Emerald Buddha, Smells, Multitudes, and the King

Day Two (Thursday) ... after a robust late breakfast at the hotel on the terrace overlooking the Chao Praya river, we jumped onto a river taxi and headed to Ratanakosin, home of Wat Phra Kaeo and the Grand Palace. Wat Phra Kaeo is an amazing collection of gold-painted buildings meant to honor Buddha. A building there houses a small emerald buddha atop (yet another) ornate pile of gilded stuff. This is one of the most venerated sites in Thailand ... people come to pay their respects to the Lord Buddha and his teachings. The emerald buddha itself is made of a block of green jade. In the courtyards and terraces outside this building are statues of elephants and mythical beings -- including multiple statues of one odd creature that combines a woman and a lion.


The trip to Ratanakosin was an adventure in itself ... the river ferries pause only briefly at each stop on the river. The driver approaches each pier quickly, and a deckhand lassoes the pier and pulls the boat in. The passengers have just a few moments to jump onto the pier (or jump on the boat). Then the deckhand blows a whistle in a special way to signal the driver that they're off again. The next gauntlet is upon arrival at the Ratanakosin pier. First a crowded market of stalls selling trinkets and unique but odiferous foods, then many would-be guides offering tours of the site. We were warned in advance that some guides would claim that Ratanakosin was "closed until 1:30 pm", then offer to take you elsewhere, and sure enough they did!


Bangkok has a unique combination of smells ... from the high heat/humidity rotting anything organic to the smell of the river (not exactly pristine) to the odors of food cooking on small stoves along the sidewalks. It's a unique smell, not exactly bad but not exactly pleasant either -- a sweet and sour odor with just a touch of rot!


The number of people in the relatively small space of this city is phenomenal! This is population density, from the cars, trucks, scooters, and cyclos crowding the streets to the throngs on the sidewalks. One interesting consequence of such a large population is a large labor pool, and the ability to double or triple staff most jobs. The small duty free area at the airport had four employees working -- one to handle the payment, another to put the goods in a bag, another to seal the bag and hand it the customer and the fourth to just observe! The concierge at the hotel when we checked in at midnight had TWO people on staff at that hour. We ate today at a restaurant with 2-3 people serving our table -- and it wasn't a high end place.


Another interesting curiosity is the love and veneration of Thailand's 80-year-old King. His photo is displayed around the city, and his recent hospitalization has caused great worry for the country. A dinner cruise boat tonight has the words "We love our king" displayed in lights on its side. Not bad for a guy who looks like a COBOL programmer!


Tomorrow (Friday) we're off to the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market (100 km southwest of Bangkok) and to Kanchanaburi, where the infamous Burma-Siam railroad built in 1942 and 1943 crossed the River Kwai.