We left the cool oasis of our beautiful room at The Muse Hotel, and decided to make our way across town to Wat Pho. It seemed as good a place as any to begin our exploration of Bangkok. Not only is Wat Pho the city’s oldest temple, home to 91 chedis, and a massive reclining Buddha; it is also in close proximity to a couple other noteworthy attractions- namely Wat Arun and the Royal Palace. Maximum sightseeing with the least amount of walking possible. Sounded good to me! The heat of the day was already impressive, and we needed to preserve our energy…there was so much to see…
Hopping into a tuk tuk we were on our way. Aaah… tuk tuks. The clown cars of Thailand. Tiny, colourful, rather comedic modes of transport. Mix in a dose of danger and you have an irresistible method for traversing the city: they bop and weave as the little engine sputters, zipping between busses. We survived our ride, windblown and laughing, tumbled out of our tuk tuk, and through the front gates of Wat Pho. It was nothing short of stellar. Through the grounds we wandered, heads tipped back at perverse angles, admiring the chedis, with their intricate gardens of ceramic flowers; and shielded our eyes against the shimmering mirages of golden rooftops under the steadily intensifying sun.
We took off our shoes and entered the home of the 15 meter high, 46 meter long Reclining Buddha. What a sight to behold! One simply could not appreciate the whole scene with a single glance. The housing structure was quite narrow (combined with the growing crowd of picture snapping tourists) and we were reduced to shuffling down the length of the statue. An eye, the Buddha’s subtle smile, an immense hand resting gently on hip. Everything covered in the rich, warm hues of burnished gold: peacefully radiating.
It was impossible to not feel a little slack jawed. At the far end, we were doubly rewarded. From here we could see the entire Buddha in all of its grandeur, and the soles of the Buddha’s feet- they were a spectacular world unto themselves. Inlaid with mother-of-pearl, the designs illustrate the 108 laksana: the positive actions and symbols that helped lead Buddha to perfection. We took another few moments to reflect before pressing on toward the exit-past the 108 brass bowls resonating with the sound of coins- hopes for good fortune.
Back outside and onto the city streets, we headed toward Chao Phraya. Walking through Tha Tien Market- vibrant and alive with fresh fruit vendors, souvenir shops, and a riverside lunch spot- we made our way over to Pier 7, where 3 Baht buys a ticket for the ferry that regularly turtles across the water through the fray of longtail boats. Just as I was getting comfortable our ride was over and we were docked just steps away from Wat Arun.
Much to our dismay, the majority of the temple’s impressive structures were shrouded in scaffolding. There would be no attempts at capturing the Temple of the Dawn’s porcelain mosaicked Ъrahng in a photograph today, and certainly no climbing to the top…A bit let down, and feeling like we were missing out on what many consider to be Thailand’s most exquisite wat, we decided to forgo paying the entrance fee, and instead wandered a bit half heartedly through the surrounding area. Peeling wall paper…crumbling plaster…it was beauty in decay. I personally love seeing evidence of passing time, but there was no doubt about it- things were definitely in need of a little facelift.
Noon hour was upon us, and I was really starting to feel the effects of the sun. Our plan was this: head back across the river, find a street filled with some of Bangkok’s legendary food, then pay a visit to the Royal Palace. Back at Tha Tien Pier, we detoured away from from the crowds and down a small alley in search of some local cuisine, taking a few turns before finding ourselves in the middle of a market. Stacks and bins of dried and salted fish were all around. The air was pungent, thick. I imagined that nam pla could have been born in this place…(Definitely no lunch here!) We emerged on the other side and straight into a cluster of parked tuk tuks.
In an attempt to get our bearings, we paused for a moment and did one of those 360 degree twirl-abouts. As the day had worn on the temperature had continued to rise. It was a delirious, spinning kind of heat and my brain was starting to feel rather warm. All action was reduced to vague impressions. It was a symphony of sounds, colours, and smells: faded red busses, diesel exhaust, motorcycles, hot tourists…Just as we stepped off the curb toward our next destination, a Thai local greeted us- magically producing a small square of paper and a pen, he began drawing out a list of places that we really must see RIGHT NOW. I mentioned something about lunch and the Royal Palace…”No Royal Palace- too crowded- too many tourists…later. Go see fat, happy Buddha and Golden Mount.” Did I mention that we were delirious from the heat? We were hastily ushered into one of the nearby tuk tuks. The square of paper was thrust into my hand along with some sort of 100 baht fee being agreed upon. We didn’t know it at the moment, but we were going to be taken for a ride. It was a phrase that would characterize the rest of the day. With us inside, the tuk tuk sputtered off, zig-zagging though side streets on a very convoluted route. After what seemed like 20 minutes, we pulled into a parking lot behind a school. Our driver pointed to a small building and told us that the fat-happy Buddha was inside. Totally clueless, we decided to go with the flow, curious (and slightly apprehensive) about what we might find. Was there a fat-happy Buddha?
