Day Trip to Central Bangkok

December 9, 2011

I’m wearing a lot of clothing. Long black skirt and a shirt with long-ish sleeves. What was I thinking? Though, I haven’t really been outside during the day. Long nine hour days training in a small twelve by twelve foot windowless room can make you forget that you are in Thailand. I forgot how hot it gets here during the day. 

We wanted to explore Bangkok a little bit before we were all shipped off to our new job and new destination. We took a nearby river boat for 17 ฿ (50 cents) and traveled for 30 minutes until we reached Ratthanakosin District, Central Bangkok. 

Ratthanakosin. The kingdom of Ratthanakosin is a kingdom that started in 1782. After deposition of the first ruler of Ratthanakosin, a Thai general named Chakri took the throne of this kingdom and became the first king of the Chakri Dynasty (A dynasty that is still present today). Chakri or King Rama I loved the kingdom of Ayutthaya so after moving the kingdom to a more prime spot across the river, he made sure to reproduce some of the same city design as Ayutthaya (even using some of the same bricks and stone from the ruins of the temples). By the way, this type of history is basically what I’m teaching the kids!

Wat Pho. The word ‘wat’ means temple in Thai. And in Thailand, there are wats everywhere. Wat Pho, or its real Thai name Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklaram Rajwaramahaviham, is a large temple surrounded by a variety of golden Buddha figures, monks, and large pinnacle-like structures with ornamented spires. It is Bangkok’s largest wat and contains 1,000 Buddha images, the most in Thailand. Many of these images were taken from the fallen kingdoms of Ayutthaya and Sukhothai. Thailand recycles! Right next to the wat is Bangkok’s prestigious and popular massage school. It’s supposed to be expensive but well worth it. Many famous people have made their way around to this massage school. It’s kind of neat since you can actually get trained in Thai massage for about 200 USD. Christy, a masseuse in Thailand, what??

 











 

The Reclining Buddha. One important feature of Wat Pho is its large Reclining Buddha, also the largest in Thailand. This image of Buddha is one that displays him in a relaxed state, passing into nirvana. The Buddha is extremely large and is said to be 46 meters long, completely covered in gold leaves. Buddha’s feet are also important traits of his image. They display 108 characteristics of the true Buddha. Along the backside of the Buddha, there are 108 bronze buckets that also symbolize the characteristics of Buddha. Visitors are usually supposed to take 108 coins and distribute them into the buckets. This is a type of worship as well as a fund for the monks and their maintenance of the wat.


















The Buddha didn’t seem too supervised as there weren’t any security or rope to field off the backside of the Buddha. So I took the opportunity and snuck in. I touched Buddha! Actually, after getting evidence of this naughty act turns out it looks even more naughty than I presumed. My hand was basically cupping an area where Buddha’s bottom would be if his backside was more defined. I didn’t mean to be that bad! Man! Me and statues. We’ve got a thing going I guess.

Coke in a Bag. On a hot humid day, it not strange to see a person walking around, sipping a coke in a bag. Many vendors sell their drinks this way. Vendors can actually save money and even earn money if they save the glass bottles. So out of convenience, they pour the coke or other refreshments into a plastic bag and top it off with a straw. Now it’s almost a novelty concept, at least for tourists and some of members of our group. Not me though. I’ve been off coke for a while now. I’ve been clean for eight months now.

Do You Want To, Fanta? All over Thailand, there seems to be a lot of elaborately decorated birdhouses placed in front of homes, building porches, and even out along the street. They would be placed on the ground or on a small table showered with white and orange flowers and overwhelmed with untouched but opened red Fanta bottles (with a straw in it and everything). I thought it was strange.











Later, I found out these beautiful birdhouses were actually spirit houses or san phra phum. They are small shrines that serve as homes for spirits. Thai people believe that when a part of the land is used, say by a house, a spirit is displaced. In order to compensate the spirit, a small model of the house is made to make the spirit comfortable. The spirit houses are also supposed to replicate the look of the actual house it represents. I haven’t really seen many of the houses match too well. Most of the spirit houses are coated with gold coloring and the roofs are mountainous and pointed. What I still didn’t get was the Fanta. Why would people put these red Fanta on such a spiritual structure? Supposedly, the Thai people take care of the spirits by giving it offerings to feed on. Since red represents blood and the source of life to the Thai people, in essence, it helps provide life to the spirits. I guess red Fanta does the trick!

Weather. Bangkok is actually classified as the hottest city in the world. Right now, Thailand’s cool season or winter is during the months of November to March. But it’s not that cool. The temperature usually ranges from about 24°-35° Celsius (75°-95° Fahrenheit) each day. That is rather hot for wintertime. Even at night time it can get pretty hot. One time, it was over 90° Fahrenheit as I was sitting and sweating in my room at night. I actually don’t sweat too often too. Even while playing volleyball I usually keep pretty dry even during the most rigorous of plays. But here, I don’t get off that easy. I sweat…everywhere. I’m experiencing new smells I’ve never encountered before. My clothes aren’t doing too well either. I’m constantly doing the laundry at least once a week. And for those who know me well, this is definitely not something I like to do. I never wash my clothes. I usually do the guy test—pick up my clothes from the floor, take a deep whiff, and put on. Can’t do that here. And my face—definitely not transitioning too well with the weather. After being sucked dry from cold weather for a month, the heat has caused my skin dampen with sweat and oil. Now my face looks hormonal and pubescent again. Acne doesn’t stop after college I guess. And I’m a picker so those suckers are coming off!

Life Lesson: I Don’t Have to Always Be the Center of Attention

I’m a very talkative person and I like entertaining groups of friends with bizarre sexual innuendos and self-deprecating humor. So I am used to being the loudest in a group setting. But over here I’m not. It’s strange to be the quiet one in the group. It’s a bit uncomfortable. There are more dominant characters in my new group of friends, outshining my presence. Here, I am shy and reserved person; these characteristics I believe most of my friends are unaccustomed to. It is nice to have attention. It reassuring to know that people that see you as a good or fun person to interact with or listen to.

Maybe some may think I like hearing myself talk; I know past boyfriends have believed this same fact. But really, I enjoy telling stories. Whenever I tell an experience, it will usually be long and overly detailed. It’s so drawn out sometimes I tend to lose my own focus and forget the reason I was telling my story in the first place. Sound familiar? Similar to my posts and posts of writing, right? I’ve been called out about this before. I also over communicate every thought and feeling inside my overcomplicated and analytical mind. This has also annoyed former boyfriends as if I felt the slightest bit of anything, I assure you—it will be voiced. So though I talk a lot about a lot, I haven’t been speaking too much with this new group. I’m not the center of attention, I guess. This is good. I need to get used to this type of feeling because everything won’t always go my way. I’m doing everyone a favor as well; giving all their ears a break. But for all you readers, your eyes won’t be getting a break. If I’m not talking, it is all going in my writing. Good luck! 

…please don’t stop reading.