Floating Market
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We checked one of our life list destinations off of our list of places to go today. We got to visit the floating market outside of Bangkok – made famous to Westerners by James Bond (The Man With The Golden Gun).
We joined the throng of narrow wooden row boats in the canals, and were paddled up and down a waterway that often became so congested with commerce that we had to line up to pass other boats. The other boats supported mini floating kitchens and fruit and vegetable stands, and hawkers of some tourist paraphernalia. Tiny Thai women in lampshade – shaped woven grass hats piloted tiny canoes through the canals while offering an alarming variety of fruit – many of which were unidentifiable to the Western eye. Others cooked paper – thin slices of meat on coal-fired woks in their boats, offering up a mysterious but delicious smelling concoction of the day’s freshest ingredients. The canal banks were lined with merchants trying to sell tourist souvenirs close to the docking point, but further on the banks relaxed into family dwellings, groves of banana and coconut trees, people going about their daily business, and dogs defending their territory from other dogs. The heat and humidity was close at water level, but made much more tolerable by the overhanging tree fronds that offered a bit of shade.
After some time on the water, we visited the zoo which bragged a “crocodile show” of the most bizzare nature. Two trainers in knock-off semi-superhero costumes stuck their heads in the croc’s mouths and their arms down the croc’s throats to the loudspeaker blare of “Star Wars” and “Mission Impossible” movie themes. I enjoyed the rest of the crocs in the various large holding areas around the zoo much more than the “Croc show”.
The elephants, on the other hand were treated with much more dignity and respect by the trainers and the zoo in general, as elephants are considered to be sacred animals in Thailand. There was an interesting display of the historical use of elephants in Thailand, including a re-enactment of a war, an elephant hunt, and the use of elephants to clear trees for construction. I absolutely fell in love with the baby elephants, and couldn’t stop feeding them bananas, much to George’s chagrin in the heat. Honestly, the intelligence and strong family units of these animals lend them a dignity that makes it obvious why they were considered to be the animals of kings. the birth of a white elephant is still considered to be an “auspicious good omen” for the country.
Finally we saw a well presented summary of Thai culture at the royal rose gardens. Traditional costumes, dances and festivals from all across Thailand were demonstrated and explained in a packaged – for – tourists bit of entertainment that came across as neither tacky nor offensive. It was surprisingly informative.
That was yesterday in a nutshell – I’m out of time on my Internet meter!
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