| December
13th Log |
Dec 13th Pics |
| Up again at 5 a.m. Oh well, at least
I'm not out getting myself into trouble! And, in to each sunny
day, a little rain must fall. Fortunately, it was just a little
rain. I pulled out my battery charger, stuck in the batteries,
found the appropriate adapter, and put it into the wall. POP!
The charger started smoking, and just blew up. I'll get another
one later.
I went down to the travel agent to arrange my tours for today
and tomorrow. This afternoon I will take the City & Temple Tour.
For tomorrow, I will go on the Bridge on the Rive Kwai Tour.
After breakfast, it was time to do some exploring on my
own. I used the Skytrain today. It was pretty darn easy.
You walk up to the map, see where you want to go, then look at
the number next to your stop (it's the number of zones). My
number was 3. You walk up to a ticket machine, hit the correct
number, put in the correct amount of coins, and out pops a
ticket. Very similar to Washington, D.C. I got on the train,
went 2 stops, made a connection, then got off at the next stop.
Once off, I followed the signs to Jim Thompson's House. I
paid 100 Baht, then waited on my tour guide. She took us around
the house and showed us many interesting things. The
architecture was very impressive.
From the Lonely Planet Guide Book to Thailand
"For an immersion in authentic Thai residential architecture
and southeast Asian art, visit Jim Thompson's House. The
home's former owner, American silk entrepreneur Jim Thompson,
deserves most of the credit for the worldwide popularity of
Thai silk. A tireless promoter of traditional Thai arts and
culture, Thompson collected parts of various derelict
Thai homes in central Thailand and had them reassembled in the
current location in 1959. Although for the most part assembled
in typical Thai style, one striking departure from tradition
is the way each wall has its exterior side facing the house's
interior, thus exposing the walls bracing system."
Jim Thompson' House |
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| My next stop was the electronics
store. The place I picked was a five-story department store,
just like any place in the USA. The charger cost me 600 Baht.
Bummer. I sure hope it will work in the other countries on my
trip. I took the Skytrain back to the hotel, had lunch, and
waited for my next tour. There are only 2 of us on this tour.
The other person is a nice gentleman from Wales. He has been to
SE Asia several times and has many good suggestions for me.
Our first place to go is the Golden Buddha, know as Wat
Traimit. Pretty cool.
From the Lonely Planet Guide Book to Thailand
"The attraction at Wat Traimit (Temple of the Golden Buddha)
it is, of course, the impressive 3m tall 5.5 ton, solid gold image, which gleams like no other golden artifact we've ever
seen. Sculptured in the graceful Sukhothai style, the image
was discovered some 40 years ago beneath a stucco or plaster
exterior, which fell from a crane while being moved to a new
building within the temple compound. It has been theorized
that the covering was added to protect it from marauders,
either during the late Sukhothai period or later in the
Ayuthaya period when the city was under siege by the Burmese.
The temple itself is said to date from the early thirteenth
century. "
Golden Buddha |
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| Along the way to our next
destination, we went through Chinatown and the Flower Market.
The next stop was Wat Pho, home of the Reclining Buddha. It was
a very impressive sight. The Buddha image was
huge and the grounds were very large. This is probably one of
the best things I have visited in Bangkok.
From the Lonely Planet Guide Book to Thailand
"The oldest and largest wat in Bangkok, Wat Pho features the
largest reclining Buddha and the largest collection of Buddha
images in Thailand, and was the early center for public
education. The tremendous reclining Buddha, 46m long and 15m
high, illustrates the passing of the Buddha into nirvana. The
figure is modeled out of plaster, around a brick core and
finished in gold leaf. Mother of pearl inlay ornaments the eyes
and the feet, the latter displaying 108 different
characteristics of the Buddha."
Reclining Buddha
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| Our last temple stop was Wat
Benchamabophit. Another outstanding temple with many Buddha
images. From the Lonely Planet Guide Book to Thailand
"Made of white Carrarra (Italian) marble, Wat Ben was built
in the late nineteenth century under Rama V. The large
cruciform bot is a prime example of modern Thai wat
architecture in Thailand. The base of the central Buddha
image, contains the ashes of Rama V. The courtyard behind the
bot exhibits 52 Buddha images representing famous figures and
styles from all over Thailand and other Buddhist countries -
an education in itself if you are interested in Buddhist
iconography."
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| Well, another great day in
Bangkok. It's time for dinner, then probably back to bed. I have
to get up around 5 a.m. for the next day's tour. |
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