Bangkok Day 3: A leisure day of museum trips and handling tuk-tuk drivers

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Noridah

He planned Friday to be a free and easy day where we would explore Bangkok by foot at our own pace. It was supposed to be a slow day with trips to the museums and strolls on the western part of Bangkok. We took a cab from the hotel that drove pass iconic monuments in Bangkok like the Giant Swing, Democracy Monument and the city fortress.

National Museum, Bangkok

Our first destination for the day was the National Museum. The museum was rather quiet, there were 3 other couples studying the exhibits, a couple of male students taking photographs of every exhibit. You are allowed to do that by the way, you can take pictures of the exhibit but you can’t take photos with you in it.

When we were at the gallery, he said, “Looks like it’s only us for the whole gallery.” Just as suddenly a class of elementary school students came running into the gallery. I was like, “You spoke too soon, my dear.” The kids were running and screaming at each other, then the school teacher marched in and shouted at them to be quiet and apparently they went to the wrong gallery. The teacher and students wore the same uniform.

Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia that was never occupied by any colonial powers. While the Melaka Empire fought against Portuguese, Siam (Thailand’s old name) opened their doors to trade and forged relations with western empires. During World War 2, they allowed Japan to use Siam as a base to launch attacks on the Peninsula. They were spared of colonialism and war, but their fiercest battles were fought with neighbouring Burma. When the English called Asians monkey, the king himself (Chulalongkorn I think) went to Britain to show them that he was as civilized and articulate as them.

The first thing that struck me about the Museum was how pretty the roofs were. The rich color and intricate details of the orange roofs shone against the sun. The dagger-like details on a Thai roof are actually wings of the Garuda, king of birds.

Chapel at the National Museum

The Bangkok National Museum is divided into more than 50 rooms, including a functioning chapel, a library, a restaurant and a couple of pavilions. We spent most of our time at the Gallery of Thai History where the history of Thais were traced from the Neolithic Age up to the current king, King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX).

Apart from the paintings, artifacts and voice recordings, the showcases of little people reenacting the events in history were pretty amazing. I could feel the energy, rage, serenity and what not of their scenes like the one below. The figurines were in action unlike some of the museums I’ve been to, the dolls could appear static and dead. It took lots of imagination to recreate epic battles in the thick of action.

Little people at the National Museum

Here’s another one of a siege. I could almost hear their cries and it’s definitely not sawadeeka.

Siege

After that, we moved to the larger part of the museum that housed Thai’s crafts, treasures and textiles. Here’s the Red House, something like the Peranakan House with Chinese-like pottery and wooden furniture.

Red House at the National Museum, Bangkok

On the left was the Samranmukhamat Pavilion and the white building was just part of the other galleries.

Pavilion at the National Museum

In Room 17 was the Cremation Chariot Hall. These chariots brought to mind the chariots of King Tutankhamen of Egypt, except its design was distinctively Thai. The garuda wings and mini pagoda at the top plus the red and gold colour combination. It’s intriguing to note that two empires from separate corners of the world shared the same rituals and rites. How much different are all of us really are?

Thai Royal Chariot

We took a break at the Museum cafe and bought some souvenirs before taking a walk to the Grand Palace armed with an icy cold mineral water bottle. It was scorching hot and fumes from the parked row of buses by the roadside didn’t help.

Grand Palace

Unlike the National Museum, the Grand Palace was teeming with tourists. Here’s the walkway leading up to the palace. It brought to mind a similar shot at the Blue Mosque, Turkey, the sculptured trees, brick pavement and the intricate and grand architecture of the buildings.

Grand Palace, Bangkok

The different designs of pagoda at the Grand Palace.

Pagodas at the Grand Palace, Bangkok

We didn’t stay long at the Grand Palace because there was a royal funeral going on. We hailed a cab, and the driver asked how much did we pay to get there. It was 80 baht. So he said, why not pay me 50 baht but in return you follow me to a gold shop just stay there for 5 minutes.

