Bangkok, Thailand

Our port in Thailand is Laem Chabang.  As you can see by these photos, it serves as a transport hub for automobiles mostly made in Japan or Korea.  Our guides told us that there is a brand of car made in Thailand, but no-one thinks it is any good.

David enjoyed watching the cars as they were unloaded one after another.  Besides all the other aspects of the different countries and cultures that we are exploring, it's been very interesting to look at the world as part of an ocean-going vessel.  There are so many kinds of watercraft that we've seen.  It's been a good experience for land-locked Utahns.

Thailand has a population of around 69 million.  It is the modern day Siam of the "Anna and the King of..." fame.  Unlike most of its neighbors in Southeast Asia, it was never colonized by a European country.  It is also the home of one of my favorite kinds of cuisine, reportedly the fifth most popular in the world.  It is characterized by a combination of 5 tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and spicy.

The Thai alphabet has 44 letters which include 32 vowels. (Huh?) There are 5 tones--mid, low, falling, high, and rising and as with other tonal languages, the same word can mean 5 different things depending on the tone.  

The Thai greeting for males is "sawatdi khrap" and for females is "sawatdi kah".  While voicing the greeting, one presses their palms together and bring the hands to touch the face while giving a slight bow.  It's a very kind and humble greeting that is seen everywhere.

Our excursion on the first day in port was to the seaside city of Pattaya.  There we went to the "Sanctuary of Truth".  Building was begun in 1981 by Lek Viriyaphant, a Thai millionaire who wanted to use art and culture as a reflection of the "Ancient Vision of Earth, Ancient Knowledge, and Eastern Philosophy".  The structure is made entirely of wood using no nails, instead, it is joined with dowels, or mortise and tendon.  

The project is ongoing with a completion date projected for 2050.  We walked through the workshop where individuals and teams worked on carvings intended for areas under construction.

Ninety-five percent of the population of Thailand is Buddhist, but in this country, Hindu and Buddhist traditions have merged.  The four-faced Brahma (the Hindu creator god) is on the transept of the front pavilion. 

The elephant is the national symbol of Thailand.  We saw both carved elephants in the photo above, and real ones seen below.  

The sanctuary consists of four halls surrounding the center.  Each of the four halls has openings  that keep the building pleasantly ventilated by the sea breeze.  A different view is seen from each opening.  

Each hallway depicts themes of Ancient Life, Human Responsibility, Basic Thought, Cycle of living, Life Relationship with the Universe and the Common Goal of Life toward Utopia.

I know so very little about Eastern religions, even after what I've read to try to figure out how to write about these religious shrines in Thailand.  This sanctuary was fascinating because everywhere I looked, I saw something different.  There are still areas that don't have any carvings yet, but are in the process of being decorated.  

After our tour of the sanctuary, we were treated to some Thai dancing.  I know the photo quality is poor--I was shooting into the sun using the zoom on the camera to get between the heads in front of me.  

From the Sanctuary of Truth, we went to Wat (temple) Phra Yai which has the largest buddha in the region.  The stairway is walled by two seven-headed naga (a diety in the form of a snake) and their snaky bodies.

Behind the main Buddha, are statues of the Buddha in different poses associated with the day of the week.  In Thailand, everyone knows on what day of the week they were born and what significance that has in their daily life.  It is believed that after the Buddha received enlightenment, he spent seven days contemplating the suffering of all living beings.  Each day of the week depicts aspects of that contemplation.  Wednesday (the day I was born) is divided into morning and night.  In the photo, top row, L-R: Wednesday morning is the Day of Receiving, Thursday is the Day of Meditation, Monday is the Day of Making Peace.  Bottom row, L-R: Tuesday is the Sleeping Day, Friday is the Day of Contemplation, Wednesday night is Respect for All Living Things.

From the hilltop by the buddhas, we got a view of the seaside city of Pattaya with its tower which boasts a revolving restaurant.

