A Day in Bangkok

We left Ubud for Bangkok on the 14^th.  While sad to leave Bali just as we were getting the hang of things, I realized I was really excited about getting to Thailand.  Six or nine months ago when I started making my dream list for sabbatical, I knew that studying Thai massage in Thailand would be on the top.  All of the schools are up north in Chiang Mai, but we had a flight connection in Bangkok so decided to spend part of a day there.  It’s definitely a HUGE city compared to tiny Ubud, but it was nice again to have a fancy hotel with silky sheets, full chocolate bars on the pillows with turn-down service, and a sweeping view of the city.  We were able to get some curry and noodles at 11pm, and the streets were still bustling as we made our way home.

The next morning we took the water taxi to visit a few sights.  I loved this iced tea/coffee vendor, who made each cup step-by-step, brewing a single glass of tea, adding the condensed milk (and sugar!), then pouring over shaved ice with some more condensed milk on top as an added treat.  15 bhat, that’s less than $0.50 a glass.

We visited the temple of Wat Pho, also known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha.  This temple is  also known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage.  It’s named after a monastery in India where Buddha is believed to have lived.  Adjacent to the building housing the Reclining Buddha is a small raised garden, the centerpiece being a bodhi tree which is a scion (cutting) of the original tree in India where Buddha sat while awaiting enlightenment. (from Wikipedia)

We took part in a traditional offering before entering the temple, lighting incense and candles, and placing pieces of gold leaf onto the statues. 

The feet of the Buddha are inlaid with mother-of-pearl. They are divided into 108 arranged panels, displaying the auspicious symbols by which Buddha can be identified like flowers, dancers, white elephants, tigers and altar accessories.  While viewing the Buddha, you can hear this tinkling and clanging of coins behind the statue.  As you walk around you come upon 108 bronze bowls lining the corridor indicating the 108 auspicious characters of the Buddha.  You can make a donation for a bowl of coins to drop into the bowls as you pass by.  If you are reading this blog, likely you are my nearest and dearest so you were thought of with each of my offerings.

Mother of pearl in-lay

We left Wat Pho to visit the Grand Palace in the hour we had left to explore Bangkok.  The King and his court used to live there until 1925, but now it is mostly used for official ceremonies, and of course, for visiting tourists.  The magnificence and grand scale of everything was what impressed me the most.  Huge temples that appear to be crusted in gold and jewels, sprawling courtyards, grandiose statues.

With not a moment to spare, we took the water taxi back to the hotel and hopped a cab to the airport.  I think our checked luggage cost as much as our plane flight to Chiang Mai—so much for “discount airlines”.  But it was a quick one hour flight, and we landed with mountains all around us, and the air even a bit chilly.  Settled in at our ‘landing spot’ guest house (~$40/night with breakfast and wi-fi included) and tried to figure out how in the world we’d find out how to get to our Thai massage teacher the next morning. . .more on that later. . .