What would happen is the cabs would bring you to a shop – gold, silk, anything really – you buy something, they get commission.Win-win, IF you actually want to buy something they offer. The thing is you don’t know where the shops are and how persistent the owners are for you to buy something. If you don’t, there is a chance the cab drivers will refuse to drive you back. But we said no and hailed another cab that used the meter.

Taxis in Bangkok use the meter, so only board the ones that do.

Went back to the hotel, rested, booked our trip to the Ancient City and by the time we set foot again, it was already 3pm. Initially we wanted to cover both Jim Thompson House and the Suan Pakkad Palace, but there was no way we could do both in time and I wasn’t about to quicken the pace of this leisurely day.

So we decided on Jim Thompson House because it was nearer, just behind Mabukong. We went to a couple of tuk-tuk drivers near the hotel and asked for a ride. He said, “100 baht”. We negotiated down to like 80 baht, and then there was this other guy standing nearby came up to us and said that Jim Thompson House would be closed at 4pm that day because it was Big Buddha Day. I didn’t know anything about the day and found it puzzling that Ratt (the tourism officer at the hotel) didn’t mention anything about it. He said he worked for the tourism office and lent his services to Novotel Hotel.

Instinctively, our “he’s a con artist” alert started flashing. But we played along, and said in that case we just take the tuk-tuk to Mabukong and he went “Nooo…” saying that MBK was not a good place to shop, suggested an expo like 10 minutes away. At that point I got fed up and said “No” and just turned and walked away. It’s easier to be a woman in situations like these, just walked away and they couldn’t do anything otherwise it would be like sexual harassment or something.

Here’s a tip when handling tuk-tuk driver, always ask how much, and if he says 100 baht, negotiate to like 70% or less. After agreeing on the fare, make sure you point out to you and the other passengers, make sure he really means the said amount for everyone. There are cases when they agreed on 100baht, and upon reaching the destination, the driver claimed he meant 100 baht per head.

We walked a few meters away and hailed a passing tuk-tuk. We said “Jim Thompson”, the guy looked blur, so my husband pointed at his shirt because Jim Thompson was known for its silk. I mean it is a tourist spot, how could anyone who service passengers near Siam Square and MBK not know it. My husband had a rough idea where the place was, so when the tuk-tuk made a wrong turn, he whispered to me, “I think he got it wrong, we will just alight where he stops and find our way from there.” You know what – the tuk-tuk driver stopped us in front of a random tailor shop by the road. We got off the tuk tuk and looked at each other with WTF looks. Perhaps, this was his father’s shop.

Hailed a cab this time and he brought us safely in one piece to Jim Thompson House.

Jim Thompson House

Also known as the Jim Thompson Museum, it is a real house designed and built by Jim Thompson, a former CIA agent from Delaware. He settled down to Thailand after the war and his divorce. He revived the craft of hand weaving of silk and contributed significantly to the industry’s growth and worldwide recognition accorded to Thai silk.

In love with Thai culture and architecture, he designed the house and decorated its interior with influences from the region. As with most authentic kampung houses, the house had no nails. So the doors and windows were angled in such a way that they did not need nails.

Jim Thompson went missing at Cameron Highlands in 1967.

Jim Thompson House

The first thing I asked the tiketing staff was what time would it close, and she answered – 6pm. Hah! Big Buddha Day, indeed. Isn’t it like bad luck to lie about the Buddha?

The tour at Jim Thompson House was well executed. The guides were articulate and brought small groups of visitors around the compound and into the house. The bedrooms, living room, garden and even a hut to keep rice were explained in great detail.

Waiting for the tour at the Jim Thompson House

The restaurant there was mentioned in many food blogs as one with the best view, that of a koi pond and the serene atmosphere of the area. Afterwards, we did a spot of souvenir shopping there. I didn’t buy much because it was rather pricey but now I regretted not buying more.

What's in my Jim Thompson shopping bag?

My humble purchase at Jim Thompson House. A light green silk shawl and a leopard print bag. The bag cost 2,000 baht, roughly about SGD 100. The Jim Thompson outlet at Raffles Hotel Singapore sold the same bag for more than SGD 300. So, if you go there, buy more bags will ya?