Day 2 of our stay in Thailand took us into Bangkok.  It was a two-hour bus ride to get into town.  Since our destination was the Grand Palace in the Old Town, we didn't get much of an introduction to the modern city.  The population is around 8.2 million

The skyline is a little haphazard and blocked in many places by enormous billboards.  They have their own "gherkin" on the bottom right.  Bangkok is the English name for the city, but the Thai name is Krung Thep, short for Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit.  It is the world's longest place name with 168 letters and translated means: City of angels, great city of immortals, magnificent city of the nine gems, seat of the king, city of royal palaces, home of gods incarnate, erected by Vishvakarman at Indra's behest.  (How would you like to teach your 1st grader how to spell the name of that country's capital?)  The Thai people who can say the name can only do so because a few years ago there was a popular song which repeated it over and over.

Thailand has had ten Kings or "Rama."  Identified by the people as Rama I through Rama X.  As we drove into the heart of the city near the Grand Palace, there were pictures like this of "our beloved king", Bhumibol Adulyadej, better known as Rama IX.  He passed away in October of 2016.  He was cremated over a year later and was publicly mourned for that entire year.  

His face gazes out from each denomination of the currency.  One hundred Thai Baht is worth $3.21 USD.

 Pictures like this of Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, or Rama X are seen everywhere.  The photo shows him as a young man, but he is 64 now.  He has yet to be crowned, and isn't very well liked by the people.  There is some concern about the stability of the monarchy in his hands.  

We saw a different form of public transportation in Bangkok--the motorbike taxi.  The orange vest indicates that the driver is for hire.  One just approaches him, gives the destination, and hops on the back.  

Our destination in Bangkok was the famous Grand Palace which contains the Temple of the Emerald Buddha--the most sacred temple in Thailand.  According to our guide, Fay, 20-30 thousand people usually visit the temple each day.  Well, today, the palace was closed in the morning for an official royal family ceremony, so all those visitors were compressed into half of the day.  As we drove toward the palace, David saw the groups of tourists streaming toward it, thought about the 90+ degree temperature and 80% humidity and opted to stay on the bus.  It was a good choice for him.  I had been looking forward to this destination for a long time, so I joined the throng. 

 This photo doesn't come close to showing what the press of people was like.  This was just the first gate we had to squeeze through.  Our guide told the 22 of us to be like "sticky rice" so she wouldn't lose us.  She went so far as to give us her card with her phone number in case we got separated.  She assigned each of us a number so when she stopped periodically throughout the tour to count, she had us respond to our number.  It took 50 minutes of pushing, shoving, shuffling and jostling to get from that gate into the actual temple compound.   (BTW, umbrellas are not to shelter from the rain, but from the  sun.  Most Asian people wish they had pale skin like Caucasians, so they do all they can to keep from getting any more color in their skin.)

When we finally got into the temple complex, it was not much less crowded.  Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) was begun in 1782 by Rama I.  This is the Chedi, or stupa, which usually contains a relic of the Buddha.  These chedi, commonly seen in many temples, are characteristically gold-leafed.  This one is covered in gold mosaic tiles.

The Phra Mondop is a library which houses sacred Buddhist scriptures.  It is never open to the public.

The Emerald Buddha temple was too big for me to fit into my camera frame and this is the photo I liked best.  One could enter the temple to see the 26" buddha statue made of jadeite, but shoes had to be removed and it required a fair amount of walking on bumpy cement, so I didn't do it.    I was more interested in the other ornamentation to be seen in the complex.

Like this Thot khir thon, or giant mythical beast who actsa s a guardian.

Or the roof peak decoration called a chofa.  It is a stylized representation of the mythical creature, Garuda, half bird and half man.

This the the Phra Thingang Dust Maha Prasat Throne Hall.  It is also the place where the former kings lie-in-state until cremation.

The temple buildings and shrines were each covered in their entirety with such a beautiful variety of decoration.  

Everywhere I turned was another design.  I only saw a fraction of the Grand Palace at the price of risking life and limb to get there, but I have some great pictures and the knowledge that I've actually been there!

 After we extracted ourselves from the Grand Palace and walked 3/4 of a mile back to the bus, we rode 2 hours back to the ship.  After excursions like this one in the oppressive heat, we always enter the ship with a sigh of relief and the thought, "I'm home!"  The air-conditioning feels soooooo good!  After two very interesting days we said goodbye to Laem Chabang!