January 9, 2018

January 9, 2018

A popular movie when Aimee and I were growing up was the “King and I”. The movie is based on the true story of a British governess who was hired by the King of Siam to teach English to his many, many children. So this morning we joined our group early on a bus-ride back to central Bangkok for a tour of the Grand Palace where King Rama IV lived.

We started our tour of this large walled complex at the royal temple, Wat Phra Kaew. The temple is filled with many colorful and highly decorated buildings. It has a huge gold stupa containing a Buddha relic. The gallery circling every building has a series of murals relating the Thai epic, Ramakien, a knock-off of a Hindu tale. The story is suspiciously similar to Homer's Iliad about the Trojan War. The most famous temple resident is the Emerald Buddha. We were underwhelmed by its tiny size and distant location. I liked the several huge inlaid-porcelain demon guardians protecting each entrance. Aimee was delighted to come across a large stone model of Angkor Wat. Angkor became part of the Siam Empire for a short period after they sacked the Khmer Capital.

We then moved on to the King’s Residence. The Palace has a Thai roof topping a European-style facade. It was built when European countries were entering southeast Asia. Thailand wanted to appear civilized. They succeeded. Siam was the only country to avoid colonization. Because the Palace has wooden floors it is closed to general visitors. Unfortunately the nearby highly decorated Ceremonial Halls are also closed because they are undergoing renovation for the new King Rama X upcoming coronation. Interestingly the Siamese king owned all Albino elephants. The term "white elephant" originated from this tradition as a big possession doing no work.

Afterwards we walked to the nearby pier and took a boat tour of the extensive canal system across the river in Thon Buri. The traditional way of canal life still exists in this area. Because of low tide, we had to crowd into a canal lock with a dozen Long-tail canal boats.

Once inside we see the canal is lined with ancient wooden stilt-houses. Right away we were shocked to see alligator-size lizards living in holes, swimming alongside, and eating fish on the shore. These Monitor Lizards are relatives of Indonesia’s more famous Komodo Dragons. We spent 90 minutes travelling in a circle back to the river. Interestingly many of the houses had a small “doll house” on a pedestal in the yard. Apparently these are “spirit houses” providing a home for domestic spirits that would otherwise cause mischief.

Back at the hotel we rested for an hour before setting out again. This time we took the Skytrain, It is a fancy version of Chicago’s Elevated Train system. Our first stop was in the Patpong area to see the Red Light District. Apparently we were way too early. It is hard to be a swinger when you go to bed at 7pm! We then walked to Lumpini Park. This urban oasis has a statue of Rama VI and some small ponds. We are succumbing to the humidity so we walked a little further to the upscale Paragon Mall to enjoy its rejuvenating air-conditioning. We decided to stay and have a Thai Panang Curry meal with a stop at Mickey-D's for ice cream.