The Journey, pt.9
June 11 - Ayuttaya, Bangkok
Up at 6:15ish, out the door by 7:15. Van would be driving us, as he had the day off. Pell also took the day off to join us, and our next door neighbor (a friend of the family in her 60s or 70s with a bad hip) as well, so our typical touring party of four grew to seven. Pell and the neighbor opted to ride in the bed (Van has a pipe-frame and canvas bed cover that you see on a lot of pick-ups here, so they were well shaded) while the rest of us rode in the cab. Ayuttaya was only 40 minutes away from where we were staying (it's actually just over an hour away from Bangkok proper), and is pretty much connected to Bangkok to start with. I suppose you might even consider it a suburb, as on the drive, we never passed an unpopulated area.
We first stopped at what appeared be a monastary; since Heather had pants on, there was no enforced wardrobe change. Across the river from the parking lot, actually on an island in the middle of the river, you get there not by bridge, but by suspended cable car. There was lovely architecture, a beautiful garden, and a beautiful (if small) Buddhist temple complete with crystal chandeliers and stained glass windows. Remove all the Buddhas, and you would think it a small but rich Catholic church. Riding back across the river, we got a quick breakfast of guay dtiao and pork satay with peanut sauce. As the eatery was right by the river, they also ran a short boating tour. These were the long, narrow boats, similar to the one Roger Moore has in The Man With The Golden Gun, except they seat two across. They're also propelled by 4-cylinder turbodiesels pulled from cars or trucks with a propeller bolted to the drive shaft. It's funny looking, but effective.
The boat ride was short, taking us around the area, but mainly past the Bang Pa-in palace, a home to previous Thai royalty, and a vacation home for current Thai royalty. Once ashore, Bang Pa-in turned out to be a two minute walk away. Once again, we were hit with the Fuck-You-Foreigners-Fee at the door (100 baht vs. 25 baht), but no wardrobe change for anyone for most of it; all our ladies wore pants. The gardens were lush, the lawns were expansive, and the buildings were ornate. There were bush sculptures, including an elephant family, rabbits, lions, and a clarinettist. (Yes, a clarinettist.) The ponds (more like mini-lakes) were filled with large koi and large tortoises that snacked on the bread sold for 25 baht nearby. On the grounds was an astoundingly ornate and beautiful Bhuddist temple built for an ancestral king by the Chinese. Many of the walls are constructed of ornately carved woodscreens painted in many colors (though mostly red and gold). There's actually a living quarters for that ancestral king inside: bedroom, dining room, tea room, for what I can only assume was long stints of meditation and worship. No one was allowed into that area, although you walk along the outside corridors and peer in via glass windows. Like any temple or palace building, no shoes, and no pictures on the inside. Some of the photos I took from the outside give the smallest hint of the intricacies of the handiwork inside, but the photos are of poor quality, as my digicam died, and I had to use the photograph function on my camcorder instead. Also there was the ancestral kings living quarters/throne room, which required a sarong for the women regardless of what they wore underneath. Once again, no pictures. This particular king had driven the Burmese out of Ayuttaya, so he is still worshipped very much like a god figure. Like Buddha, he is prayed to and given offerings - at his statue in his monument, many Thais were praying, and buying little stuffed roosters from the nearby shop to place in his courtyard as offerings. Heather thought they were cute - I'll even admit that they looked more like children's toys than a religious offering. The whole yard was filled with plastic and stuffed black roosters - this king was a big fan of eating chicken and cockfights. He believed eating roosters would give his army fighting spirit.
I loved the name of that place: Bang Pa-in. In my mind, it was quickly re-written "Bang - PAIN!" which made me crack up every time I saw it.
Back into the Colorado, and we headed to Wat Yai Chaimonkorn, which houses THE MOST STATUES OF BUDDHA EVAR. Seriously. There's the large one in the temple, where again, many Thais were praying, offering incense and fruit (and bottled fruit juice with the ever present straw) to the statute. Then there was the courtyard of the main Wat, which pretty much looks exactly like the Angor Wat wonder in Rise of Nations. Heather and Pell and I scaled the steep stairs and walk around the upper level, looking over the whole complex. Gathered around the main Wat was a square border consisting of stone Bhuddas, all identical, side by side - something out of a cloning lab. Long earlobes, gold robes, lotus position, same size, with larger ones straddling the entrance and at the corners. I didn't count them all; it would have taken a good 10-15 minutes. Also on the site was the famous "Reclining Buddha," which everyone's seen. If you haven't, go back and play Street Fighter II, and get to Sagat's stage. Remember now? Good. Except that if the Thai people EVER caught you engaged in a street fight in front of a Buddha statue, they'd drag you into the street and tear you to pieces. I digress.
