Because we can't resist trying to squeeze 10 pounds of potatoes into a 5 pound sack, the weekend Matty and I left for our holiday we hosted some of his friends in Exmouth. Matty and Tin (real name: Tim) worked together years ago and have stayed pals, and Tin brought along his partner, Maddie. The weekend was very confusing between mah-DEE and mah-TEE, but we managed. Lots of fun out on the water, and a great way to leave town before holidays!
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| Captain Maddie |
All of us left town on Sunday, Tin and Maddie to head home to Karratha, Matty and me for Perth to begin the multi-step journey to Thailand. We had grand plans of going to check out an Italian restaurant I had researched (I was REALLY hankering for some good spaghetti and meatballs - I miss Aunt Kar's meatballs!), but our flight ended up delayed by nearly 6 hours. Fortunately they kept us updated at the airport in town, so we headed back home and made a pork roast, watched a movie, and were nearly late getting back for our flight departure. But we DID make it, and it was a darned good thing we ate because I'd have been very hangry when we landed in Perth at nearly 10pm.
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| Well played, Perth Airport |
Our flight parth took us to Perth, then Kuala Lumpur the next afternoon, then to Bangkok the day after, so we didn't exactly have to rush to catch flights. We did, however, have to book hotels. In Perth, we booked into one of the Double Trees and spent the morning before our KL flight hanging in the rooftop pool. Delightful way to get holidays started! We didn't land in KL until late in the evening, so the airport food court was going to be our best bet for dinner. It's VERY large, with cafeteria-style serving stations that offer different types of international cuisine. That evening we took what we could get - whatever was cooking sounded good. Fortunately for us, the menus all were photos of dishes rather than names; very easy to point and say thank you with the only Malaysian phrase we know - "terima kasih." KL has a really handy airport hotel that you can walk to via skybridge, called Tune, so we boogied on over there after wolfing down some delicious noodles. Our flight to Bangkok was early, so I was happy to shower and then crash.
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| Kuala Lumpur airport |
We landed in Bangkok before noon and took a metered taxi to our hotel in the city. I told Matty there was an easy bus to take, but he looked at me like I had grown a second head when I suggested it. Add it to the list of things my partner has in common with my brother. We spent the afternoon wandering around our neighborhood, eating food from the street vendors that seemed to be everywhere, and trying to time our street crossings very carefully. Motorcycle and scooter traffic in Asia is no joke.
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| My first Asian squat toilet experience. |
Our time in Bangkok was a mix of wandering through shopping malls (Bangkok is a major shopping destination, in addition to being a food lover's day dream), getting spa treatments (Thai massage parlors are EVERYWHERE, and you can get an hour foot massage for, like, US$7), and eating. We swam in our hotel pool, ate dinner at a rooftop bar, and visted Buddhist temples. We drank lots of Thai milk teas, and I discovered that Matty has a bizarre bravery when it comes to novel food - he LOVES to go into 7-11 (there seemed to be a 7-11 on every street corner in Bangkok and everywhere else we traveled) and buy all the food confections and odd drinks that they sell. All the better, in his opinion, if the entire label is written in Thai and is thus a complete mystery. The cool thing about this propensity of his is that he'll actually eat it, even if it's not very tasty (waste not, want not), so I got to sample everything and he ate the things that were just too weird for my taste. Lots of little baked goods, lots of tumeric, lots of CBD mini-bottles; you name it, he tried it.
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| Bangkok |
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| Getting his hooves tended to |
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| Candy basket from the hotel that probably started the whole "search for fabulous desserts at 7-11" thing |
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| BBQ in Bangkok's Little Korea |
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| Shopping mall |
Temple explorations all happened on one bonanza of a day. We visited Wat Pho (home to the largest reclining Buddha statue in the world), the Grand Palace (a glittering former royal residence which is home to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Buddhist Thailand's most sacred relic [which is actually solid jade, not emerald, but whatevs]), and Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn. I convinced Matty to take the train to get around and we were super pleased to note that the public transit in Bangkok is very easy to manage. Great signs, easy to use kiosks for buying tickets (with an option to swap to English), and it dropped us basically at the door to Wat Pho.
As mentioned, Wat Pho is home to Thailand's longest reclining Buddha. The complex is home to the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand, and it's no surprise: the interior walls of the Temple of the Reclining Buddha are COVERED in incredible imagery (paintings and lots of gold leaf) in addition to the statues that are found all over the complex.