The funny thing is you can find almost any branded replicas at Mabukong – Chanel, Coach, Gucci, Burberry – but you can’t find any Jim Thompson. Local brands are better protected.

That’s it for Day 3, and the next day would be another shopping spree as we attempted Jatujak weekend market and celebrated someone’s hatch day.

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Bangkok Day 2 (Part 2): Cruising down Chao Phraya River

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Noridah

The early morning walk around Ayutthaya meant that our tummies were growling and our feet were aching by the time we reached Wat Chong Lom Pier in Nontaburi Province. Our original 3-storey cruise ship was switched to a 2-storey due to the flood and high water level. If the ship was too tall, it would not pass the bridges.

At the pier, there were men lugging sandbags on their shoulders and lining the fringes of the river with them. I guess they were trying to keep the water at bay. The whole week we were there, it didn’t rain heavily or anything like that, sure there were the occasional drizzles but that was it, so I didn’t understand where was all this water coming from.

There was a buffet lunch spread on the ship. Unfortunately, they served pork. So if you are a Muslim and want to opt for this cruise, make sure you pack some sandwiches for the trip. Plastic chairs were placed at the upper deck where we lounged lazily as the ship cruised down the river.

Chao Phraya River cruise

At one point, I took off my sandals and blanked out under the sun and warm breeze, then I panicked upon realizing that my sandals were missing. I had a sinking feeling that I might have accidentally kicked them off the ship! Luckily they rolled under the chair. Whew!

Houses by Chao Phraya

The high water level covered part of the houses.

Water hyacinths were brought to Thailand by the queen (don’t remember which one) because she liked them. Now, the sea plant is like weeds in the sea. They get into engines of boats and cause much nuisance. The picture below shows a heap of water hyacinths like a pile of rubbish.

Water hyacinth at Chao Phraya

The Rama Bridge, even though we have switched to a shorter ship, the top of the ship barely made it pass the bridge. The water level was really high.

Rama Bridge

This was quite a sight. We were cheering for the boats. Six tug boats appeared racing one another from a distance.

5 tug boats

As they drove past us, we could see each had a rope tied to its end.

Tug boats pulling...

Tug boats pulling a train of barges

They were pulling this train of barges.  There were ceramics and clay pots in there.

Train of barges

Here’s a sight of beauty. The Grand Palace shone from afar. The golden pagodas glistened under the sun. It was beautiful amidst the rather sad sight of the flooded houses.

Grand Palace from Chao Phraya River

A ferry carrying passengers crossing the river. It reminded me of the ferry we used to have at Sentosa.

Ferrying passengers across Chao Phraya

Flags of Thailand and the Royal flag adorning the bridges. The colour yellow is associated with the current king, so on a certain day, it is respectful to wear yellow shirts to show love for the king.

Thai flags on the bridge

The 3-hour cruise was a good respite from all the walking we had earlier. We were chauffeured back to the hotel. I don’t know which was more tiring all the walking around Ayutthaya or sitting at the deck for 2hours or so. But we were pretty shacked. He took a nap, and I wandered at the row of shops downstairs.

Came across the charming outlet of Etude House, a Korean skincare line. It was a pretty pink shop with interesting products like baking soda facial cleanser. Here’s my loot, Buy 2-get-1-free lip glosses and hand cream. The Etude lady threw in the pink make up bag and face masque for free.

Loot from Etude House

Cute huh? Four tubs of hand cream in little animals. They were packaged like eggs in a carton.

Hand cream from Etude House

Perfect gifts for the lovely ladies back home. To read reviews on Etude House, do visit Beauty Blog Asia.

We had dinner at the hotel, the next day would be filled with museum trips.

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Bangkok Day 2 (Part 1): Exploring Ayutthaya

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Noridah

Ruins of Ayutthaya

The trip to Ayutthaya was arranged by Ratt , the lovely tourism officer at the hotel. We were picked up from the hotel, transferred to a coach with visitors from other hotels and journeyed up to Ayuthaya, about 80 kilometers north of Bangkok.

