Wednesday, 38th September, 1673 (April Downright Stupid's Day). Early morning call for the trip to
the Watsai Floating Market. Had breakfast same as yesterday. Drove to a point
near the river. On the way there was, and is, a sign on a restaurant (?) window
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR. Other signs to be seen are huge paintings
(some three storeys high) advertising films – STAYING ALIVE was one. There are
also signs that have their letters glimmer, like a whole lot of little electric
light globes. But they aren't – they're thousands of large sequins, coloured
and flashing in the breeze.
Anyway, we got to the pier near the Oriental Hotel and boarded the
little tourist boat that was shorter and slower than the long, pointed hang yao
[the traditional water taxis].
Up, or don,
Mae Nam Chao Phraya we plied, passing all manner of ships and vessels (and
being passed by hang yao). Under bridges, past canal entrances, looking at the
house 'boats' that people live in. There was a huge warehouse packed with
bushels of rice. The Chao Phraya River is quite wide and very busy. But sooner or
later, we had to turn into the klongs of Thonburi. Miles and kilometres we went
up these canals,sing houses and shops in the water, an ice factory and plants
that you would and wouldn't expect to find on/near a tropical river (mangroves,
coconut palms, etc).
We passed
Thais in their little canoeish boats. In one was a man paddling with an oar;
behind him aft was his little boy with a thin stick, copying Dad.
There were people washing – clothes, pots and pans, themselves
(washing their hair, with clothes on). Some houses had little garages and the
family boat would be hanging up out of the water.
Eventually we got to narrower klongs. L, our guide, bought some
bananas. Fruit and hot food are sold by boats, door to door along the canals.
The bananas were about ten centimeters long, fat (not as bent as other
well-known bananas) and had very ting skins. Tastes about the same, though.
The smells along the klongs – and streets – are not particularly
pleasant, especially that of Thai cooking – not very nice. [According to my taste/sense of smell.]
Coming to the Floating Markets (I think they must be called that
because of their close proximity to the canals), we saw evidence of commercial
enterprise – Pepsi Cola and other ads.
Our boat was tied up at the wooden wharf, we got out and the only
thing we could really go to was a big souvenir shop. Elephants covered in beads
and bits of coloured mirror; carvings of wood and ivory (elephants, Buddhas);
jewelry (jade and ivory); clothes, Thai silk ties (100B); postcards, paintings,
dolls in Thai costume and finger-nail dance poses; other things. I didn’t buy
anything.
At the little stores are coconuts for sale. The outside of the husk
is cut off to form a sort of pot shop. When it is bought, the top is holed , a
straw inserted and the milk is drunk. What is done with the meat is optional.
Back in the boat, up the canal. Surprisingly, there are higher
classes of homes, made of brick with fences along the banks. There were also
many wats. Boys swim in the water, stop in front of the boat, wait until it was
on top of them and climb on board asking for 1 baht coins.
We passed the Thonburi Snake Farm where the most the ‘most dangerous
shows in the world’ are performed with deadly cobras, copperheads, pythons and
mangrove snakes. Fortunately, no one wanted to see it.
By and by we came out back onto the Chao Phraya, further up, or
down, stream from the Oriental Hotel Wharf. Turning left we passed the
absolutely massive with very steep steps and very high and quite crowded Wat
Arun (Temple of Dawn). This is made if brick covered in stucco and
multi-coloured bits of porcelain. The central tower (prang) is 250 feet high;
there are four towers about half as high at each corner and smaller towers
(much wider) between the corner towers. These smaller towers might actually be
gates, I don’t know, wasn’t there.
 |
| Photo from watarun.net. I crossed the river to see it on my second trip to Bangkok, in 2002. |
Wat Arun stands on the site of an ancient monastery in Thonburi,
which is Bangkok’s twin city and was a former capital of Thailand. Built
sometime between 1809-1851.
