LZ - Bangkok

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The last I left off, I was at the border between Cambodia and Thailand. We were next to a bus depot that contained several large luxurious busses as well as some old, covered pickup trucks with long wooden benches lining each side. Nobody in the group knew whether our prayers would be answered with passage onto the newer bus or if we were going to spend the next 6 hours to Bangkok in the back of a pickup truck. I should mention here that what was advertised on the tickets bought in Cambodia was a big tour bus, not the minivan from hell or a covered pickup truck. Needless to say, when we were ushered into the back of the pickup truck our hopes for getting some sleep and having a relaxing trip into Bangkok quickly evaporated into thin air. However, just being in Thailand gave us a bit of assurance that it wasn't going to be all that bad...certainly not as bad as the Cambodian road we were just on.
As we headed down the nicely paved street for about a mile we all came to grips with the situation and readied ourselves for the next adventure. Aiden, the South African horse veterinarian who I met, told me more about his job back home and some more run-ins with African wildlife. A few minutes into the ride, the truck pulled over and into a fairly decent looking outdoor restaurant. We were told to unload and to wait there until our next ride would arrive in about an hour. This "drop off at a restuarant and wait for another ride" was all part of the tourism "scams" that go on all over Asia and other parts of the world. It's not really a scam, but you can be sure that the restaurant owner is in-cahoots with the tour/travel agencies to get some of the tourist business. Not a big deal, just prolongs the trip.
While we waited for our next ride, I had my first Thai brewed beer. It was called Singha, pronounced "sing", and it was a fairly good beer. So good, that it soon became a staple in my diet over the next few weeks. After about an hour of chatting it up with Aiden, our next transport arrived. The beauty of the moment was topped off by enchanting sounds of angels singing, "alleluia!" at the top of their lungs. Ok, maybe that was only in my head that I heard them, but sure enough, it was one of those big ole luxurious touring busses. The kind we drooled over at the border. This thing was gigantic and there was going to be more than enough room for us to stretch out and sleep. We were truely loving the fruits of the modern world. As soon as we boarded and found our comfort zones, the bus was silent. Every one of us was out cold, dead asleep.
When I awoke we were on the outskirts of what looked like a tremendous sprawling city. I quickly found out that we had just entered Bangkok. This was like no city I had seen before, even in the States. Skyscrapers were everywhere and traffic was pretty bad as well. I was also a bit shocked to see us driving on the wrong side of the road when I looked out the window. This left side of the street driving will never sit right with me...it's even worse as a pedestrian. You have look to your right first before crossing the street...Who does that? Well, half the world, apparently.
My anticipation of the legendary Khao San road was growing, and thankfully, I had a mate to explore it with.

(to be continued...)

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Photos

Sunlight in Bangkok
I needed to take this picture from inside our luxurious bus. We were on the outskirts of Bangkok approaching the Khao San Rd. First thoughts...I was no longer in a developing country, they drive on the wrong side of the road, how much a beer cost in Thai baht.

Sent from Angels...
One of the biggest and nicest tour busses I've ever been in. Even though each bus was painted in some outlandish way, the interior was nothing but plush and comfortable.

Khao San Road by Night
We walked into this blur trying to keep our eyes fixed on finding a place to stay. Sensory overload was at it's highest levels. After a little while, the acquisition of a hotel room sunk to the bottom of the list of priorities.

Khao San Road by Night
More chaos...

Tuk Tuk
The only licensed drivers of these three wheel deathtraps had to go meet three qualifications. They had to be unbearably annoying, be psychotic behind the wheel, and be good at ripping people off.

River Trip
I snapped this picture of Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn) along the way up the Chaophraya River to see a few palaces. The river was heavily trafficed with long tails and other boats and it was about as clean as the Mekong. However, some locals, with extremely strong stomachs, thought it was ok to brush their teeth in.

Rooney at the Reliquary
Yours truly wearing the traditional European tourist gear (a football jersey). They are actually great because they wick away gallons of sweat. This reliquary, on the grounds of the Grand Palace, was ginormous.

Phra Mondop
The walls of the Phra Mondop were covered in green mirrored tiles inlaid with gold medallions depicting Buddha. The Phra Mondop is a copy of the mondop covering the Buddha's Footprint in Saraburi province. It is never open to the public which was a bummer. I got third degree burns from touching that lampost. It was 38 degrees C...that equats to 100 degrees F.

Prasat Phra Thep Bidon (The Royal Pantheon)
More phalic architecture. This was supposed to be the home of the Emerald Buddha, but it was considered too small to house such a relic after it was finished.

The Demon
Can't really tell which one is the demon in this picture. I think he's the one wearing the number 9 on his chest.

Chickenman Guard
Some sort of chicken demon man annointing me as the next King of Thailand.

Taking a break
10 minutes of sightseeing and I needed to sit down. Weak! The marble steps were also scorching hot so this respite didn't last for long.

Golden Pagoda
Another tremendous golden edifice. So tall, I couldn't get the entire thing in one picture. At this point, I was melting and didn't care about the quality of pictures. The brightly colored figures at the bottom of the Pagoda were my height...so this may give you some perspective on it's size. Then again, probably not.

Golden Pagoda
Me and the little gem studded guys at the base of the pagoda.

Chakri Maha Prasat Hall
What? No hat? Yeah, I know, shocker. Anyway, this was a picture taken in front of the Chakri Hall. Originally, it was designed by a Brit, hence it's western styling, but the King was pressured into changing it to reflect a more traditional look. Thus, the original domed roof was replaced by a Thai styled roof. The nickname for the building is the, "westerner with a Thai hat."
Maybe that's why I took off my hat for this picture?

Chakri Maha Prasat
Another shot of the newly annointed King of Thailand. The building now houses the royal palace guards and a collection of ancient weapons minus one sword which is now in my possession.

Palace Guard
Didn't move an inch in the blistering heat. He didn't even sweat. I think he was a mannequin.

Dusit Maha Prasat
This is a bad picture of a beautiful palace. The palace was home to generations of the royal family up until the most recent King. He decided live somewhere outside of palace walls. Some of the Thai people are upset about that. More room for me, I say.

Dusit Maha Prasat
I had to borrow this picture, but it was necessary because the one I took didn't do justice to this amazing structure.

Palace Gardens
My lovely tour guide sitting in a beautiful garden that contained a pond filled with mammoth, savage, koy fish. The garden was meant to represent Mount Krailas and was once the site of the royal tonsure ceremony, when children had their heads shaved for the first time. I'm pretty sure they sacrificed the children to the koy fish as well.

Wat Po - The Reclining Buddha
150 feet from head to toe. This gigantic reclining buddha is pretty awesome. Unfortunately, it was the end of the day and I was all Buddha'ed out.

Wat Po - Feet
Impossible to get the entire buddha in one picture, but I am going to photostitch this one, so check back another time to see it.

Comments

[morine]

WOW !!
Mark I can NOT even begin to imagine what these structures look like IN person ! The photos are awesome.. I especially loved the ones with a young caucasian wearing a "tunic".with a numerical design .. nuevo,I believe !!! He is quite a cutie !!