite dirty and had lots of green vegetation in it - water hyacinths perhaps? And yes, those shoes from Beijing are very much loved - isn't it lucky that bright orange goes with everything?! Whilst we were lost, we passed through Chinatown - how strange that was given that we live in "real" China!Thai architecture is very different and Mummy was mesmerised. The older architecture is being torn down in China to make way for modern edifaces - whereas in Thailand it seems that they are hanging onto their traditional architecture. The intricate details, pointed eaves, chedis and elaborately painted/mosaicked were visually stunning.
We cruised along the river and enjoyed watching the passing boats and architecture - pollution is still an issue here though we don't encounter the spitting on the street. We disembarked with the rest of the tourists at the Tha Chang- Palace dock and made our way to the Palace. The guide books were spot on when they discussed price gouging and touts trying it on - telling you something isn't open until later and trying to get you to go somewhere with them instead. Everywhere we went there were two prices listed - one for Thai nationals and the other for tourists. We arrived at the Palace early enough to see the changing of the guard - complete with pink trouser stripes. Alex was impressed!














It was hot enough for us to enforce the hat rule - and the heat made adhering to the clothing etiquette rules difficult and uncomfortable. Long sleeves and long pants/skirts for the adults had Mummy and Daddy envying Alex and Sebastien's youth.














The Palace and the Wat Phra Keow (Emerald Buddha) were superb so this will be a photo-heavy post. The Wat containing the Emerald Buddha (a 45cm high carving of a single piece of jade) is colocated with the Grand Palace so we spent a goodly portion of the day checking out both of these places. Although some corners were showing the effects of wear and tear, much of it was pristine and in excellent condition. The number of tourists was impressive - it was very crowded and many of them were obviously western. Taking photos was generally not allowed in the temples themselves. Everywhere you looked was a mass of brightly coloured tiled mosaics and gold paint and gilt.The attention to detail was impressive and the spires seemed dizzying.
We were awash in Buddhist terminology - chedi (doesn't rhyme with Jedi!), stupa, wat, chofah, prang etc. The differences in the rooftops was amazing. Mummy was very taken with these little guys holding up a tower - they represent giants from the thai epic tale, the Ramakien. The walls around the temple were covered in a mural that depicted the Ramakien.
A cloister surrounds the temple (and was undergoing repair whilst we were there) and depicted along here is an extensive mural of the Ramakian, the Thai version of the famous Indian epic, the Ramayana. In total there are 178 sections - our attention spans didn't allow us to view them all.
We learned that a Wat is made up of many different buildings including a library although there are no resident monks and therefore it isn't considered a place of Buddhist learning.
Alex wanted to see what was inside this building that the lady was mopping the floor of.
A closer view of the fence with its mosaic and paint.
This golden Chedi looked like a big bell ready to ring. It is the golden Phra Si Rattana Chedi that is supposed to house ashes of the Buddha.Even the gardens were scultped with various bonsais and decoratively pruned trees.
The temple with the Emerald Buddha in it was very crowded. The King changes the statue's robes three times a year according to the seasons (hot, rainy and cool) and the robes are made of gold and diamonds.
Throughout the Wat are large statues of mythical guardians, some of which look like birds. Here are some examples of the fierce gate guardians.
There was also a miniature model of the famous Cambodian temple complex Angkor Wat, made during the reign of King Mongkut (Rama IV) when the Thai empire extended over Cambodia - though we didn't appreciate this at the time as the labels were in Thai. Throughtout the Wat there was an overwhelming amount of gold guilt or paint but sufficient tile and other material to allow the senses to recover.
Alex and Sebastien were starting to indicate a need for a break (check out those red cheeks from the heat!) so we headed to the Grand Palace, nowadays used only for occasional ceremonial purposes and no longer the royal residence. On the way we bought a mango juice which Alex promptly drank (with Sebastien's help).
Not many of the halls in the Palace are open to the public, though there are some smaller halls open that have been made into museums. The explanations Mummy had to come up with for Alex when touring the weapons museum were pretty good considering a lack of notice.

It seems that little foreign boys are loved in Thailand too as this museum guard was quite taken by Sebsatien - especially that he was happy to be held by her. She offered him her orange (this has been a common theme in both China and Thailand and we aren't sure exactly how many lunches we have been given as gifts) with the result that Alex became upset, thinking that she was being ignored, and asked Mummy where hers was! It seems Alex has become somewhat used to being observed and "loved" in China and wanted her piece of fame in Thailand too.
Meanwhile other tourists took photos of the family sitting outside the main Palace hall.We learnt a few cultural customs do's and don'ts for Thailand - the wai, touching someone's head (including children) is considered rude, don't point with your feet (considered dirty) or step on something/someone with your foot (including coins that have the image of the king on them), step over the raised threshold of a temple - not on it, remove your footwear to enter a temple, and especially for Mummy - make way for a monk so you don't touch him as this helps their religious discipline. Here is a photo of the raised thresholds. The architecture of the Palace was more european in feel (except for the roof - still very thai) and the landscaped grounds beautiful but lacking in large shade trees. Our aim had been to get out of the hotel early to do sightseeing before the heat of the day - but it took us a long time to adjust to travelling with two small children - indeed, we still hadn't worked out all the kinks by the end of our trip. I guess we just didn't want to resign ourselves to a lesser experience.

Our original itinerary included visits to two Wats that first day - but it became increasingly obvious that we'd set an ambitious schedule which would be difficult to stick with.

We had arranged to meet our friends Ivan and Lidija at an MRT station where we'd decide on where to go for a late lunch (we decided on the MBK Mall). We had to grab a taxi to get there and it was here that we encountered our first hassle. We were rejected by no fewer than two taxi drivers (the third was the charm) based on our destination. It must have been too close to lunch/siesta/change of shift for them to go that distance. We were mightily put out as we dragged two tired children from taxi to taxi in a crowded street (not to mention having to cross the street to get to the second taxi - they were scarce which apparently allowed them to pick and choose their destinations). However we managed to convince the third driver to take us - I'm not sure whether Brett simply started the meter...

It was great to see Ivan and Lidija although, as they recounted their experience to us of the past year, it sounded more and more like they were leaving at the end of the academic year. We ate at a food court - you convert your money to food court money (you can get a refund of any you don't use) and decide amongst the diverse stands. Sebastien was so tired he didn't wake up so we lay him on the table to continue his nap.
We enjoyed, among other things, some Tom Yum (spicy soup), Som Tam (grated papaya salad), fresh mango juice, waffles and sticky rice with coconut milk for dessert. Brett was meeting some runners to go for a run so Mummy took Alex and Sebastien to Lumphini Park, near to our hotel. Our friends joined us.

The park is large and beautiful (and is known as Bangkok's green lung) although there were no vendors of water once inside the park - we found this out too late much to Mummy's chagrin.

Here are Ivan and Lidija posing at the entrance to the park.The view over to the city- so very many of the flowers were out although not really spring.

Lidija was happy to help Sebastien and Alex stay a safe distance from a wandering Lace Monitor near a pond. It looked as though it could eat Sebastien in two bites!After Alex managed to skid through some mud on her bottom (those shoes have no grip) we decided it was time to head for the hotel. From the entrance, after a quick drink, it was a quick ride on the skytrain. We were very interested to see that the stations have metal detectors and guards at their entrances.
By this stage it was peak hour and we had an excellent look at what that entails in Bangkok...glad we don't live there! On the way home Mummy noticed this sign - very handy in case of mugging or other trouble.
Brett had an interesting time - I'll leave him to post about it - and made it back to the hotel in time for Mummy to check out the Suan-Lum ("see-lom") Night Bazaar which opens from 6pm and was only a block away from our motel. The market opened in 2001 and although the lease on the property ran out in 2006 - and the market was reported to be closing in 2007 - the market is still going strong. There were many stalls that looked to be empty although they had what looked to be information on how to rent them on them so who knows how long the market will go for. The everpresent tuk-tuks (which we didn't ride) were waiting outside the station.
The night market was fun and Mummy wished that she'd had more time to explore on her own. She did have enough time to buy some souvenirs and watch the passing parade. It fascinated her that this tree in the middle of one of the covered walkways was festooned with garlands of different colors - not sure whether it was a shrine.
Many buildings have their own shrines - our hotel included. Here it is outside the main entry.
Mummy couldn't resist taking a photo of these weird TimTam biscuits - surely only in Thailand could they have choco-vanilla flavour?! The orginals are still the best - ahh, the Tim Tam Suck!Everyone was in bed by the time Mummy got back - and only Daddy was awake. The following day would be tiring as we were going on a coach to Ayyuthaya and returning by river cruise with a lunch.