SE Asia 2014 Day 19

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This morning we get a much-appreciated chance to sleep in a bit. We have breakfast at the hotel and leave at 9:30 for the airport, which is no more than 20 minutes away. A second look at Siem Reap's relatively new airport: it's small and completely modern but has clever traces of ancient building styles incorporated into the design.

We say our goodbyes to Sinat and enter the bureaucratic labyrinth. In the case of both Laos and Cambodia, there are arrival and departure cards that one fills in on arrival. You must keep the departure card and present it on exiting the country. The departure card asks for your entrance visa number, which of course we didn't have on arrival and so left blank. Today there is one over-zealous custom agent who sends everyone of our party who had the misfortune to choose his line back to the airline counter because of the missing visa number. They end up paying a $1 fine and leave with a sour taste in their mouths, especially since generally the Laotian people are so friendly and welcoming. This is not something that should happen if Laos is trying to promote tourism.

We board an Air Asia (Thailand) flight in an A330, a big plane, but the leg room is bad for me. However, it's only an hour flight and so I survive.

And here we are in Bangkok, Thailand. Vi and I visited Chang Mai in northern Thailand in 2010 but we have never been to Bangkok before. We meet our local guide Wat (which I now know means temple). When Wat introduces himself on the bus, I yell out "Who's on second?" and we riff a bit on the classical Lorel and Hardy skit, to Wat's complete bafflement. I'm just waiting for someone to ask me "What's his name?" so I can say "yes!"

Thailand is a constitutional monarchy, with the king is now essentially a figurehead, similar to the situation in UK and Canada. However, just a few months before our trip, the army overthrew the elected government in a bloodless coup. The current king has ruled for 60-some years and appears to be well loved by the people. He's in his 80s now and has been ill for some time. His birthday is coming up on Dec. 5, and the city is decorating itself for the event. Giant displays featuring photos of the king and queen are everywhere, and the city is decked out in yellow. Why yellow? There is a colour for every day of the week, and the king was born on a Monday, whose colour is yellow. (I was born on a Wednesday, and Wat tells me my colour is pink. I hope he's joking, but I fear he isn't.)

Bangkok is a big, bustling, modern city of 10 million. Locals call the city Krung Thep, which is the old name. The general topography is quite flat, compared with our recent locations. The roads and highways are thoroughly modern, criss-crossing over each other in great cloverleafs. There is an impressive sky train running through most of the downtown. Everywhere are fantastic skyscrapers in imaginative shapes, which at night compete for the most imaginative light displays. Wat tells us that the city's buildings, overall, are the highest in Asia. The city appears to be much cleaner than some of the cities we have visited recently, with much less garage in evidence. At the same time, there is terrible poverty, with families living in dreadful ramshackle shacks right in the centre of downtown.

Bangkok runs on cars, not motorcycles. There are lots of the latter, of course, but cars and buses rule the road. Wat tells us that Bangkok traffic is the worst in the world, but we've heard that many times before in other cities. The taxi cabs bring a splash of colour. One company's cabs are bright pink, another's green and yellow, another's orange. And I should mention that traffic in Thailand drives on the left, whereas all previous countries on this trio drive all the right.

We have lunch at what Wat tells us is one of the city's best restaurants. We order and pay ourselves, because there's some question about whether lunch is included in Bangkok. Vi and I order shrimp and pomelo salad, and crab curry as the main. The curry comes its own bowl, accompanied by a large plate of various vegetables: lettuces, bean sprouts, etc. You pour the bowl of curry onto your plate, mix it up, and enjoy.

Digression: money. I haven't talked about currency and exchange in this blog. Each of the three countries we have visited so far (Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia) have currencies that are valuated very low, so thousands or tens of thousands of them are required to equal a dollar. But the truth is that the US$ is accepted almost everywhere. In Laos, in fact, prices are often posted in US$. Thailand proudly uses its own currency, the baht. 30 baht = 1 US$.

Wat takes us first to the Grand Palace. First we have a quick stop to rent harem pants for the men in shorts, because bare knees are not acceptable where we're going. The patterns are garish and the women derive considerable amusement from how silly the men look.

I have no prior knowledge or expectations about the Grand Palace, but I am blown away. The Grand Palace is a complex of buildings with a combined area of 218,400 sq m, surrounded by four walls on the banks of the Chao Phraya River. It served as the official residence of the King of Siam and then Thailand from 1725, when the first building was constructed, until 1925. It is still in use for high-level functions. So, far from being a ruin, it is kept in immaculate condition, like a time capsule. All the various building and statues are bedecked in glass and tile mosaics and gold leaf that catch the light and entice your eyes to look their way. It is a symphony for the eyes wherever you look, absolutely breath-taking.

