Bangkok Trip

Our next destination after Pattaya was Bangkok, also known as 'Krung Thep' in Thai. It took us almost three hours by car to reach Bangkok from Pattaya inclusive of the time spent at pitstops. The first few things coming to my notice once we arrived at Bangkok were the thick traffic, the colorful tuktuks and taxis (yes, Bangkok taxis come in colors like pink, yellow and green), the decorative monasteries (each one of them stands unique from the other) and the hubub of a crowded city encompassing a population of over a million.

Since we had two days approximately in hand to traverse round Bangkok, we had to make a list of the attractions we were planning to visit. Most of the attractions were eliminated from our list due to the time crunch. Infact we could not visit the much talked about floating market. Our guide suggested us some places and we chalked our itinerary based on it.

The first place we visited was Wat Pho monastery famed for housing the third largest statue of gold plated sleeping Buddha in Thailand. Measuring about 46 meters long and 15 meters high, this statue illustrates the transition of the Buddha into Nirvana (passing away). Both the feet and the eyes of the reclining Buddha are inscribed with mother of pearl decorations displaying 108 auspicious traits of the deity. Covering an expanse of 20 acres, Wat Pho is technically the largest temple in Thailand having been built about 200 years back before Bangkok was declared as the capital of Thailand. Split into two sections, the northern section of Wat Pho is the most visited. Besides the reclining Buddha, Wat Pho takes pride in showcasing about 1000 images of Buddha in different sizes and postures. An array of other imposing constructions including bell-tower, porcelain made pagodas, chapels, library and artistic sculptures also evoke an aura of awe and reverence. Some photos below:

Pagoda excited my interest a lot. I read about it and had seen reproductions of Pagoda at the theme-based Durga Puja in Kolkata, but in Wat Pho, for the first time I saw Pagoda in its real form. Pagoda is nothing but a Buddhist shrine used for storing the ashes of dead people. In Thailand, after the demise of a Buddhist person, the body is cremated and then the ashes are divided into three portions - one kept at home, another immersed in water and the third portion is put into pagoda.

We were thoroughly exhausted by the time we completed sight-seeing of Wat Pho. My legs were crying out for rest and so we checked into a hotel. We freshened up fast and took a small nap before going out for dinner. We roamed around Bangkok a while and then dined in a chic restaurant with thin crust pizza and chicken steak. The pizza prepared in Thai style was truly a gastronomic delight.

Our Next day agenda was totally reserved for the Safari World tour. It's said that the trip to Bangkok remains incomplete unless you pay a visit to the Safari World. Built over a land of 300 acres, Safari World is compartmentalized into four sections including Safari Park, Bird Park, Games Corner and Macaw Island. Safari Park is home to a wide spectrum of animals and birds belonging to different species. A diverse range of game shows involving Orang Utans, Dolphins, whales, Sea Lions, elephants and birds are performed live, providing a full-bodied entertainment to the tourists. Fully action-packed shows like Spy War Show, Hollywood Cow Boy Stunt Show are nothing short of the experience of watching a movie. One memorable incidence was while waiting for a show to start, a popular hindi number was played in the background and a chunk of the crowd being Indians, almost all the people started grooving on the music. It was amazing to see so many Indians dancing with an Indian number in a theme park situated in a foreign land.

Completely drained of all strength, we were gasping for breath through the last leg our of trip to the Safari World. The theme park was of such a huge size that it's impossible to view all the sections in one day without getting tired. Once we reached hotel, I lay flat on my bed trying to relax a bit. But within an hour or two, again we got dressed up for our pre-planned shopping venture at Thanon Khao San Road. The preceding night while taking our dinner in a restaurant, I enquired from the waitress, who was attending us, about some trendy shopping places in Bangkok where the traditional Thai dresses were available and which won't cost us an exorbitant price of a mall. So off we went to Thanon Khao San Road which could be compared with the Commercial Street of Bangalore or Esplanade Market of Kolkata because of it being dotted with makeshift stalls selling varieties of fashionable clothes, food joints and big showrooms of apparels and shoes. The dresses were fashionable and trendy and the price charged was quite reasonable. I picked up some nice tops and some stylish loose fit pants typical of Thai fashion and yes, bargaining was allowed there unlike the malls.

I started feeling hunger-pinch as soon as I was over with my shopping spree. But since the night was growing dark and Thanon Khao San Road was quite distant from where our hotel was, I ignored the tremulous knot of my empty stomach preferring to have our dinner safely somewhere nearer to our hotel. On our way a peculiar image of a deity came to my notice. Since we were in a foreign land which is completely different from us in culture and living, the last thing I was expecting to see was a statue of half god and goddess resembling Shiv Parvati or Shiv-Lakshmi. Standing on Lotus, the deity, according to me, was an embodiment of peaceful harmony between Hinduism and Buddhism. The crescent moon at the head of the male figure makes it obvious that the idol is of lord Shiva and the lotus signifies the female figure to be goddess Lakshmi. The small face peeping from the head of the statue might be of lord Buddha. See the snap below:
 

We had a wholesome meal at an Italian restaurant. The cheese pizza and the fried chicken Italiano were awesome. Undoubtedly, Thailand is pretty good when it comes to the choice of food. Starting from Indian, Japanese, Thai, Chinese, they have every variety of food to suit any palate.

 

 

Next day was the day we were to return back to Kolkata. But since we had an evening flight to catch, we were free during the day and meanwhile we planned to hop around the city. I put on the Thai dress I so painstakingly bought the night before and attired in it I was looking almost identical with Thai girls cause at a Buddhist temple, a Thai monk mistaking me for a Thai woman started talking to me in Thai language.....:D

Another interesting thing that drew my attention was all the main thoroughfares in Thailand were dotted with pictures of king and queens displaying on highly decorative billboards. Our guide told us that the ruling king and queen of Thailand are very popular among its citizens because of their philanthropy.

It's said that Ratchadamnoen Klang Avenue and the attractions alongside it constitute the heart and soul of Bangkok city. Built during the reign of king Rama V, Ratchadamnoen Klang Avenue was lined with Mahogony trees until 1941 when these trees were replaced by huge post-war style buildings constructed on both sides of the avenue. With the same material and style used for the construction of these buildings, they are now used as government and private offices. 

We milled around the Ratchadamnoen Klang Avenue for a while before paying a visit to the monastery built down the avenue. The monastery was itself an imposing structure with a huge garden infront. The garden had sculptures of King Rama V and a string of well-pruned trees and shrubs. It was a sight in itself.  

Next we went to see the temple of Standing Buddha. Since Thai people worship each posture of Buddha on each day of the week, they have monasteries with statues of Buddha in all postures. Besides the idols of lord Buddha, there were images of other holy deities which reinforced the mighty influence of Hinduism on Buddhist culture. Another noticeable feature was the presence of snake-like sculptures or designs used for embellishing the monasteries. Unlike Chinese who have the presence of dragon like structures predominating their monasteries, Thai people worship snakes as their saviours and hence, the decorative styles of Thai monasteries have the ever-present influence of snakes.

 

The last monastery and the last site we paid a visit to in Bangkok was Wat Ben Monastery. Monumental in size, this monastery, also known as the "marble temple" dates back to Ayutthaya Period. Spread over a huge area, this beautifully designed monastery is an art in itself. Some photos below: