Thai Trip - Boomin' Bangkok 2 - Movies n' Malls and MODERN!

As I was saying... Bangkok felt shiny and modern in a lot of areas (a lot of areas still held some traditional charm, and were not too far away from what I used to imagine 'Siam' was like).  The most stark modernity was to be had downtown at the Siam Paragon mall.

Siam Paragon, Bangkok, Thailand

The Siam Paragon also houses the first truly luxury movie theatre I have ever seen... Completely private deluxe seats which adjust all the way into lying position, Thai silk blankets and pillows... complete with service right to your seat - in case you forgot to get popcorn or a drink, or have a sudden craving after the movie begins!  You pay for this luxury, of course... about the same as the price of a normal movie ticket at home!?  600-700THB compared to 180 for the regular theatre (which is still pretty comfy)!

When we were there, the Siam Paragon was also hosting a fabulous food event - specialty foods from all the regions around Thailand were on expo... so we got to taste a few more without even leaving Bangkok!  Yumm...

Thai Trip - Many forms of Buddha

After traveling around a few areas in Thailand, I became more aware that the Buddha is represented in many forms, and I was sure that his position in the statues must be representative.  I guess I used to have a vague notion of these different forms, and assumed it had to do with different religions, and different forms were no doubt manifestations of various cultures' influence on a religion... as it turns out, it is not nearly so simple (as anything to do with culture or religion goes, I guess)!

Here are some of my pictures of these various positions with their meanings (as I have understood them from the Thai, and subsequent readings... since I couldn't always understand everything everyone was trying to communicate to me - one of the greatest frustrations/adjustments to Thailand, actually... I have been taking for granted how easily I can communicate with people in Indonesia now!):

Touching the earth: aka. "calling the earth to witness".  This form is supposed to represent the Buddha renouncing 'worldly desire'.  It is the one I saw MOST around Thailand... I guess that's appropriate since life is full of temptations, and their renunciation is the central moral precept of Buddhism.

 

Absence of fear: either one or both arms are shown bent at the elbow and the wrist, with the palm facing outwards and the fingers pointing upwards. It shows the Buddha either displaying fearlessness in the face of adversity, or enjoining others to do so.

Teaching:  The gesture represents intellectual debate or discussion and teaching; it indicates communication and explanation of the Dharma (or Buddha's teachings).  This is when the tips of the thumb and index finger touch, forming a circle... Sometimes the middle finger and thumb touch - a gesture of great compassion; and sometimes the thumb and ring finger touch, expressing good fortune.

Charity: the right palm open, signifying that the Buddha is granting or receiving charitable offerings.

Setting the wheel in motion: both hands held in front of the chest.  I thought it would have something to do with love, or feeling 'touched' (and maybe in a sense that's true)... This pose refers very specifically to the Buddha's first sermon, when he "set the wheel (of his life's work) in motion."

Meditation: the hands are shown lying flat in the seated Buddha's lap, palms upward.  It shows that the Buddha is disciplining his mind through mental concentration, a necessary step to achieving enlightenment.

Reclining: The reclining posture may represent the Buddha resting or sleeping, but more usually represents the Buddha's final state of enlightenment before his death.

Then there's the fat laughing buddha, whom I only saw ONCE in Thailand... unfortunately I was on my own, so didn't have a chance to ask anyone why.

Thailand Trip - Boomin' Bangkok!

Bangkok was so modern!  It reminded me of Singapore, actually... a lot less regimented, and a lot less clean, but very efficient, and shiny (in places).

I guess it was the public transportation that impressed me most - coming from Indonesia, where public transport is a nightmare, Bangkok (and Thailand in general, in the areas where I travelled), was bliss!

There are a variety of systems, EVERYTHING connects, the cost isn't prohibitive, it is used by everyone, and it's fairly fast, clean and efficient!  There are the sky train (BTS), subway (MRT), busses, trains and planes (and all manner of each)...  Then there are (super-cheap) boats and ferries floating along the cities' extensive system of canals (Bangkok = the Venice of Asia!?)...

And then, of course, there are the colourful, boisterous, brash and brazen, belching tuk-tuks careening around the city centre!  For character... and short distances!  And only for the brave!

Thai Trip - Ayutthaya

I went 'templing' in Ayutthaya.

"To Temple" is a new verb, created by Cecilia and I on our first trip to Bali... it's meaning is obvious, I think.

Ayutthaya was described to me as the 'mini Angkor Wat', and since I wasn't going to get there this trip, I decided I would like to see a little more of the history and culture of Buddhism in Thailand, so I went on a very accessible day trip from Bangkok.  After a two-hour train ride, I arrived and chartered a tuk-tuk for 31/2 hours to take me around to some of the sights.  Apparently the city and its temples can be very enjoyable by bike, or boat, but with my time constraints, I opted for this speedier, louder, more brash, method of transport!

(Even the tuk-tuk driver's daughter-in-law got into trying to read the GPS to look for the caches!)

I was unsuccessful in my attempt to find any geocaches in Ayutthaya (I think they have all gone missing), but, as is the true point for me, the search brought me to some beautiful spots around the various temples and ruins of the ancient city!