We stopped for lunch (guay dtiao niu - BEEF!!!), while also helping a tourist couple (a German and a Canadian) find a place to buy a coke (not a Coke, but a large, stone pestle and mortar). After lunch, we planned to visit another historical site, but it was closed, so we hit a wholesale fruit market. Here, we picked up some husked durian, lychees, giant grapefruit (roughly 10" diameter), and jackfruit. We didn't stay there too long, but it was neat to see. Directly after that, I pursuaded Mom and her friend to pursuade Van to drop us off downtown at a jewelry shop so I could by Heather a ring. I've been wanting to buy her one for a while now, and I figured getting her one in Thailand was a golden opportunity (*slaps knee*). Thai gold is pretty unique - usually sold around 99.75% pure, it is closer to deep orange-yellow rather than typical yellow gold, and is always rated at 22 karats (whereas most of the world deals in 10, 14, 18, and 24). The hard part is that you can only choose from the selection on hand that they have in your size. After much perusal, she found what she liked, and now has her own Quarter-Baht gold ring.
(No, it doesn't mean it cost a quarter baht. Baht is also a unit of measurement for the weight of precious metals in Thailand.)
We wanted to do something for our host family, so we asked to visit a supermarket before going home. Instead of Super C, we instead visited a Tesco Lotus, which is still a Wal-Mart like store, except that part is upstairs. Downstairs (ground level) is a minimall with several eateries, including DQ, Mister Donut, and KFC, where we had dinner. There was a wine vendor, fasionable clothing stores, quite a bit in all, actually. Upstairs, we shopped for candy and toys for the kids (Myoo and Baht), and also bought clothing for the whole family.
When we got home, we rounded everyone up for a picture together, and had dinner. The trip home would be another long day, and Heather and I were ready to rest up for it.
Up at 6:15ish, out the door by 7:15. Van would be driving us, as he had the day off. Pell also took the day off to join us, and our next door neighbor (a friend of the family in her 60s or 70s with a bad hip) as well, so our typical touring party of four grew to seven. Pell and the neighbor opted to ride in the bed (Van has a pipe-frame and canvas bed cover that you see on a lot of pick-ups here, so they were well shaded) while the rest of us rode in the cab. Ayuttaya was only 40 minutes away from where we were staying (it's actually just over an hour away from Bangkok proper), and is pretty much connected to Bangkok to start with. I suppose you might even consider it a suburb, as on the drive, we never passed an unpopulated area.
We first stopped at what appeared be a monastary; since Heather had pants on, there was no enforced wardrobe change. Across the river from the parking lot, actually on an island in the middle of the river, you get there not by bridge, but by suspended cable car. There was lovely architecture, a beautiful garden, and a beautiful (if small) Buddhist temple complete with crystal chandeliers and stained glass windows. Remove all the Buddhas, and you would think it a small but rich Catholic church. Riding back across the river, we got a quick breakfast of guay dtiao and pork satay with peanut sauce. As the eatery was right by the river, they also ran a short boating tour. These were the long, narrow boats, similar to the one Roger Moore has in The Man With The Golden Gun, except they seat two across. They're also propelled by 4-cylinder turbodiesels pulled from cars or trucks with a propeller bolted to the drive shaft. It's funny looking, but effective.