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| Matty with some of the chedi (Thai word for the structures seen here) at Wat Pho |
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| Gold leaf on the entry roof |
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| Temple complex map |
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| Statues around the complex were used as ship ballast in trading with the Chinese |
To non-Buddhist tourists, the 46m long reclining Buddha is the main attraction at Wat Pho. The statue takes up an entire building, the walls, ceiling, and floors of which are all covered in beautiful artwork.
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| The soles of the feet are inlaid with mother-of-pearl images |
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| Even Buddha's square pillows are fabulous |
According to Buddhist teaching, Buddha has 108 auspicious characteristics which range from "the palms and soles are soft" to "the back is smooth and equal" to "the eyes are dark black." They're represented in the mother-of-pearl inlay on the bottom of the feet of the reclining Buddha, and visitors to the temple may make donations in 108 bowls which line the interior wall. It is thought that donating to all 108 bowls is auspicious, so you can make a donation to get a bucket of "coins" which you can deposit in each bowl. Obviously, dropping coins into brass bowls makes a bit of racket. Obviously, Matty wanted to do it.
Besides the 108 auspicious characteristics, Buddha also has 32 attributes (plus 80 other "trivial features") which range from him having a commanding voice to posessing undented kneecaps which do not protrude. Part of the temple complex includes an educational area devoted to showing off these attributes of Buddha.
To Thai and Buddhist visitors to the temple, the most important portion is dedicated to Phra Ubosot, the ordination hall and most sacred space in the temple complex. Some of King Rama I's ashes are interred there, and all the most important religious ceremonies take place inside. It is the building at the complex's center, around which everything else is organized.
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| Phra Ubosot |
Wat Pho is regarded as Thailand's oldest center of public education. Its murals and statues were used for education since the temple was first built in the late 1600s (before Bangkok was even the nation's capitol), and it now houses a school of Thai medicine (since the mid 1800s) and Thai massage. Apparently it's a great place to get a traditional Thai massage, so bear that in mind when you visit!
Wat Pho was incredible. We nearly called it a day after exploring there, but the Grand Palace was just next door; how could we skip it? We took a little break at the park, Matty got a very overpriced coconut to drink, and we cooled ourselves in the shade.
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| Walked past the Ministry of Defense on the way |
Thirst slaked, we wandered down the street to the Grand Palace, home to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew). When you walk into the courtyard, it is absolutely dazzling. The temple itself is decorated in glass mosaics, so the building itself sparkles like the most brilliant, multi-colored gemstone. My photos just do not do it justice.
The Temple is the most sacred in Thailand, as it houses the Emerald Buddha, believed to be a protector relic of the nation. The Buddha itself is made of jade, and clothed in gold. Lots of signs ask visitors not to take photos, so I didn't, but it's not a terribly tall Buddha - less than 3ft high. While the Emerald Buddha is the focal point, the whole display shows many other images as well, including many representations of members of the royal family. Really beautiful.
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| Shiny gold leaf in the sunlight... |
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| ... color and no shine without sun |
We were well past lunch time and I was tired and hungry. There was a third temple I wanted to see, but I couldn't be bothered to walk there (even though it was nearby). I was cranky. Matty was (as usual) easygoing. I suggested we go back to the pool at the hotel and cool off. Matty agreed. But then I deviated from the planned route and walked down what looked absolutely like a tourist trap of a roadway, filled with magnets and post cards and sarongs that could have been made anywhere in the world. Thank goodness a proprietor of a restaurant flagged us down, weary tourists that we were, and brought us delicious food. We were reinvigorated!
After some lunch we got motivated to walk. I suggested we walk to the river to LOOK at the temple (which was located on the other side), but said we could skip actually seeing it. He was on board. So away we walked. We get to the ferry and look across the way and there's hardly anything to see! Where is the temple!? It must actually be much smaller than all the magnets make it seem. So we decided to head back to the train by walking along the river and follow Plan A: Hotel Pool. Walking, walking, walking, and then we glance back across the water and BOOM there is a LARGE TEMPLE! It turns out my map reading skills are lacking. It turns out there was a ferry terminal coming up hot for dirt cheap. It turns out that we were going to see a third temple that day.
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| Wat Arun is covered in beautiful porcelain mosaics |
The temple is beautifully lit up at night, if photos are to be believed, but we were there about 2 hours before the sun was due to set. We'd had a long day of roaming, so I decided that visiting Wat Arun for the night view is going to have to wait til our next trip to Bangkok. It was time to get to the hotel pool for a dip and a drink and some dinner.
