Day 2B - The King and I
Trip Start
Dec 17, 2007
1
13
30
Trip End
Feb 14, 2008
Bangkok,
Thailand
Friday, January 11, 2008
Having breakfast in the guesthouse's cafe. two sides are open to the stree and there is teralis where green ivy plants grow. there also many beautiful flowers hanging in pots. Several fans hanging from the ceiling covered in a bamboo weave give the cafe a cool feel. Lots of gaijin from all over are hanging out in the cafe, not much English. The cafe has western breakfast so I had a cheese omelet, toast and hash brown potatoes. Pretty good breakfast and I didn't have to worry about trying to eat a Thai breakfast of which I have no idea of it conisist of.
I head east towards the King's Palace which is on the same street as my guesthouse with no real plan. I came upon a large compound which had a park and many buildings which was called Dusik park. there was a huge street leading south with golden arches with the King's picture across it. at the head of the street in the Park stood a large marble hall which is called Abhisek Dusik Throne Hall and is used for ceremonial reasons. Today, many people were entering the grounds dressed in black. The princess who is the elder sister of the King died last week and they were holding a public viewing of her body. It seems that she was much beloved member of the royal family.
Elephant Stable and Musuem
I didn't know that at the time and entered the park at a different entrance. I first looked at the Royal Elephant Musuem. Yes, you read that right. The king has several elephants which are white and albino. The white elephant has some symbolic meaning in Buddhism. The musuem is housed in the former Elephant stables and inside is a statue of one of most popular white elephant and the royal mounting stand.Next, I wandered over to the old throne hall, which was converted into a musuem featuring many beautiful tradional Thai arts and crafts like silver and gold items, beetles covered in silver, silks, carved wood figures, bamboo baskets. Some of the handicrafts were quite beautiful and they also had the old golden throne.
Then, I went over to the Vimanmek Teak Mansion which was the home of King Rama V for a few years at the beginning of the 20th centrury. I had to put on long pants to enter such a special building aand also I had to put my camera and bag in a locker along with taking my shoes off before I could enter the building. The mansion is supposed to be the largest teak building in the world. I had to go on the English tour and it was quite informative. Some of the rooms were still used for visiting VIPs. Many rooms hold gifts given to the king along with weapons like swords and even typewriters (there were the first Thai typewriters). The highlight of the tour was the king's private apartment which was octangular and spread over four floors with his bedroom on the top floor which had a 270 degree view.
The King's Teak Mansion - his wing
All in all, a nice place to live.Next, I took a tuk-tuk, a 3 wheeled open air taxi which is a cheap and common way of getting around which I then took to the Sky train station. The sky train is exactly that, an elevated train line like the the Tokyo monorail. I took it to Siam Square, a large shopping area of the city. Actually, I went to the shopping center next to Siam square but it was a great place to shop. They had clothing shops and chain restraunts that you would find at any shopping complex in Japan or America but they also had rented out small space, just a few square meters to small time shopkeepers. There were dozen of shops selling cell phones and the more I walked, the more cell phones I saw. I was kind of looking for jeans but I figured I don't need them right now as it is too hot to wear so I was looking for some walking shorts. After looking at almost all the shops (I was thinking there were over 1000 shops, big and small) and not buying anything (they even had a Dairy Queen), I headed back to the station and took the line down to the riverside where I switched to the express boat to get back to my guesthouse. For 20 baht (60 cents), I rode the commuter boat which was maybe 25 meters long with a roof but opened sides and seats for about 60 people. The boat went at pretty good pace and I enjoyed the river view including the grand palace (which I am going tomorrow) and it just a short walk back to my guesthouse after being dropped off at the nearby pier.
Then I had the Taste of Siam for dinner, a chicken stir fry which was good but I have to get used to Thai rice which is dry and not-sticky. I also ordered a Thai salad but after the stir-fry was too much so I couldn't eat it. after yesterday culture shock, I am getting used to the sights, sounds and smells of Thailand. Bangkok is very much like Tokyo; large, exciting, busy, bustling, crowded jumble of a metroplex.
The market of the day: the huge cell phone market at Siam square.
Comments
Thai Food
So how's the food? I love Thai food, but I probably haven't tried real authentic Thai food. I even prefer Thai rice over Japanese sticky rice!