The name might sound familiar now as it made the news for its floods that closed down factories and prisons. Just yesterday I saw a news clip of its prisoners being moved to a safer vicinity, in handcuffs they waded through the waist-deep waters. On our journey there, there were already floods that covered their houses. A 2-storey house became one as it’s lower half was consumed by the flood water.

Flood in Ayutthaya

When we were there, the floods were at an early stage. From the bus, it seemed that the Thai residents were not really affected, they still went about with their daily activities and used boats to move around. I think it had something to do with their gentle nature, they accepted the flood and fashioned their lives around it. They built a makeshift bridge made of wooden planks, so I’m guessing the floods were seasonal or perhaps existed for awhile. There were sandbags lining the roads, and later the tour guide, Paul (whose real name was Kumpol), told us that the villagers sacrificed their own houses by allowing floods to enter in order to keep the Wat (temple in Thai) safe and dry. So what they did was to channel the flood water away from the Wats and ruins of Ayutthaya and instead suffered the consequences.

Being the 2nd ancient capital of Siam, Ayutthaya boasted a number of temples and ancient ruins. There were 4 pit stops before we reached Wat Chong Lom Pier to take the river cruise. They were Bang Pa-In Summer Place, Wat Phra Maha That, Wat Phra Sri Sanphet (with the neighbouring Viharn Phra Mongkon Bopit) and Wat Nah Pramane.

Bang Pa-In Summer Palace

Built during the Ayutthaya era, the palace was beautifully decorated in both traditional Chinese and European styles. Upon alighting from the coach, I was testing the DSLR and accidentally slipped on the kerb, spraining my ankle. I have to admit I brought the wrong shoes, should have used my flats instead of the open-toed croc heeled sandals. What had a girl to do but gritted her teeth and limped her way around Ayutthaya.

What touched me immediately about Bang Pa-In Summer Place was its serenity and calmness. There was a river flowing through it, and water fountains at certain points of the river. It was a sunny day and somehow the sprinkles and the sun produced droplets of rainbow on the river.

I don’t quite know how to explain this, but on every trip that I went to there would be a magical moment where nature exhibited her true beauty in rainbows, clouds or the waves and it lent a special touch to the whole trip. I think in time to come, I will forget names of these buildings or what empire persisted in what ruins, but I will remember these special moments.

Like in Perth, I saw a full rainbow etched across the sky. In Turkey, I saw the sun so bright that it felt like God shone a torchlight and lit up the sea. In Egypt, there was that moment at the hotel balcony where I just stood and stared at the Nile. Sorry to digress, I hope to write those little stories in this blog. But there it was in Bang Pa-In, on the backdrop of an ancient palace, sprinkles of rainbows on the river made my day.

Bang Pa-In Summer Palace

The picture above was taken from the pavilion, the Thai-style pavilion across it was built by King Chulalongkorn in 1876. Called Aisawan-Dhipaya-Asana or The Divine Seat of Personal Freedom, it was a copy of the one at the Grand Palace built by King Mongkut. The light yellow coloured building on its left was the Residential Hall, as you can see its columns were European-styled. Paul the tour guide joked that the king was “corrupted” with European ideas and borrowed many architectural influences, so the summer palace was a fusion of Thai, Chinese and European designs. Like a fickle-minded person who couldn’t decide on the theme for his house. Onto the right, was the Devaraj-Kunlai Gate.

Doll Bridge at Bang Pa-In Summer Palace

The king was so in love with European design that he commissioned a replica of the bridge over Tiber River in Rome substituting the angels with Western deities and goddesses. I have mixed feelings about borrowing too much Western influences into an iconic place like the palace. For a king at that time to be able to travel to Europe was quite a feat (even now for normal folks like me it took a lot of preparations and money to do so) thus perhaps he wanted to share the Western beauty to his people, remember they didn’t have cameras like us today. On the other hand, it felt like an insult to Thai architecture which was already rich in symbols and metaphors. All that aside, I guess only in Bang Pa-In Palace, you will see how East meets West ever so glaringly. A real treat to the eye.

