TKO

Day Three: 2/14 – Touring Bangkok
Title: TKO

Greetings from Bangkok! I am currently writing on the way to our first stop of the day, which I believe is the Golden Buddha. I was warned that there would be lots of traffic and long rides; therefore I brought the computer to log details as we go.

I’ll quickly review a few of the things I left out from last night. When landed at BKK we parked at a “temporary” gate. That means we parked out in the middle of nowhere, walked down stairs and road buses over to the customs line. Departing a 747 in that fashion is pretty cool because it allows you to appreciate the shear massiveness of that particular aircraft. It is mind boggling to think that something so large can travel so many miles.

After clearing customs we were met by our tour guide Roslin. She is a super petite Thai woman with skater style. She has short spiky hair and rocks some pimped out old-school adidas kicks. I was sure that she batted for the other team but she just told us that she has a daughter. I’m not sure whether it’s more shocking that she has a daughter or that the daughter is 15 (Roslin looks like she’s 25). Most importantly her English is very good. She is well informed and easy to talk to.

The hotel we are staying in is nice. I was concerned since it wasn’t listed in any of the guidebooks that dad purchased but he assured me that was simply because the hotel was too new. I find that a little hard to believe because parts of the hotel are slightly tired… regardless it is plenty adequate.

This morning Roslin picked us up in a pretty sweet Mercedes van. It can seat 11 people. There are only four of us in it (the three of us plus the driver). I told Roslin last night that I wanted to keep an eye out for basketball hoops (most of you know I collect hoop pictures from around the world). We made a quick stop outside the government stadium at a government run university. There was a guard protecting the property. He said we would need permission to take a picture of the hoop, so Roslin and I went on a little adventure and finally found the right person to ask. He gave us permission. I couldn’t understand a word of what he was saying, but it was clear that he thought I was crazy. I think in all of the pictures I have taken this is the first time I needed “permission.” Imagine, Ron, if we had asked for permission in East St. Louis. I think we would have come back in body bags ;~)

The Golden Buddha was great. Not necessarily because the Buddha was large and shiny (it was) but because there was a boys’ school directly adjacent to it. You know what that means… more hoops! The lighting wasn’t great but I think that some of them will still turn out pretty well. There were also some little kids on recess outside playing. They were super cute. Dad and I got some good pictures of that as well.

Our next stop was the Reclining Buddha. It is rather amazing that it only took me four hours of exploring to appreciate how thankful I am that I don’t worship idols. The crazy ritualistic stuff they have is insane. Yes I realize that sentence was redundant, Ilsa ;~> To make my point I will tell you that they literally have slot machines to determine their fate. The sad thing is this stuff isn’t a joke. They seriously believe that the fortune they receive from the slot machine is going to be their lot in life. Thank you God for placing me in a Christian household in the good old US of A.

After the Reclining Buddha we visited our first market of the trip; “The Market at the Mouth of the River” known to expats as the “Flower Market”. Mom would have absolutely LOVED this place. You could buy… today… Valentine’s Day… yes they celebrate Valentine’s Day with Cupid and all… bundles of 75 roses for $7.50. The best part is .10 cents a rose is DOUBLE the normal price. I can’t even imagine how pretty the arrangements in our house would be if we lived in Thailand.

We just spent the better part of the afternoon at the Grand Palace. I have to say that this was my favorite palace that I have seen in all of my trips to Asia. Many of the buildings are done with a mosaic finish that is absolutely resplendent. Each piece of the mosaic is hand made, hand cut and then hand placed. I can’t imagine having the patience to make a piece 2’ by 2’, no less a 10,000 square foot building. Truly amazing.

Post Grand Palace we made a stop at the Marble Temple. This couldn’t compare to the Grand Palace in beauty but I did take two hilarious pictures certain to be included in this vacation’s slideshow.

We just finished a quick stop at a gem factory. Thailand is known for its gems. Dad nearly bought mom the “emerald” that he gave her oh so many years ago… but I talked him out of it. You can thank me or blame me later mom ;~>

I bet you all were wondering when I was going to write about the food… well we FINALLY ate something! We had a western buffet breakfast this morning but hadn’t really had anything since. Roslin tried to talk us into going to KFC or McDonald’s but dad was (thankfully) adamant that he wanted Thai food. We went to a GREAT local restaurant. We had chicken and cashews, coconut chicken soup and two phad thais. All were fantastic. Our total bill with two bottled waters was roughly $10 and we surely had enough food to feed four.

We are currently on our way to the Thai Kickboxing match. I am pretty excited about this. One of my favorite things I did with Joe on our trip to Japan was see Sumo Wrestling. I am hoping that the kickboxing offers the same cultural experience.

While I have a little time, I’ll mention a few overarching thoughts on Bangkok.

I am surprised by how well people stay in the lanes here while driving. I think it in all seriousness is better than all of the other Asian countries where I have gone. Part of that may have to do with the fact that there are so many cars on the road that you can’t go anywhere anyway (there are 12 million people in greater Bangkok).

Thai people absolutely LOVE their king. There are pictures of the guy up EVERYWHERE. Evidently he is some 81 years old and believed to be a “half person/ half God”.

The taxi’s are pink… and I don’t mean bubble gum pink… I mean Victoria’s Secret hot pink. Don’t worry B… I have a picture for you.

There are kitties EVERYWHERE. Typically (read in Chile, Bali & Taiwan) you see stray dogs running all over the place. Not here. There are some dogs, but primarily the animals are cats. They are surprisingly friendly too. Joel will be happy to know that I pet almost all of them. Joyce will be happy to know that Mia has relatives here. Seeing them helped me miss Mia less… but only a little ;~>

This isn’t a Bangkok fact, but the Doctor P. fun fact of the day. Dad lived just North of London for four months in 1964 working for May & Baker Ltd. His job was to torture poor innocent little kitties! At least that’s what I heard… he described it as some sort of neuromuscular blocking drug testing. He claims the kitties didn’t feel anything (“no pain!”) because “they were anesthetized very gently by my (his) loving hands”. He then went on to describe shocking them with electrodes. The bottom line is they ended up dead. He is going to Hell.

It is 10:40 pm and I am now back in the hotel. Dad and I just returned from watching seven kickboxing matches. I have never been intimidated by a Thai man in my life… but let me tell you… these guys were tough. They still were probably only 5’ 5” and incapable of growing a beard but man were they strong. I would not want to be hit by one of their flying punches or kicks.

Our seats to the match were in the first row ringside. They did not provide the best overall view in the arena but they certainly gave a serious taste of the action. Three out of the seven matches we watched ended in knockouts where the competition left on a stretcher. The first guy destroyed a knee (they like to kick at each others’ knees). The second guy destroyed what appeared to be a shoulder and the third guy just got straight destroyed. He was out cold for a good 30 seconds. I shot video of one round just so you at home could see what this sport is like… and it just so happens that the one round I chose was the full-on knockout. What can I say? I have good timing.

Dad and I have another busy morning planned for Bangkok (wake up call at 6 am… uhhhhg) and then in the evening we are flying off to Chaing Mai.

I hope you all are well and I’ll write again soon.

Katy