Well,not really…not at all, actually. The Buddha may have been happy, but he was all wrapped up in saran wrap. And on top of that he was really skinny. Strange…
We stood there for a minute… Baffled…Amused. Before long, we were joined in the room by a very friendly man who offered to take our photograph and who then proceeded to tell us an elaborate tale. Something about a rubber tree farm near Krabi, his son’s upcoming wedding, and the fact that he just bought the most beautiful jewelry for his entire family from a nearby gem shop. All sorts of pictures and even certificates of authenticity were produced from his satchel. Something was fishy. “I bet you were coming here to see the black Buddha? Well, he was black, but the monks just painted him gold…” Yeah..about that…He asked where we were headed next. I pulled out the paper square, which he took from me and vehemently crossed things off the list-in their place he added a trip to the jewelry store as the place we MUST go next. We edged our way toward the door in attempts to extract ourselves from the conversation which was becoming rather pointed. Out of nowhere, our tuk tuk driver reappeared and we hopped in, happy to be whisked away. Where to now? The Golden Mount…or so we thought. (Notice a theme here?) Suddenly, our driver had his wallet open and was flashing a gas card in our faces. Turns out there was some sort of correlation between the jewelry store and his gas card. According to him we needed to go to the jewelry store so he could get gas. I insisted that we did not want to go to the jewelry store, but he just kept saying “10 minutes. Gas.” It seemed futile to argue. More side streets, winding streets and tight alleys, and before long we found ourselves in an air conditioned shop, decked out with a half dozen glass cases filled with all things sparkly. In an attempt to look interested for the 10 minutes we promised (the cool air did feel luxurious…) we sauntered about. “Sapphires”, “rubies”, “emeralds”…(They are all in quotations as I am certain that they were all fake, no matter what the salesman tried to tell us.) “A sapphire ring for your wife? Only 4,000 Baht. These little stones all around: cubic zirconia.” Who would take a 3 carat sapphire and surround it with fake diamonds? We exited the store and everyone (including our tuk tuk driver) was noticeably disappointed that we were leaving empty handed. Reluctantly, we got back into the little vehicle. Confused, hungry, dehydrated…we weren’t sure what would happen next. What was the endgame to this elaborate ruse?
Dropping us off at the gate, our driver informed us that he would wait 25 minutes as we explored the Golden Mount- known also as Wat Saket. I was so dazed I wasn’t sure if I even had it in me to climb the 300 steps to the top. We trudged up the serpentine staircase- the heat of the day was nothing short of oppressive. My brain felt like it was boiling. Up. Up. Up…until we reached the golden chedi on top. Not a speck of shade. Anywhere. I stared up at the gleaming spire. So gold. So bright. So very glinty. I stared. So hot. Everything so maddeningly gold. And sun. And hot. I tried to appreciate the amazing 360 degree view of the glorious city below. It was quite overwhelming.
Can humans melt? I was fried…of that I was certain. I am still not sure how we made it back down, but I do recall passing a rather macabre display: a decaying human body surrounded by vultures…an odd homage to the fact that Wat Saket was the city’s crematorium for 18th century plague victims. A twisted scene that only amplified the feeling that we were stuck inside of a strange dream…It was hard to believe that we were only halfway through our first 24 hours in Bangkok! I could only imagine what sort of adventure laid ahead…
Misadventure aside, visits to Wat Pho, Wat Arun, the Royal Palace, and the Golden Mount makes for a wonderful day of exploration around Bangkok. A great itinerary: not too exhausting, and chock full of culture….
Check out the map to help put things into perspective:
Love the writing and the suspense. I took a big breath at the end overjoyed that you made it down!!
Wow!! That was quite a ride! Beautiful photos, great story! See you next week!
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