'Cat Tracks: Thai a Yellow Ribbon ... More Bangkok for Your Buck ... and the Wai .....

All photos by Yahn Smith

Gold Stupa at the Grand Palace, Bangkok, right

Back on October 28, 2007 I published a topic post titled "'Cat Tracks ... On the Road Again ...." thus neatly "borrowing" part of my title from both Willie Nelson and Jack Kerouac (mentioned in the post). In that piece, I was discussing a planned road trip, which is one of my favorite things. If Yahn and I are together, we have a wonderful time talking and, if the conversation lags, I read to him to help pass the time (anything from magazines to novels), commentary on which always sparks more conversation. If I'm traveling alone, I always enjoy listening to "my" music, singing along with it as closely as possible to the correct key, drinking in the scenery on the way (without wandering too far from attention to the road into reverie), and having long conversations with myself and (one or more of) my alter egos. Win-win.... (grin)

Since the inception of the blog, Yahn and I have mentioned several things about the trips we have taken together and Nicki (bless her!) has made the same (possible ... grin) error in judgment that Morris and Carol Higley and Darryl Morris made many years ago ... she's encouraged me/us. (Blast From the Past: Westerns ... "Star Trek" ... and "As You Like It" .... posted February 15, 2008.)

So ... in talking with Nicki about upcoming blog posts this week, we thought it might be fun (perhaps even inspiring) to continue the "'Cat Tracks" theme, not only to relate the tales of Yahn's and my travel experiences, but also to encourage everyone who reads the blog (that means YOU!) to contribute stories of your travels ... the things you experienced, the people you met, the things you saw and did, and the impressions or lessons you absorbed by being outside your comfortable cocoon of everyday living.

The trips don't have to be out of the country or off the continent. As I am frequently reminded, there are so many things to see and do in our own country. Raenell in particular has wonderful memories of the trips she and Jim have taken to Branson, Missouri (alluded to in her Show and Tell post on January 28, 2007), and to other great places. And now that I mention it ... we DO so want you guys out there to write for "Show and Tell" too. (See Nicki's post We Need You! , published February 15, 2008.) I know Linda Kay, Linda Key Rothwell and Clara would be able to contribute to the travelogue, and there are others, certainly including (but not limited to, as we used to say in legalese) Mike and his wonderful tales of all his world trips in connection with his job, Darryl from his years in the Army, and Phil Tutor "speaking" on his adventures related to his ministry.

Please, please ... send any travel stories you want to tell to me, or to Nicki, for inclusion in future "'Cat Tracks". Pictures would be great, too, if you want to share them. Nicki and I do so love putting up posts and stories by others ... it gives us a rest, and keeps us (as I've said before) from just blathering away at each other. (grin) We DO need you to help keep the blog "rollin' rollin' rollin'...."

And now ... since Yahn and I have talked a lot recently (and farther back) on the blog about our trips to Egypt (but believe me, there is lots more to tell), I give you the story of our trip to Bangkok ... illustrated with the gorgeous photos taken by Yahn while we were there. There are additional photos of Thailand with accompanying text by Yahn in the "Short Notes" section (Images from Thailand ... Bralee ... and the "Spirit Houses"....).

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At 8:00 a.m. Friday, June 25, 1999 Yahn and I took off into a clear blue sky on the first leg of our trip to Bangkok (Houston Intercontinental to San Francisco, San Francisco to Hong Kong, Hong Kong to Don Muang International Airport). It was our first landing at Hong Kong's new international airport (Chep Lap Kok), and I must say it was a lovely experience ... although I did suffer a certain nostaligia for the nail-biting, panic-inducing landings made at the old Kai Tek airport, where the flight paths came down through corridors of high rise apartment buildings, and you could see and pretty much wave to the occupants if you could stop gripping the seat long enough.

After being in transit for some 25 (25!) hours, we finally staggered off the plane in Bangkok at 10:00 p.m. Saturday, June 26 ... having by that point stomped on and obliterated our last nerves. Fortunately the airline in its infinite wisdom had generously upgraded the Hong Kong-Bangkok portion of our trip to Business Class, where the slightly mellowing effect of the free champagne probably prevented us from doing actual bodily harm to ourselves or others.

There was a car and driver awaiting us after we cleared Customs and we were whisked to our hotel, the Shangri-La, on the banks of the Chao Phraya (the River of Kings), where we gratefully, if not gracefully, collapsed into a dead sleep.

