NEPAL NOTES तीन
October 20, 1989
Friday 12:20 am
Bangkok Ramada Inn
(not that Ramada Inn)
or
"Temple of the Emerald Buddha"
One of the many temples (100 ct) there
This is a special Area located in the middle of the city of Bangkok
After waiting at the Bangkok Airport for daybreak, we finally found a hotel and slept from 10 am to 9:30 pm yesterday.
My sister Jane, a live tourist, at Wat Phra Kaew
You can see where they were working on the temples, some over 200 years old
For no particularly good reason, at the airport we opted for a taxi driver who wanted to take us to the Ramada Inn from the airport during our day and half layover in Thailand. It turned out to be no relation to any hotel we’d ever heard of.
The drive from the airport was interesting. It was like any aggressive rush hour until the motorbikes got into it.
They filled all the gaps between the cars at freeway and city speeds. We didn’t see any accidents on the drive which surprised us. I thought for sure we’d see blood somewhere along the route. I was glad I wasn't driving!
Death defying tourists in a 3 wheel taxi
They filled all the gaps between the cars at freeway and city speeds. We didn’t see any accidents on the drive which surprised us. I thought for sure we’d see blood somewhere along the route. I was glad I wasn't driving!
Bangkok Water Tours on the Chao Phraya River
I’m generally not drawn to cities but Bangkok has been interesting thus far. We are in a downtown area that has a lot of traffic.
Water Taxis too!
Another live tourist (me) at Wat Phra Kaew
There was one temple which had a 90' ft Gold Buddha statue,
and of course, the main temple which had
an Emerald Buddha carved out of a single piece of Jade
At one point I did venture off the main thoroughfares into a residential / shop area.
Each temple was in the architectural style of " Rattanakosin"
or old Bangkok style - many mosiacs, roof tiles, and marble pediments
Wat Phra Kaew is regarded as the most sacred place there;
Buddhism is widely practiced in Thailand.
It occurred to me that this was a much of a wilderness (to me) as anything I could find in Canada or Alaska...
~ Mr. Foresterman, aka Mike Grinyer, Forester
geweldig wat een land wat moet je veel tot je nemen in z,on korte tijd.
ReplyDeleteWe were in Bangkok once--it was absolutely fascinating!!
ReplyDeleteReally enjoying the pictures and descriptions. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteSuch exotic-ness! I love the landscaping around the temples - so beautiful. And those gams! No wonder our Feral Woman was drawn to you... :) As far as the traffic, I don't know that my heart could have withstood that kind of life/death chaos. LOVE the journal!
ReplyDeleteGW Feral Woman & Mr Foresterman,
ReplyDeleteI've always loved the temples found in Asia. Great pictures!
As for the traffic, they always drive crazy.