Buddhas, Massages and Flyovers

Bangkok connotes exotic for most people. My first impression was that it was so much like India. Everywhere you go, you are surrounded by flyovers and yes, those damn one-ways just like Bangalore. And both the flyovers and one-ways haven’t eased the traffic situation in anyway.

A four day trip is too short a time to explore Bangkok. Most of my time went in looking at Buddhas of all sizes made from all different materials. Jade, 22-carat gold, bronze, cement, resin, wood, hide, you name it. With most of the population being Buddhist, its no wonder that they have as many pagodas as we have temples in India.

Eddie- our guide was more interested in packing as many things as he could in a day rather than letting us soak in the place. We always knew we had reached our destinantion when he said “ Welcome, welcome” in his typical sing-song fashion. He would also say “Thank you, driver” very loudly at regular intervals. The driver didn’t seem to understand any English at all, so I have no idea for whose benefit Eddie said it.

The weekend market(Chatuchak), the floating market, the night market- Bangkok is a shoppers paradise, you can find anything you want. The only pre-requisite being that you are good at haggling. They will quote outrageous prices and even if you half that price and buy the object of your desire, you will come away with this lingering doubt that maybe you could have bought it for cheaper. Personally, I enjoyed the ferry ride to the floating market more than the shopping itself. But if you have ever taken a boat ride in the exquisite back waters of Kerala, this is not so exciting.

Bangkok is also about their famed massages. I did get a 2 hour Thai massage for just 500 baht. They use acupressure techniques and it was pretty relaxing after the hours and hours we spent walking around looking at Buddhas.

We also visited the old Thai capital of Ayyuthaya (sounds so much like Ayodhya., doesn’t it!). Magnificient gardens surrounded by ponds. European architecture blending with Thai, giving it a very unique look and feel.

Another interesting temple ( though closed for worship) is Wat Arun. The temple of Dawn. (yup, Arun means the same in Thai as in Hindi). The temple is decorated with broken pieces of ceramic plates and other such things that were found from Chinese shipwreck years ago. Unless you went clsoe to the temple, you would neve know it was made from scrap.

I know Bangkok is one place I will visit again. There is a lot still so much to explore!