Bangkok- April 8

“Thai” means free- thus the country of Thailand means “Landof the Free.” I knew it from the musical “The King and I” as Siam but the name was changed in 1939, changed back during WWII and then changed back to Thailand. We had a great and a very long and an even more hot day in Bangkok.

The port where we were docked, Laem Chabang is about 2 hours from Bangkok so we had an interesting bus ride through the country. We learned that Thailand is the largest exporter of rice to the world. They also are the 3rd largest producer of Toyota ½ ton trucks in the world. We saw huge numbers of trucks on the pier waiting to be loaded into ships.

We saw Teak trees, rice fields, and many other lush green fields. It is the edge of the rainy season so things are not as green as they will be and our guide, Ron, said this was really “Thai cool” since it is not yet as hot as it will be in another month.
A new airport is under construction which will open in June. It has the tallest control tower, the longest runway and the largest terminal in the world. But as we have learned these statistics change quickly with new construction.

Our first stop was the Golden Buddha- a 5 ½ ton Buddha made of gold and forged in the 13th century. For many years it was covered in cement to protect it from the enemies. The temple was a busy place. About 75 families with young children were sitting around waiting fro a service to consecrate these boys and girls as special in the faith. Naturally there were people selling offering flowers and foods and also the usual number of pushy vendors selling lots and lots of stuff.

We visited the Grand Palace which opened in 1785 marking the rebirth of the nation following the invasion by Burma and the founding of Bangkok as the capital city. We had to be careful about wearing closed toed shoes per the instructions. We also knew that shoulders and knees had to be covered. Turns out ankles had to be covered also so I was wearing calypso pants and had to pull them down to my hips to gain admission into the palace. It was a spectacular sight with gold and colorful mosaics everywhere. It is an area 1 mile square and filled with building of different roof-lines and colors. The king actually lived here until 1949.

Within the palace complex was a beautiful Emerald Buddha carved from one piece of emerald green jade. The Buddha gets dressed for the season in various gold clothing. I continue to be amazed at how people can worship so intensely with tourists snapping photos and looking around, but they seem to really be able to concentrate. Instructions for going into the room where the Emerald Buddha was were clear- don’t point your feet at the Buddha because that is a sign of dishonor.

We had a great Thai lunch and then boarded a boat to cruise the Chao Phraya River. Lovely buildings, temples, and homes were side-by-side with stilt houses that flood frequently. There was even a vendor on the boat.

Both of us got a bit weary of the pulling and tugging of the vendors at every place. It is made worse because we are both sweating from the heat. I bought a not-so-stylish terry cloth hat on the ship and that has worked great for keeping me cool and dry.

Bangkok is a big city with interesting markets which we sampled and beautiful temples and pagodas…plus the amazing Grand Palace. We enjoyed it and look forward to seeing a different part of Thailand in a few days. Right now we are under sail for Singapore.