We all took four days off to take Carola to Bangkok for her flight home and for a little R&R for ourselves. The drive down was an adventure in itself- it is monsoon season and the heavy rains can cause flooding on the roads. Luckily our Toyota Hilux has great 4WD and made it though multiple feet of standing water without protest. It’s about 8 or 9 hours from PKWS to Bangkok, and the rain didn’t help our situation but we all made it ok eventually. After dropping Carola and the truck off at her hotel we headed across town for some budget accommodation in the backpacker’s area.
Khao San Road is the center of the backpacker’s district in BKK. There are tons of hostels, used book stores, clothing stores, street food, travel agents, bars, nightlife, etc. that cater to backpacker’s needs. We were looking specifically for a cheap place to sleep and some help planning a day trip, but we were also pleased for the opportunity to eat Western food! Khao San Road does not paint an accurate picture of Thailand, but it is worth a visit, especially if you have been in the forest for some time. We really liked the area where we stayed and will return there in a few months when we go back to Bangkok to renew our visas.
The first night we headed to the Indian quarter on a recommendation for a great restaurant. The Royal India turned out to be one of the best places I have eaten in Thailand and definitely the best Indian food I have ever had. Any of you who are planning on visiting me can look forward to going there! It doesn’t look like much from the outside (the directions were literally “turn down the side street so narrow you couldn’t get a car down there”) but the inside and food make up for it. It has won a bunch of awards and they make their own confectionary on site. Mmmm.
The next morning we got up early for a day trip to Ayutthaya (Aye-you-tee-ya), the “mueng gao” (old city). Ayutthaya once was the capital of Thailand, but it was sacked by the Burmese 400-500 years ago, at which time Bangkok became the capital. We hopped on a local bus but then hired a woman with a longboat to give us a tour. Most of the wats (temples) are on an island, and there are few bridges across to the one’s that aren’t, so a boat is a good means of transportation. There had been a lot of flooding in Ayutthaya too so we couldn’t see all of the places we wanted to but it was great to be on the river taking everything in.
Wat Phra Si Sanipet was probably my favorite. It reminded me of walking through Roman ruins when we were on tour with Chorale in Italy, except there were all sorts of crumbling Buddha images and chedis. Ayutthaya is still a working city, so these ruins are dotted through commercial areas. Wat Phra Ram was also really pretty- it looks over a lake filled with lotus plants and the green grass makes a nice contrast with the red brick ruins. Even though it rained a bunch we made the most of our day and returned to Bangkok to bum around on Khao San Road.
The boys slept in the next day but I got up early and headed over to the National Museum. Tours are given in multiple foreign languages on a regular basis, and it was a great opportunity for me to learn more about Thai culture from an English-speaking guide. The National Museum contains treasures from Thailand but also the rest of Asia as well, and is the largest museum in Southeast Asia and the second-largest museum in Asia. Photos weren’t permitted but I’ll try to describe one of my favorite artifacts.
When Buddha was alive, he requested that his followers not make images of him in order to remember his teaching. Granted, this request has not been followed judging by the prevalence and prominence of Buddha images in Thailand, but other images have been used to represent Buddha as well. My favorite piece at the National Museum is one of these images- a wheel of law/knowledge. This stone wheel in particular is about 1 m in diameter and has been weathered more in some places than others and thus is an abstract black and white design from a distance. How it was found is an interesting story.
A member of the royalty or another powerful person (I can’t remember which) once was in a market where a man was selling a crouching deer statue. This type of deer statue always accompanies a wheel of law, reminding worshippers that on the first day that Buddha gave a sermon, even the deer stopped to listen. Seeing this large deer statue, the royal asked where the wheel was, but the seller had no idea and said there was no wheel but that he had found the deer on his farm. The royal offered to buy the man’s farm on the spot, provided that the man show where he had found the deer. Sure enough, a few feet underground was this large, detailed, and beautiful wheel of law.
In the afternoon I met back up with Zach and Rich at Wat Pho for Thai massages. Wat Pho is the site of the reclining Buddha, but also the place where Thai massage was founded and continues to be taught today. Unlike Swedish/oil massage, Thai massage is performed with the clothes on and in a public area. The masseurs use their entire body to bend and press yours in a way that both stretches and relaxes your muscles. We all agreed it was a great way to spend the afternoon!
The next morning we headed across town to pick up the truck and drive back to Tung Ka Mang. Navigating Bangkok in the morning wasn’t too bad and after 9 hours in the car, a stop for groceries and some last Western food (yep, they have KFC and DQ here) we were driving back into the sanctuary and mentally preparing to run the project on our own until Carola returns in November.