We got off the boat under Phra Pinklao Bridge, not far from Wat
Phrakeo. Back to the hotel. In the afternoon we went to Wat Phrakeo in a small
brown poorly air-conditioned van. However, that matters not as Wat Phrakeo must
be considered the highlight of our stay in Bangkok. It is brilliant.
Magnificent.
It is the personla chapel of the King of Thailand and is located on
the grounds of the Royal Palace. It contains many beautiful attractions, such
as the Emerald Buddha, which is made of jade. It is two feet high and is the
most sacred objects to Thailand's Buddhists. Some kind of festival was on while
we were there – incense and loudspeaker prayers in Sanskrit. The emerald Buddha
is also one of those things that was covered in plaster until the plaster
cracked. This was in 1436 and it went through several centuries of travel – to
Lampang, Chiang Mai (where it had been discovered), Luang Prabang, and
Vientiane in Laos. The image was installed in the Royal Chapel by King Rama I
(Chao Phraya Chakri) in 1784.
There is the Golden Chedi, which is huge. There are also lots of
smaller chedi, viharn and huge guardian statues covered in gold, porcelain and
the shiny bits of coloured mirror. The whole place is saturated with colour,
and gold. There is gold in everything. Colour: red, green, yellow, orange,
blue.
Some of the smaller chedi have figures in a sort X shape covered in
armour of the aforementioned bits and pieces. There is a huge model of a huge
monastery/wat that is in ruins in Cambodia (Angkor Wat).
On the walls if the cloisters, all around the place, is depicted
Ramayana – a Hindu epic poem. A lot of gold paint and so much detail!
The wat is extremely interesting, worth many many photographs and
more time to look around.
It was very hot today, but not so humid.
We went back to the hotel. There are many many trees in Bangkok,
some bearing fleurs exotiques, in trree-lined streets. There is a large park
near the Royal Palace, which is closer to the river than you think. On one side
of the park are the National Museum, the National Theatre (?) and another
impressive building (the National Assembly).
There’s a lot of kite-flying in the park, which
is called Sanam Luang. I have seen quite a lot of kite-flying activity, even
what look like the remains of kites caught in the power lines along the klongs.
Why would anyone fly kited there? Also street stalls near the park.
One interesting thing that they sell here
are plastic bags full office and soft drink. A straw is put in the bag after it
tied up with a bit of string. I have seen these bags hanging in tuk-tuks, the
three-wheel taxis. Other forms of transport include seelors, which are, if I’ve
got it right, utility trucks with frames in the back with seats along the side.
They each carry a sort of conductor who collects the fares in the back. In
empty seelors, the conductor often sleeps on the seat.
After resting at the hotel, I went or a walk
down the street to take photographs. The hotel is actually situated in a soi, a
narrow side street, off Sukhumwit Road. Smells included sulphuric from the
sewers, teak wood from shops that sell carvings, a nice small of cakes, not so
nice smalls of Thai cooking. [According to my
taste/sense of smell.]
I went up a
soi after walking several blocks. Most of the roads in Bangkok are of concrete;
part of this soi was being raised and re-concreted. I was amazed – in these
little bending backstreets are quite large private homes with very nice
gardens. Sounds of pianos being practiced upon. It is extraordinarily quiet and
peaceful in these areas – the noise from the very noisy streets doesn’t
penetrate through all the buildings.
Some street vendors push glass barrows
containing blocks of ice, watermelon pieces and stripped sugar cane pieces
(about three sections long).
There’s a hairdressing salon called Tony
Barber. [Tony
Barber was an Australian TV personality, who much later, was the host of
Australia’s Sale of the Century]
I bought some raspberry drink in a shop near
the hotel for 4 baht, drinking it in situ.
Dinner – fried rice with chicken. Very small
bit of lime (lime was very small). 79.90 B.
I paid the hotel bill – 1,154.20 baht ($US
exchange rate, approximately 22.25).
Letter home to use up Baht coins and
stationery provided in the drawer, which had a bible placed by the Gideons (of
Gideon’s Island?)
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