We arose (reluctantly) bright and early the next day to have breakfast before going on the half-day sightseeing tour provided as part of our incredibly reasonable air-hotel package. That morning, and every morning during our stay, we indulged in the Shangri-La's sumptuous buffet breakfast, enjoying our coffee and croissant and assorted other goodies on the terrace, watching the river come to life. The Chao Phraya is a "working" river, the major artery of Bangkok, and the best way to get around to avoid the horrendous traffic jams on the streets.

After breakfast we were met by our guide, Anchali, who was absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, as so many Thai people are. We acknowledged her greeting to us by reciprocally performing the wai. The wai is executed with palms pressed together as in prayer, reminiscent of the Indian Namaste, with an accompanying bow. The higher the hands are held in relation to the face and the lower the bow, the more respect or reverence the giver of the wai is showing to the receiver. [Side Note: In Japan, bowing when meeting or leaving someone is a true ritual, again involving the depth of respect accorded the person to whom you are bowing, and it's best to try to hit a happy medium, without overdoing or underdoing it. When we were there in 1986, we entered a store ... and the store clerk bowed to us, and we bowed to her, and she responded with another deeper bow, which we returned ... if we hadn't come to our senses and stopped bowing when we did, we all would have been somersaulting down the aisle in another bow or two. But I digress....] The wai is also used when thanking or apologizing to someone. Anchali then took us on a private tour of Wat Benchamabopit (the Marble Temple), Wat Po (the temple which houses the gigantic golden Reclining Buddha..see photo on the left) and Wat Traimit (the temple of the solid gold Buddha).

The solid gold Buddha (previously mentioned on the blog in "Bobcat Treasure: Gold ... King "Tut" and the "Lost Buddha" ....", posted October 20, 2007) is not only breathtaking, but has an interesting history. It was apparently lost for about 700 years, and you may well ask: How can someone lose a five and half ton solid gold Buddha? Well, it seems that once long ago, while Thailand was being invaded (yet again) by the Burmese, an enterprising Buddhist monk covered the Buddha with a concrete-like plaster to save it from being stolen and carried back to Burma. However, for some unknown reason, it was simply forgotten that a large gold Buddha was inside all that unprepossessing plaster until the figure was being moved in the mid-1950s, when it was accidentally dropped and cracked open to reveal the serene golden Buddha, waiting patiently for all those centuries for its "reincarnation".

Our second day in Bangkok, we rented one of the ubiquitous "long-tail boats" and sped off along the river and through the canals (called klongs). At one time, Bangkok was known as the "Venice of the East" because the klongs were the major means of transportation around the capital. In recent years, many of the canals have been filled and paved, but there are still enough of them to make interesting sightseeing, conveying an idea of centuries of life on the river, frozen in time. At intervals, when things looked interesting, we stopped and disembarked the boat. I almost ended up in the Chao Phraya more than once ... sometimes I have difficulty navigating across flat, wide spaces of terra firma, so stepping up or down from a rocking boat was a true challenge. We also took time to tour the lovely Wat Arun (the Temple of the Dawn), the huge floating "garage" for the Royal Thai Barges, and the massive and beautiful Grand Palace enclosure, where we visited the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (it's really jade) and marveled at the other sights of that fascinating site. Needless to say, it takes a bit of orientation (no pun intended) before you really begin to figure out which wat is what (pun definitely intended)!

During our sojourn we also took a day trip to Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand (known for centuries as Siam ... remember the movie The King and I, with Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr?). After much internecine warfare between Siam and Burma, Ayutthaya was sacked and burned a few hundred years ago, at which time the capital was moved to Bangkok. The Khmer ruins which remain at Ayutthaya are stark and hauntingly beautiful, and you find yourself sliding seamlessly into complete immersion in the pervasive sense of history and timelessness.

We traveled to Ayutthaya by bus in the early morning, then after touring boarded an elegant boat owned by the Shangri-La, where we were served a lavish lunch and drinks while drifting lazily back to Bangkok, observing the peaceful, serene countryside and the towns along the river.