(Don't even ASK about the chickens... I did, and couldn't get a straight answer out of anyone!  (Except the correction that they were roosters, thank you very much)... but honestly, they popped up everywhere around Ayutthaya... and not just alone or in pairs - there were ARMIES of roosters!?  Perhaps the beloved king was born in the year of the Rooster?  Perhaps the rooster is the true 'ultimate reincarnation form'?  The mystery remains unsolved, so if anyone can enlighten me... ???


And as you can see, the intensive 'templing' (and puzzling over roosters) had me totally exhausted for the train trip back to Bangkok...

Thailand Trip - No Crabs in Krabi!

Although during our trip to South Thailand's Krabi Province we were battered, bashed and bewildered, we also enjoyed phenomenal natural Beauty and ended our trip with Bells on … literally  … 

We were on the overnight train to Bangkok on Sunday night… and I thought we would “be there with Bells on”….  just like at all the Buddhist temples... we bought little bracelets with tiny bells on.  But I was WRONG – mine fell straight down the toilet (train tracks/railroad ties speeding by – gotta love train toilets… ) – no hope of recovery… so just Gabby arrived with bells on!  The sleeper train was a pretty great way to travel, though... kill two birds with one stone - no hotel and travel concurrently!  It was actually very comfortable.  Getting there was somewhat comical, however... being bumped from bus to boat to cattle truck to bus to van in a well-coordinated series of transportation designed to get you where you need to go on time.  Unfortunately I was remiss in taking a picture of the many colour-coded stickers that go along with this system - we looked like a kids sticker book by the time we got to the final leg of transport!

We certainly had our figurative bells on, and our karma revved up from our Krabi visit!  Our long weekend included the search for the most beautiful beach on earth… along with the throngs of drunk 17-year old Auzzie tourists who were at Koh Phi Phi Island in southern Thailand this weekend.  Actually, we were lucky to have ‘the beach’ to ourselves… I guess the 17-year olds all had hang-overs, so when we dragged ourselves out of bed at 7 am to charter a private boat, there was not another soul around – and we ended up with the place to ourselves.  And as soon as the big power boats and hoards started arriving, we high-tailed it out of there, having had our fill and a very special experience!

Getting in and out of 'the beach' was the challenge, as we had to swim in from our boat through a different access point, which consisted of waves crashing over barnacle-covered shallow rocks, and clambering up a cliff... hence the 'bashed and battered' status at the end of the weekend!

We did go on one very touristic ‘day tour’ to "James Bond Island" (aka Koh Phing Kan and Koh Tapu), among other sites… which was also very beautiful, if touristy.  I find it incredible how a 1970’s James Bond movie could make hundreds of tourists flock to this little limestone island daily… I don’t find it that much more beautiful or stunning than any of the other hundreds of limestone karst outcrops in the area of Phang Nga Bay National Park.

... although I guess it's the draw of taking part in that 'classic' James Bond photo shoot...

The day tour included kayaking around the caves, mangroves and 'rooms' of Tham Lod and Koh Hong.  The kayaks slip into the cathedral-like rooms via a small hidden entrance - ceiling-less cave walls drip with green ferns and orchids.

Then it was off to lunch at Panyee Floating Fishing Village (reminiscent of the Bajo or Bugis villages of Indonesia, and probably of the same origin as those 'sea gypsies').  Obviously this is not my pic, since our tour did NOT include an ultra-light trip around the bay to see the islands from the air...

In Panyee we also had baby monkeys thrust upon us with the demand of 100 Thai Baht (4 CAD!) to take pictures with them, without the option to decline... Funny money-making scheme...

We donated one dollar, and moved on to look around the funny markets set up exclusively for tourists...

HOW a tourist is going to transport a preserved porcupine fish back home in their luggage and through  customs is a mystery to me!?

On the way home we stopped off at the 'monkey cave' temple, Suwannakuha Temple, a beautiful Buddhist cave temple with extensive stalactites, stalagmites, and monkeys, as well as a stunning reclining buddha statue!

We received a blessing from the monks - both live, and animated, and headed back to our 'marshmallow' (the term of affection we referred to our little guest house in Ao Nang, Baan Purr).

Another day we found ourselves on a hidden beach (having been directed by a geocache!)... no access except by boat, or by negotiating monkeys on a rickety staircase along the cliff (our point of entry)!

... yet another day up to the "Pee Pee Viewpoint"...

The best part about the whole trip was the reunion, after seven years, with Gaby!!!  Oh, and the food... Thailand has amazing food...everywhere!  I mean, there are a few Indonesian dishes that I really like, but in Thailand everything is more flavourful!  What I don't understand is why they don't pick this up in Indonesia - I mean... they can grow exactly the same produce and ingredients... Anyway, Gaby was a fabulous food guide, showing me around to "the best pad thai in the world" (although it was a bit of an ordeal, we finally got there!), "the best curry in the world" (its called masaman), "the best chicken in the world", "the best toast in the world", etc, etc!!!  Oh, yes, and she knows her Thai beers as well!

We started our food-fest in Krabi, the land of the coconut shakes (delicious!!!)!