Bankok – day 3(?)
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How long have we been gone? I’m not too sure right now…
The good news is Sandie’s home – it feels like we can start our vacation now. Kylie called us at 5:00 AM this morning to let us know the good news. I had a bit of an undignified meltdown from relief – George wouldn’t let me talk to her on the phone, as I was a little out of control. Thank you to everyone who helped.
We experienced our first Bangkok rip-off today – the “boat trip” we had booked for ourselves didn’t pan out. No worries – we had a good laugh about it with several other people congregated in our hotel lobby who were also waiting for a pick-up for tours they had booked that didn’t pan out. We had great fun exchanging travel stories with fellow adventurers – you know – the “we ate bugs in Laos” kind of stories.
We picked ourselves up and caught a cab to the weekend market, which is the most confusing maze of stalls, shops and goods for sale we’ve seen since the Grand Bazzar in Istanbul. You could buy anything from clothes to puppy dogs to gems to questionable antiques to religious icons, or fully furnish your house. The food to be had was of a variety of textures, sights and smells that alternately enticed, repelled or confused us. All of this with the occasional whiff of public toilet and the threat of a rain storm was enough to convince us to hail a taxi to the Wat that contained the reclining Buddha.
We jumped in the cab just as it started to rain, and had great fun showing the cab drivers pictures of where we live as we sped through the streets. His reaction was pretty typical – “Snow? Ha! Ha! Ha!”
The reclining Buddha was well worth the trip – they’re not kidding when they say he’s big – he’s 82 m. worth of nirvana. Apparently a Western tourist was deported from the country last week for having his picture taken in front of the Buddha while imitating his pose – don’t mock the big guy. The locals justifiably take it seriously. This guy’s offense was on par with climbing up on the crucifix in Notre Dame Cathedral, and splaying himself on the cross for a photo op. The wat that encloses the reclining Buddha is another exercise in extravagance – you will have to wait to see the pictures, as nothin we’ve ever seen in North America is on par with the elaborate ornamentation of religious icons here.
After dragging ourselves around the entire Wat complex in the heat, we hopped on the ferry to go back to our hotel. This seems to be the preferred method of travel for monks in training, as every boat seemed to be at least half full of little boys with shaved heads in saffron robes. The view of Bangkok from the boat was worth the trip – we got to see Wat Arun, which is essentially an enormous stuppa that looks like a torpedo tower on the skyline.
After a very late seafood lunch by the river, and a swim at the hotel, we’re very tired. We may actually get some sleep tonight now that the stress of not knowing about Sandie is gone.
Tomorrow we’re off to the ancient capital with our funny taxi driver. We’ll let you know how it went. As usual, we miss our families and friends and doggies.
~ Noel & George
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