The boat ride was short, taking us around the area, but mainly past the Bang Pa-in palace, a home to previous Thai royalty, and a vacation home for current Thai royalty. Once ashore, Bang Pa-in turned out to be a two minute walk away. Once again, we were hit with the Fuck-You-Foreigners-Fee at the door (100 baht vs. 25 baht), but no wardrobe change for anyone for most of it; all our ladies wore pants. The gardens were lush, the lawns were expansive, and the buildings were ornate. There were bush sculptures, including an elephant family, rabbits, lions, and a clarinettist. (Yes, a clarinettist.) The ponds (more like mini-lakes) were filled with large koi and large tortoises that snacked on the bread sold for 25 baht nearby. On the grounds was an astoundingly ornate and beautiful Bhuddist temple built for an ancestral king by the Chinese. Many of the walls are constructed of ornately carved woodscreens painted in many colors (though mostly red and gold). There's actually a living quarters for that ancestral king inside: bedroom, dining room, tea room, for what I can only assume was long stints of meditation and worship. No one was allowed into that area, although you walk along the outside corridors and peer in via glass windows. Like any temple or palace building, no shoes, and no pictures on the inside. Some of the photos I took from the outside give the smallest hint of the intricacies of the handiwork inside, but the photos are of poor quality, as my digicam died, and I had to use the photograph function on my camcorder instead. Also there was the ancestral kings living quarters/throne room, which required a sarong for the women regardless of what they wore underneath. Once again, no pictures. This particular king had driven the Burmese out of Ayuttaya, so he is still worshipped very much like a god figure. Like Buddha, he is prayed to and given offerings - at his statue in his monument, many Thais were praying, and buying little stuffed roosters from the nearby shop to place in his courtyard as offerings. Heather thought they were cute - I'll even admit that they looked more like children's toys than a religious offering. The whole yard was filled with plastic and stuffed black roosters - this king was a big fan of eating chicken and cockfights. He believed eating roosters would give his army fighting spirit.
I loved the name of that place: Bang Pa-in. In my mind, it was quickly re-written "Bang - PAIN!" which made me crack up every time I saw it.
Back into the Colorado, and we headed to Wat Yai Chaimonkorn, which houses THE MOST STATUES OF BUDDHA EVAR. Seriously. There's the large one in the temple, where again, many Thais were praying, offering incense and fruit (and bottled fruit juice with the ever present straw) to the statute. Then there was the courtyard of the main Wat, which pretty much looks exactly like the Angor Wat wonder in Rise of Nations. Heather and Pell and I scaled the steep stairs and walk around the upper level, looking over the whole complex. Gathered around the main Wat was a square border consisting of stone Bhuddas, all identical, side by side - something out of a cloning lab. Long earlobes, gold robes, lotus position, same size, with larger ones straddling the entrance and at the corners. I didn't count them all; it would have taken a good 10-15 minutes. Also on the site was the famous "Reclining Buddha," which everyone's seen. If you haven't, go back and play Street Fighter II, and get to Sagat's stage. Remember now? Good. Except that if the Thai people EVER caught you engaged in a street fight in front of a Buddha statue, they'd drag you into the street and tear you to pieces. I digress.
We stopped for lunch (guay dtiao niu - BEEF!!!), while also helping a tourist couple (a German and a Canadian) find a place to buy a coke (not a Coke, but a large, stone pestle and mortar). After lunch, we planned to visit another historical site, but it was closed, so we hit a wholesale fruit market. Here, we picked up some husked durian, lychees, giant grapefruit (roughly 10" diameter), and jackfruit. We didn't stay there too long, but it was neat to see. Directly after that, I pursuaded Mom and her friend to pursuade Van to drop us off downtown at a jewelry shop so I could by Heather a ring. I've been wanting to buy her one for a while now, and I figured getting her one in Thailand was a golden opportunity (*slaps knee*). Thai gold is pretty unique - usually sold around 99.75% pure, it is closer to deep orange-yellow rather than typical yellow gold, and is always rated at 22 karats (whereas most of the world deals in 10, 14, 18, and 24). The hard part is that you can only choose from the selection on hand that they have in your size. After much perusal, she found what she liked, and now has her own Quarter-Baht gold ring.
(No, it doesn't mean it cost a quarter baht. Baht is also a unit of measurement for the weight of precious metals in Thailand.)
We wanted to do something for our host family, so we asked to visit a supermarket before going home. Instead of Super C, we instead visited a Tesco Lotus, which is still a Wal-Mart like store, except that part is upstairs. Downstairs (ground level) is a minimall with several eateries, including DQ, Mister Donut, and KFC, where we had dinner. There was a wine vendor, fasionable clothing stores, quite a bit in all, actually. Upstairs, we shopped for candy and toys for the kids (Myoo and Baht), and also bought clothing for the whole family.
When we got home, we rounded everyone up for a picture together, and had dinner. The trip home would be another long day, and Heather and I were ready to rest up for it.