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Published: November 9th 2006
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Mental Notes
1. Learn the the phrase "I don't understand" in the local language.
2. Air conditioning is the
only thing that matters.
On our final day in the big city we made the trip,
this time an uneventful water taxi ride, to Wat Pho, the modern hero of Bangkok's holy temples. It features a host of superlatives: the largest reclining Buddha and the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand, and the country's earliest centre for public education. Almost too big for its shelter, the magnificent reclining Buddha, 46 m. long and 15 m. high, portrays the Buddha's passing into nirvana (death). The figure is modelled out of plaster around a brick core and finished in, a slowly disintegrating but still beautiful, gold leaf. Mother of pearl inlay ornaments the eyes and feet, the latter, displaying 108 different characteristics of a Buddha.
The Buddha images on display are definitely worth a thumb up. The most beautiful are the Phra Chinnacha Buddha's in the west and south chapels. The galleries extending between the 4 chapels feature no less than 394 gilded Buddha images. Impressive, to say the least.
I cannot
honestly say I appreciated Wat Pho to the full extent it deserved, I was
a lot more preoccupied with the sweltering heat, my main motivation was to return to the air conditioned hotel room. It was possibly one of the most oppressive days we had experienced here and it was anything but comfortable.
And then we walked through Fish Alley. In other words, the most disgusting place in all of Thailand. It's two blocks with baskets of drying fish and the smell is enough to make you nauseous. I do not recommend going there.
The following day we boarded a quite small, and quite crowded plane to the mainland of Krabi province, from there we got on a longtail boat (which resembles a water taxi only in that it travels on water) and arrived on the island of Railay. Longtail boats are constructed of wood and can hold, if absoloutely needed, about twenty-some passengers. It's on the awkward side to get into, and can tilt at an extremely sharp angle if someone gives it the opportunity. Caution: experiencing something out of the ordinary may cause nervousness i.e, Muti is terrified of them.
My first impression is that it's freeezzzinggg, not. Although it's a breezy 34C compared to a raging 40+C in Bangkok, which in comparison is bloody luxury.
We're presently staying at a lovely bungalow by the name of 'The Ya-Ya resort and Spa" even though there is no spa to be seen. Got a bit of a fright when I ventured into the depths of the bathroom and discovered a non-flushable toilet (you are required to toss water into it from a bucket) and a showerhead. You bathe right next to the toilet.
"Isn't it ironic?" Apart from that and finding out there are over 422 species of mosquitos, I'm starting to enjoy myself.
We have been travelling back and forth between Chicken, (named after a rock that apparently looks like a chicken head when actually it doesn't look like a chicken head) Poda, and Hong Island. Each are about 15 minutes away by longtail boat, with the exception of Hong Island which is approximately an hour away. All three have gorgeous white sand beaches and varying shades of aquamarine water.
I experienced my first snorkelling expedition a few days ago, and to sum
it up=
wow. Electric blue clams, prehistoric-looking coral, and neon coloured fish ranging from the size of a fingernail to the size of an arm. It was bloody incredible.
Shame on me for not having an underwater camera. I now understand when people say it's like an entirely different world down there.
I've been spending a considerable amount of my time on Phra Nang, a beach that's a hop, skip, and a 10 minute jump away from the Ya-Ya. A beautiful beach with thousand year old jagged limestone cliffs stretching across the entire vicinity.
But there's a hidden terror in the trees. The evil monkeys. Over the years, naive tourists (which I have become a member of) have been feeding them scraps from snacks and lunches. And now the monkeys have become fearless, and will leap from the trees and snatch your food away leaving you in a trail of evil monkey dust. Yesterday afternoon I fed one a slice of tomatoe, awww what a cute little mon--then was stalked for five minutes before I was able to escape with my sandwich intact.
Other than that, being a lazy slug is underrated.
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