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Wat Arun, Bangkok
Doesn't look like much from a distance...... Greetings all
We hope you are enjoying good health and getting into the festive spirit. we've been quite suprised by the number of Christmas trees popping up here since 1 December.
Here's the history lesson:
Thailand is divided into 77 provinces with a population of 63 million made up of ethnic Thais (75%) and Chinese (14%) with the remainder mainly immigrants from neighbouring countries as well as hilltribes people. Buddhism is the national religion and Islam the largest minority religion but it appears that nearly all Thais also practise some form of spirit worship. Every household, restaurant, bar, bus/train station, shop etc displays a picture of King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit. Today is the King's birthday, he turns 87, so it's a Public Holiday. Unfortunately he's currently in hospital following an op on his gall bladder. He has been King since he was 19 and is the world's longest serving monarch and loved by everyone here.
A country that avoided colonization it has absorbed Western influences while maintaining its own rich heritage. The clash of tradition and modernity is most intense in Bangkok - home to c. 11 million people &
Wat Arun, Bangkok
but it's darn big ....... our first stop where we found many wonderful temples, canalside markets and the fabulous 18th century Grand Palace mixed with skyscrapers, chic boutiques and hip bars/clubs.
Now here's what we've been up to:
We managed 2 noisy & sleepless nights on Khao San Road before feeling our age and moving one street across to the quieter Soi Rambuttri where we found a fab little guesthouse where we spent a further 4 nights. The temperature was in the mid 30's with a humidity of nearly 85% so we took things relatively easy and only visited one attraction a day. These included the following, making great use of the public ferry boats that criss-cross the Mae Nam Chao Phraya (river) - an easy and very cheap way of travelling around:
WAT ARUN - a striking temple named after the Indian god of dawn, Aruna. From a distance it appears to be made of granite but is actually a mosaic made of broken porcelain covering the 82 metre Khmer style tower.
WAT PHO - one of Bangkok's largest temples, the compound has the largest reclining buddha (46m long & 15m high), the largest
Wat Arun, Bangkok
and it's a beautiful mosaic of porcelain & crockery collection of Buddha images in Thailand and the country's earliest centre for public education.
VIETNAM EMBASSY - enjoyed (ha ha) 2 visits here getting our visas for Vietnam at a total cost of 120 quid for next day collection. Actually the processing was very simple it was the travel time there and back which was painful due to the all day traffic jams in the downtown area.
WAT PHRA KAEO & GRAND PALACE - also known as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, The vast Wat Phra Kaeo compound includes the former residence of the Thai monarch, the Grand Palace. The Grand Palace complex was established in 1782 and covers an area of 218 sq metres and is surrounded by 4 walls which are 19,000 metres in length. We spent ages admiring the fantastic richly decorated murals (178 panels in total) which tell the story The Ramakian (the struggles of Rama to rescue his kidnapped wife, Sita). The emerald buddha statue is only 66cm tall and is actually carved from nephrite, a type of jade but the ordination hall he is housed in is quite spectacular.
DUSIT PARK - which houses
Wat Pho, Bangkok
Now that's a big Buddha! the elegant and beautiful VIMANMEK PALACE. Built by Rama V as a summer retrerat on Ko Si Chang it was transported to Dusit Park bit by bit in 1901. Made almost entirely of golden teak without a single nail in an L shape and encircled by delicate latticework verandas overlooking lovely gardens it became Rama V's favourite palace - and ours! On display are his collection of artefacts from around the world including ceramics, European furniture and bejewelled betelnut sets to name but a few. There is also an elephant museum, a textile museum and a handicrafts museum. We had to come back a second day to see the amazing ANAWTA SAMAKHOM THRONE HALL which contains the most fantastic handmade gold & silver items decorated with nellioware and beetle wing (yes actual beetles wings), 3 metre long replica barges made from solid gold, full & miniature size thrones, beautiful carved wood panels and many more wonderful things all exquisitely made by artisans employed by the Sirikit Institute set up by the Queen. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take photos so you'll just have to go and see them for yourselves.
On 30 November we caught the
Wat Pho, Bangkok
Peaceful spot in the beautifully kept grounds train from Bangkok to KANCHANABURI, which took around 2.45 hours and checked into VN Guesthouse on the River Kwai. A complete contrast to Bangkok but we have thoroughly enjoyed the last 5 days. It's been a rather moving time to say the least rediscovering the awful facts relating to the construction of the Death Railway. We decided to visit the museums and cemetery first before taking the train on what's left of the track. We have visited the following:
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Thai-Burma Railway Centre Museum which gives a comprehensive history of the entire line with plenty of original artefacts, illustrations and scale models. Death Railway was 415 kms long with 688 bridges, due to the shortage of steel only 8 were constructed from steel and cement the rest were made from timber cut from the forest along the route. It took 15 months to complete from June 1942 to Oct 1943 and ran from Ban Pong in Thailand to Thanbyuzayat in Burma. More than 60,000 Allied POW's and approx. 200,000 Asian labourers (known as Romusha) slaved on the construction. The loss of lives due to the appalling conditions and brutality was horrific - more than 12000 Allied POW's and at
Wat Phra Kaeo, Bangkok
A friendly welcome ....... least 120,000 Asian labourers died.
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Don Rak Cemetery, containing nearly 7,000 graves of Allied POW's. It's still very sad to see so many young lives cut short.
- Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum, the story of the POW's who died on the Hellfire Pass is documented here. The main exhibit is the 4km memorial walk which follows the old rail route through Hellfire Pass, a 25m deep and 75m long cutting made through solid rock without the use of any machiney.
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JEATH Msueum in Kanchanaburi town, founded by the chief abbot of Wat Chaichumpon in 1977 and built n the temple grounds. It is very low-tech and housed in a reconstructed Allied POW hut of thatched palm. It was the town's first public repository for the photos and memories of the POW's who worked on Death Railway. The name JEATH is an acronym of 6 of the countries involved in the railway (Japan, England, Australia, Thailand & Holland).
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ERAWAN FALLS, considered by many to be the most beautiful falls in Thailand. Erawan was designated as Thailand's 12th National Park in June 1975. The clear glacial-blue waters gush through the forest dropping in a series of
Wat Phra Kaeo, Bangkok
but it doesn't keep the crowds away! 7 tiers along a route of 2km. At each tier cascades feed a pool shaded by bamboos, rattan & liana. We enjoyed a dip in tier 7 whch also has stunning views over the jungle. Trev also got a free fish treatment here - see photo.
Our visit coincides with the River Kwai Bridge Festival held each year over 10 days at the end of November - every night a spectacular sound & light show takes place at the infamous bridge and we'll be watching it this evening.
Thai is our favourite food and we're thoroughly enjoying the fabulous curry, rice & noodle dishes all washed down with a nice cold Chang beer or Sang Som (Thai rum made from sugar cane).
We're enjoying a lovely lazy day today typing up this blog and planning our next destination - may be up north to Chang Mai or perhaps down south to one of the islands.
Lots of love to all,
Trev and Verity xxx
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Geoff
non-member comment
Jealous
Amazing stuff! wish I was there, perhaps one day I will get to see some of what you have. Keep safe and keep sending those blogs we all love them.