East meets West in Bang Pa-In Summer Palace

I’m not quite sure who the statue was, could it be David carrying Goliath’s slain head? But it looked like a woman, and the head looked like Zeus. Anyone can shed some light? You know what this means, I need a trip of Greece and Rome ASAP.

Tower at Bang Pa-In

We also came across a pretty house like the ginger bread house painted in lilac for the royal children to play in. Then there were the Phra Thinang Wehart Chamrunm, a Chinese-styled two-storey mansion, the Ho Withun Thasana or tower and several sculptured topiary plants in the shapes of local animal spreading across the grounds of the palace.

It was a good warm up for the long day ahead. Oh, did I mention the toilets there were really clean. So if you take this trip, make sure to use the toilets at Bang Pa-In before the next pit stop – Wat Phra Maha That.

Wat Phra Maha That

An attraction of this ruins was this famous Buddha head that was caught in mangled tree roots. During the war with Burma, the Burmese army slayed the heads of the Buddha statues, and one of them (I guess) was chucked into this tree. Some 600 years ago, Wat Phra Maha That was the heart and soul of Ayutthaya people. Over the years, the tree roots grew around the head but never covered the face of the Buddha.

Buddha head in the tree

We were addressed on basic etiquette on taking photographs whilst on the grounds of Ayutthaya. Due to its defeat to Burma, there were still many headless Buddhas lining the area. One of the rules was not to place one’s head on the headless Buddha and take photographs like in Universal Studios. Can you imagine people could actually do something like that?  Anyway, it is bad luck to do so, placing your own image on that of the Buddha.

As you can see from the picture below, some of the pagodas were leaning towards one side. Even though there were conservation work done to preserve the structures, the land itself was soft and moist. These buildings were over 600 years old. It’s different than the pyramids in Egypt, the humidity was arid and dry, so they were able to stand for thousands of years. We were advised not to lean on the leaning pagodas as they might just crumble upon us.

Cross-section of Wat Phra Maha That of Ayutthaya

Paul pointed to us the two different types of pagodas in Thailand. The stupa and the chedi. Sorry, I can’t seem to remember which is which. On the left is a corn cob shaped pagoda (that could be the chedi, an influence from Cambodia) and on the right, is the pointed pagoda with concentric rings on its top. The white slabs were recon work done on the pagodas. It’s interesting to see influences from India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malay and China in Thailand. Not just in its architecture but folklore and beliefs, more on than when we visit the Bangkok National Museum.

Stupa and Chedi

In front of a stupa at Ayutthaya

 

I love the picture on the left. My sprained ankle was mercilessly dragged on the uneven grounds of Ayutthaya. I was resting on the brick wall and asked my husband to snap a shot.

 

 

Why I like this photo?

1. Check out the clouds! They were forming a spaceship. The pointed pagoda looked like an antennae sending signals into the sky.

2. My newly-bought Thai silk shawl lent some colours to the picture, at least I’d like to think so.

3. I don’t look fat… sort of.

 

 

 

 

 

Viharn Phra Mongkon Bopit & Wat Phra Sri Sanphet

The next pit stop was the Viharn Phra Mongkon Bopit. There was an image of the Buddha that was said to be the largest bronze image seated in this temple. I’m quite uncomfortable sometimes when entering too many temples. The other patrons, the followers of the faith, would quickly bow to the Buddha, and there I was standing upright, it felt disrespectful but it’s not my religion, so I would just stand at the staircase take a quick peek and walk out. Funny isn’t it how a Buddha can make me uncomfortable but a bridge of Roman-Greek gods didn’t have that same effect. Anyway, the image of the Buddha in there was really big, they carved the Buddha first and then built a temple to house it because there was no way an colossal image like that could fit into the door.

Viharn Phra Mongkon Bopit

A bowl of lotus plant in front of the temple, said to be holy flowers for the Buddhist.