At intervals, we left the confines of our wonderful hotel (hard to do, I must say) to just walk around, observe life in the streets and interact with the people of the city, who are gracious beyond words (or possibly beyond belief, given the level of rudeness which seems to have become prevalent in many places). Of course we did spend quality R&R time at the hotel pool and the hot tub, both of which are alongside the Chao Phraya and allow colorful views of the daily river traffic. Other sybaritic pleasures included indulging in a full-body, one hour aromatherapy massage (which could be taken at poolside or inside the hotel's health club), a manicure and pedicure ... ALL ... ALL, I say ... for about $23 TOTAL (!!!) given the exchange rate at the time.

A couple of evenings we just retreated to our room, called room service and had a quiet, romantic dinner watching the psychedelic sunset from our balcony overlooking the Chao Phraya. We also took in a dinner and show at Salathip, which featured classical Thai dance and traditional dishes. For those looking for nightlife, there are numerous discos and a variety of music clubs, running the gamut of musical tastes. And ... if you really want to walk on the wild side, there's Patpong, which makes the French Quarter in New Orleans look like a church social, although I do understand Patpong may be a little "cleaner" since we were there.

Of course, shopping was high on our agenda! There are many unusual and exquisite things to buy in Bangkok, for not a lot of money ... although you can certainly break the bank if you are so inclined. At the time of our trip, Asia was undergoing an economic crisis (kind of like we are now) and, although the dollar no longer goes as far in Bangkok (or a lot of places) as it did then, you can still find great buys. If you're interested in jewelry, you can get wonderful prices on sapphires and rubies (rubies! ... see Bobcat Treasure: Rubies ... Mystic Powers ... and Valentines .... , posted February 4, 2008) in custom-designed settings. We really liked the handmade temple masks, which we brought back for several of our friends. High quality Thai silk is another great bargain, and you can purchase silk scarves and neckties, or you can have a dress or suit completely tailored for you in just a couple of days. We also bought some intricately hand-carved teakwood pieces to decorate our walls. You should have seen us schlepping them back on the airplane ... those things are heavy!!!! Best, of all, Thai handicrafts are exempt from the limits of the usual U.S. Customs duty-free allowance which apply when you return from abroad.

Thailand is gorgeous ... serene and uber-exotic. The Thai people are gentle, charming and fun-loving, and for the most part, quite friendly and helpful. As in any large city or unfamiliar setting, you should exercise caution where strangers are concerned, but there is not a high level of danger or antipathy to travelers ... specifically, to Americans ... as there is in some parts of the world. The population is 90-95% Buddhist, with the remaining small percentage divided among Muslims, Christians, Hindus and others. Thailand is quite tolerant of its minority religions.

If you go, you would do well to remember a few points of etiquette. Thai people are passionately proud of their royal family (the royal color is an intense yellow) and do not take kindly to jokes or slurs made about their beloved King Bhumibol (Rama IX), currently the longest-reigning monarch in the world, or Queen Sirikit. As a historical note, Rama IX is the descendant of Rama IV (King Mongkut ... played by Yul Brynner in the aforesaid The King and I) and Rama V (King Chulalongkorn, the Crown Prince in the movie).

In addition, when you enter a temple, you must remove your shoes. While in the temple you should be careful not to point your foot (or feet) at the Buddha; there are attendants who ensure that this stricture is observed. Indeed, it is considered bad manners to point your foot at anyone, since the Thai people consider the foot both literally and figuratively the "lowest" part of the body. Similarly, it is held to be "bad form" to touch or pat a person (even a child) on the head because that is the "highest" part of the body. A woman should never sit next to, touch or hand anything directly to a Buddhist monk (see photo on the right); anything which needs to be given to a monk by a woman should first be given to a man, who can then pass it to the monk.

We stayed in Thailand for seven nights, and wish it could have been longer. I would like to have gotten down to the coast to Phuket (hit by the terrible tsunami of 2004, but up and running again), which has incredible beaches and rock formations on the Andaman Sea, or up to Chiang Mai, which is cooler and mountainous. I also would have liked to take an overnight trip to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Oh, well ... if Yahn is ever able to fly again, we will be there!!! Not to seem ungrateful, I do so appreciate the wonderful experiences we did have.

Oh yes. On our return trip we got to do Saturday July 3rd twice ... thanks to the International Date Line. We saw the sun rise on Saturday morning, just as we were taking off from Bangkok ... and then we got to see the sun rise again, over the Pacific Ocean, just before we touched down in San Francisco at 8:00 a.m. ... that same Saturday morning! Disorienting, to say the least .... (grin)

View of the Chao Phraya River, Bangkok, early in the morning, from our hotel balcony

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