There are many different buildings, courtyards and statues. Because the complex was constructed over a long period of time, there are many different themes and architectural styles in evidence. The common thread, as I mentioned, is gilt and glitter designed to dazzle the senses.

Wat leads us around the complex, explaining the significance of the various buildings and statuary. Interestingly, there is a scale-model replica of Angkor Wat. Apparently (I learn later) one of the Kings of Siam ordered his army to travel to Angkor Wat, demolish it stone by stone, transport all the pieces back to Siam, and reconstruct it. This frankly ridiculous project did not go well because of disease and armed resistance from the Khmer, so the king had to settle for an exact minature replica. However, he did manage to bring back some statues from Angkor Wat, which are still on display here.

Another interesting tidbit is that the Grand Palace was the backdrop for "The King and I" story, although Wat cautions us that the Hollywood version is not factual.

The last stop on our tour of the Grand Palace is a temple named Wat Phra Kaew. It is considered the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand because of the treasure it holds: the Emerald Buddha. The history of this treasured artifact is long and mysterious. It is believed to have been carved in India about a thousand years ago from a single jade stone. ("Emerald" refers to its colour, not its composition.) Over the centuries, tthe Emerald Buddha has moved from country to country and has sometimes been lost for generations, until it finally ended up here. About 26 in tall, it can touched by the king alone. He personally changes the cloak around the statue three times a year to correspond to the summer, winter, and rainy seasons, an important ritual to ensure good fortune to the country during each season. No photography is allowed inside the temple, so I have no picture of the Emerald Buddha.

Back on the bus and on to the next stop, not too far away: Wat Traimit, a temple that houses the Golden Buddha, the largest gold statue in the world. This gigantic, 5.5 ton, 10 m high statue is made from solid gold, although the purity varies by section, with the hair and topknot being 99% pure. The statue's constituent gold is worth something like $250 million at today's prices, but its cultural and historical value is, of course, priceless. The history of the Golden Buddha is just as mysterious and convoluted as the Emerald Buddha's. It is believed to be about 700 years old and to have been constructed in India. At one point in its history, it was disguised by being covered with stucco and painted. In fact, it was in this form that it was installed in Wat Traimit, a minor temple at the time. During reconstruction, when the statue was being moved, it fell from the ropes and some of the stucco cracked off, revealing its true nature. The Golden Buddha is a spectacular sight, and we can only gaze in awe at it.

On to our hotel on Bangkok. It is modern and luxurious, but for some reason quite inefficient at checking in a group, partly because they require a credit card imprint from each party, something that has not been asked for before on this trip. Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal, but we are rushing to catch a boat for a dinner cruise on the Chao Phraya River. We throw ourselves into the shower (an absolute necessity after this afternoon's exertions) and mange to be ready on time.

We are bused to the pier, where there are massive crowds of people waiting. One ship at a time loads. There's no particular organization on shore, so we have to self-organize and push through the mob at the right moment to board our ship. Our ship puts on a grand entrance as it pulls up to the mooring: music blares and beautifully attired female dancers on board dance a kind of cross between traditional Thai dance and disco.

There are two separate floors on the boat. Each has its own staff, buffet and entertainment. We are on the upper deck, which is not air-conditioned but enjoys a pleasant breeze once the ship gets under way.

Once everyone is settled on board, the ship departs. Over drinks, we enjoy the ever-changing panorama of Bangkok scenes from the vantage point of the river. As I mentioned, the skyscrapers all present interesting light displays at night. We even spot a giant ferris wheel all lit up, which we will see again later.

Suddenly the buffet is ready. There is a mad scramble for position but no one is seriously injured. For a buffet it's highly acceptable, with lots of variety. After supper, the entertainment starts. It is basically live karaoke with either voice or soprano sax. The sax guy is really good, but he is basically into that smooth Kenny G sound, which I am somewhat allergic to.

Dancing breaks out at some point. The young people are all enjoying themselves, as young people do, but then the boat's dancing girls in their beautiful costumes basically drag us old guys out of our chairs and get us going on the dance floor. They are a lot of fun. Never thought I'd be dancing to Achey Breaky Heart on a river cruise in Bangkok. Our group gets a conga line going, and before you know it, the whole top floor of the boat is in it.

We return to our hotel exhausted. Another extremely full but highly enjoyable day.

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