Bangkok, Thailand: Temples, Buddhas, and Watch Out for the Supersoakers!

We’ve been in Thailand for a few days with our small Gate1 Tour group, an eclectic collection of Americans and Canadians, shepherded expertly by our Thai guide, Ranee. I’m writing from the bus as we travel north, through rice fields and a heavy rainstorm. Quite refreshing after the relentless heat of Bangkok.

Bus travel take us back to our old student tour days – suitcases outside the door of our (quite elegant) hotel rooms by 7:00 am, rotating bus seats, getting to know the various personalities of fellow travellers. For Ranee, it’s probably a bit like herding cats – she’s very

good, giving extra attention where needed, keeping everyone on track – she trained as a teacher, and it shows. Speaking of cats, here’s my first temple kitty, next to a temple statue with a very wise, cat-like expression on his face.

This is a younger demographic than the cruising crowd, but still dominated by well-travelled retirees. People think we travel a lot, and we do, but not in comparison to the world

retiree-nomads we’ve been meeting abroad – we have some catching up to do, I told Padre as future trip pamphlets keep showing up in my suitcase.

I knew it would happen, and sure enough…Padre bought some elephant pants. It has been suffocatingly hot outside so they serve their purpose, and it seems that every

one wears them here. I last about two hours outside under

the broiling sun, even with a hat. Even Ranee wilts in the heat – she keeps saying, ‘Oh, my Buddha!’ when it’s too hot, and seeks out the shady places under the temple eaves for her little group.

We were fortunate enough to be in Bangkok on an important cultural weekend – the Songkram New Year’s Water Festival, when Thais bring in the new year with a number of various rituals, including having monks ladle

large dollops of water over their heads (Padre joined the line for a blessing). They also bring sand back to their temples to symbolize all the sand they took away from the temple, on their feet, over the past year. We watched lots of Thais build sand castles outside the temples, as well as offer alms for the monks and make other temple donations. And of course, water battles in the streets. We didn’t join the mayhem, but other members of our group did and returned to the hotel soaking wet (with their own mini-

super soakers in hand).

We visited two famous temples while in Bangkok, and saw some very impressive Buddhas – whoa. First, the very famous Emerald Buddha – you can barely glimpse him at the top of his tower (he’s only about two feet tall), but intrigued by the rituals Thais participate in as they visit these shrines. Since it’s a huge holiday, we’re seeing the real deal – large families visiting together, old folks, children, lots of joyful laughter everywhere.

And we shuffled around the huge reclining Buddha in our bare feet, while witnessing

Thais make offerings and prayers for good health, happiness, and for their elders and long-gone loved ones. Cultural reverence for elders shows, as Thais guide their elderly relatives through the important temple shrines and Buddha visitations.

Both temples were filled with Thais celebrating the New Year, and we witnessed dance programs, water dousing, sand-castle building, prayers, and tribute rituals, everywhere. Not to mention Thai street

food (which we didn’t eat, attempting to avoid getting sick/so far so good). The mix of hot concrete, oily wok cooking, sweaty bodies, and sugary food stall smells wasn’t appetizing anyway. I’m not a picky eater, but also have no need to sample the local delicacies – and the meals provided by the tour and hotels have been as lavish as the cruise ship spreads – lots of local Thai curries (yum) and Asian fare.

All over the city and country, Thais show reverence for

their royalty – the recently deceased beloved king IX, whose picture is still everywhere, his wife, and the new king, their son, who hasn’t been crowned yet but will be soon. Word has it he’s not beloved yet, and has a way to go to earn the people’s loyalty, which his father clearly enjoyed. I need to learn more about the political and royal issues of the day – what

I’ve read in the local paper so far tells me it’s just as complicated as back home. Thais have adopted a constitutional monarchy so it’s not all about the royalty, but I plan to find out much more, in order to understand it all before I make any conclusions about how it all works.

As an American, I do find it a bit jarring to see the likenesses of royalty everywhere. We just don’t think like that, since (despite the best efforts of some current politicians) our representatives work for us, and we don’t bow down to anyone, as the founding fathers intended.

Thai culture is all about respect, though, and as a guest of the Thais, of course I am respectful of their royalty, and plan to be mindful of cultural differences, in terms of the power dynamic between a people and its leaders – much to think about, in terms of different ways to set up a country. Jefferson and his buddies certainly were thinking radically for their time, though – yay founding fathers.

Next post will be about the ancient historical sites of Thailand’s interior – I am viewing sites I’ve only seen in those history textbooks I’m constantly reviewing, and it’s all very impressive. I’ll also tell you about a Thai soap opera/movie that’s wildly popular right now, causing thousands of young Thais to dress up in traditional Thai dress (imitating the movie stars) to have their photos taken at important historical sites. And I though I’d left the picture snappers back in Japan, but no……the colorful dresses, of course, are lovely, especially when set in front of the backdrop of the ancient treasures scattered all over Thailand. We both can’t get over the fact that we’re actually here – I keep asking Padre things such as, “Did you ever think you’d get to Bangkok?” and he reliably answers ‘nope’ every time.

Thanks for following along, everyone – we’re far in Northern Thailand now, and will be visiting a bit of Laos and Burma (Myanmar) today and tomorrow. No one’s sick, bored, or ready to come home yet – this has been an amazing trip so far!