It is a Buddha-ful Day!

Written 8am Bangkok time on March 10

Another great day exploring Bangkok. Of all the places I have seen, the Thai color palette is rivaled by only Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. I have joked with Alfonso that the Thai must have inspired the Boy George-fronted Culture Club’s Karma Chameleon… “Loving would be easier if your colors were like my dreams… red, gold, and green… red, gold, and green.” To be fair, there are also lots of yellows, pinks, and oranges as well. The effect is not, however, tawdry, but instead the colors weave an intoxicating sense of upbeat karmic peace. (Did I really just write the phrase “karmic peace”? … I may be going native!)

In the morning I struck off on my own as Alfonso needed to sleep in after a long conference in Singapore and seeing his friends off at 5:30am (I liked Ian, Sofia, and Maria very much… just not 5:30am much!) I saw a 5 ton Golden Buddha and a Lucky Buddha. All the temples are very attractive and maintained. While some of this is for tourism, each is well stocked by a cadre of practicing monks. In fact, it is common practice for Thai men to spend 3 months as Buddhist monks. I wonder how different the US would be if we encouraged a similar practice. I also wonder how different the world might be if we all took 3 months to meditate and think about life.

In case you are travelling in Thailand, here is a quick guide to the Lotus position (raising your hands to your face in a prayer like manner). For Buddhas and Royalty, you raise your fingers to your brow. For very important people (which includes teachers according to my sources… contrast to the US) you raise the tips of your fingers to your nose. For all others, raise your finger tips to your lower lip. My personal advice and experience is to keep your hands free, because it comes off rude when you return such a greeting with only one hand.

After meeting up with Alfonso in the afternoon, we headed for the Golden Mountain and Wat Pho (pronounced “Po”… not like the Vietnamese noodle soup). The Golden Mountain is a bit of a misnomer, but does offer a nice view of the city. Wat Pho is stunning with its beautiful colors and amazing statuary. There is a golden “Sleeping Buddha” that stretches for 50m and is breathtaking in its enormity and color. The intricate details of the bejeweled doors are similarly impressive. While everything is beautiful the King’s Palace and Wat Pho are absolute must sees. I did not get to Wat Arun, but heard this is lovely as well.

To get around, we decided to use tuk-tuks. Think of a tuk-tuk as a half-motorcycle (front half) and half golf cart (back half) and all trips an adventure. There is a scheme where they will take you to a shop (jewelry, fashion, travel agency, etc) and in return they receive a gas voucher from the shop. I guess some small percentage of people end up buying. They will then take you wherever you want to go. Couple of pointers… negotiate before you get into the tuk tuk and negotiate very hard. Drivers are pretty cut throat and you should be too (do not worry, there are plenty of tuk tuk’s in the sea and if one leaves you… another will be there very soon). Alfonso and I had a couple of rides and one on which we nearly died a few times. I would choose a tuk tuk driver that is older… the younger guys seem to value safety differently ;-)

This morning we are heading to Chiang Mai in northwestern Thailand (this will be posted when I get there).

New pictures at:
http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd180/cl8onj1s/Mekong%202008/Bangkok/
(NOTE this a link to all Bangkok... some from before too)