Viharn Phra Mongkon Bopit

A touch of nature at Viharn Phra Mongkon Bopit

Since we didn’t spend much time at Wat Phra Sri Sanphet nearby (we snapped a photo, the first on this entry), instead we went for a drink and watched the elephants. Some visitors opted for an elephant ride that took them around the perimeters of the area. We already took an elephant ride in Bali a couple of years back, I think that was enough torture for the elephant, so no need for such rides again.

I have to say that even though the villagers around the area looked poor, we didn’t face any touters like we did in Bali or Egypt. The shop sellers were not persistent and that gave us room to breathe and enjoy the sights better instead of trying to squeeze our ways out of a place.

Elephants at Ayutthaya

I shall end this long entry with a picture of a stray baby elephant roaming freely in the vicinity. I was standing and watching the big elephants eating straws when this little cutey snugged up behind me. Naughty, naughty, baby elephant!

Baby Elephant at Ayutthaya

We went to Wat Nah Pramane after that, but I didn’t take any photos. Some people sought their fortune there and bought amulets. I was really tired then and just wanted to settle in to our afternoon cruise and sail down Chao Phraya.

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Bangkok Day 1: City of Colours in the Land of Smiles

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Noridah

Busy road of Bangkok

It has been exactly ten years since he last set foot on Thailand. Having spent a good whole year in Kanchanaburi as part of his training, Bangkok was a monthly escape then.

So, when he suggested the trip to Thailand, we mulled over whether we should squeeze in a combination of Phuket-Krabi-Bangkok, quickly to decide to spend the whole trip in Bangkok, to get a better taste of the city. Different from previous trips, this time around he was in-charge of the itinerary. It read museum trips, cruise and shopping sprees.

It was my first time to Bangkok, having visited Hat Yai and Pattani on the southern parts of Thailand some 8 years ago. We took the Thai Airways to Suvarnabumi Airport in the early morning of September 28th, 2011.

One thing I like about landing in a foreign country for the first time is the journey from the airport to the hotel. Usually in a chartered car, van or taxi, my senses are more sensitive and perked up towards the new sights, sounds and smells. The short ride across the highway gave an insight of the busy roads of Bangkok and a cross-section view of its city. The buildings, schools, temples and billboards (of semi-naked women advertising lingerie, how distracting was that to drivers) were samplings of what the city had to offer.

Bangkok had an oldish feel to it but it was a clean city, and its building were finished complete with roofs! This was in contrast with buildings in Turkey and Egypt, more about those trips in upcoming entries. Yes, its roads were congested but at least not as chaotic as Cairo where there was no lane marking on the roads.

Upon reaching Novotel Hotel near Siam Square, we rested for awhile, and much to our delight the hotel provided free Wifi.

Afterwards, we took a leisure walk around the area covering Siam Discovery, which housed the Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum with figures of celebrities like Brad Pitt and Beyonce. Then there were Siam Square and Mabukong (MBK). I didn’t do much shopping except for a Thai silk shawl. There was a halal restaurant at MBK called Yana’s Restaurant offering a modest selection of Thai food and desserts.

He said the fast food outlets in Thailand were halal a decade ago, they are no longer so today. In fact, as I passed the MacDonald’s at MBK, there was a poster promoting pork porridge. So no fast food. We had to rely on the few halal eateries around and luckily the hotel had a halal selection, mostly Mediterranean spread of kebabs and grilled meat.

View of Bangkok from Novotel Hotel

The Bangkok skyline from our hotel window. Nothing particularly scenic but notice the electric or phone line tower that can no longer be seen in Singapore.

There was an old charm about Bangkok, the vehicles, buildings and structures like that tower. Whilst the buildings were mostly a mix of grey, black and white, the roads though were a plethora of colours. The taxis were in bright pink, orange, yellow, green and blue.

That was all for Day 1 in Bangkok, we were still tired due to lack of sleep the night before and the early morning flight didn’t help, so we went back to the hotel, reserved seats for our trip to Ayuthaya and …slept we did.

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