We've arrived in Thailand! Well, we arrived a little over two weeks ago, but the fog of jet lag is only now beginning to lift. So here's our first blog post from the Land of Smiles, Pratheet Thai, Land of the Free.
(Yes, I'm still months behind chronicling our adventures in India. You'll have to bear with some time travel for the next little while. Enter the TARDIS.)
There's a lot about Thailand that reminds me of Chennai -- the heat, vegetation, and snakes in the yard come immediately to mind -- but there's also a lot that's different. Thais are not so traditional in their dress and mostly wear Western clothing, which fools dummies like me into thinking they'll speak English, too. Not so! Very few Thais I have met speak English -- or not much more than "hello," anyway -- except for one extremely nice woman at the local Big C who was very concerned that I might leave the store without claiming my free mouthwash. I'm going to be learning some Thai!
Two weeks in country means two weekends in which to explore. Woot! We have not been idle.
Johnny has a book of 101 wonders of the world (according to whoever wrote this particular book), and Johnny has been busily checking off the things he's already seen. As soon as we found out we'd be coming to Bangkok, he informed us that the Emerald Buddha is in Bangkok and that we'd need to see it post haste. So our first sight-seeing adventure in Thailand was the Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha (and here).
The Grand Palace is the seat of the kings of the Chakri Dynasty. The current king (Thailand is a constitutional monarchy), Bhumibol Adulyadej, is the ninth in the dynasty and so is known as Rama IX. He doesn't actually live at the Grand Palace, but it's still used frequently for ceremonies and state functions. The entire complex is stunning, but I especially loved the temple complex in the outer court.
The temple complex, or Wat Phra Kaew, was our first stop, because Johnny was going to DIE if he didn't see the Emerald Buddha IMMEDIATELY!
The gates are guarded by giant demons.
I love this very natural-looking Buddha statue at the complex entrance. (I'm not entirely sure it's the Buddha, but I'm pretty sure.)
Offerings are similar to what we saw in India -- flower garlands and lotus flowers on long stems.
The architecture is what's known as old Bangkok style, built in the 1700s. All of the buildings at the temple complex are covered in colorful, sparkling tiles made of glass and enamel. Beautiful!
This woman was just inside one of the entrances preparing flowers for offerings.
The inside of the wall that surrounds the temple complex is entirely covered with murals. John and I were standing there wondering what story the murals were telling when Johnny threw up his hands and said, "It's the Ramayana, of course!" He's right (of course). The Thai version of the epic is called the Ramakien, and although the story and characters are the same as in the Indian version, the setting is distinctly Thai. Read about it here and here.
I knew that the Chola Empire of South India had a big influence on this part of South Asia, but it's been pretty surprising to me to see the strength of that influence. The Hindu god Hanuman is on the seal of the kids' school, the International School of Bangkok, and I've seen images of Hanuman, Vishnu, Shiva, Indra and Brahma everywhere. Thailand is 96 percent Buddhist, and I guess I wasn't expecting the Buddhism to be so connected to Hinduism. Looks like I need to do some studying.
More giant demons ...
The murals are protected by an ornate roof ...
The temple complex is full of mythological creatures, like this tantima bird guarding one of the temples ...
... some kind of lion thing?? (again, I need to do some research) ...
... the Thai version of the naga ...
... demons supporting a shrine ...
The temple that houses the Emerald Buddha is especially ornate, and the bright sun makes it even more spectacular.
You can't take pictures inside the chapel, but you can sneak one through a window. The Emerald Buddha is actually carved of jade, and the legend is that the country in possession of it will be blessed with prosperity. The Thais are VERY proud to have it, and its story has strong ties to the history of Thailand and the Chakri dynasty.
Detail outside the chapel ...
Offerings left in honor of the Emerald Buddha. There was also a huge bowl of holy water where people would dip their flowers and then sprinkle the water over their heads.
Demons and naga on the outside of the chapel ...
Here are Evie and Samuel around the back side of the temple complex. We went around back to use the restrooms, where (I am THRILLED to announce) I was able to communicate with a very friendly old Thai lady. I understood her questions about the names and ages of the kids and answered reasonably well. Yay, Thai quick course!!!
The kids do attract attention here, as they did in India, but Thais seem to understand the Western idea of personal space a little better than Indians do. Sam and Evie are getting some pinched cheeks, though.
The peaks of the temple rooflines have what's called a cho fa, which I think looks a little like a peacock's head.
And what does Samuel find so amusing ... ?
... this crazy picture from the Ramakien murals. I'm not familiar enough with the story to know what's up here ...
I love watching how people worship in sacred places throughout the world. Here worshippers were covering these Buddha images with small squares of gold leaf ...
... as well as leaving flowers and incense sticks.
We've arrived in Thailand during the hottest of the hot seasons, and though it's not too much worse than May in Chennai, an ice cream break was pure bliss.
Then it was on to the Grand Palace. We couldn't see any of the interiors, and we're not sure if they're ever open to the public (will be researching that), but the buildings were spectacular. Here's a balcony with a throne ...
You can see some Western influence in the style of the buildings and some Chinese influence in some of the décor ...
I love these doors!
We had to sprint from the Grand Palace to one of the little museums on the grounds to avoid the daily downpour, but we happened to shelter in the museum that houses the different golden outfits that adorn the Emerald Buddha in different seasons. Score! (No photos allowed.)
Lunch in a tiny Thai restaurant (yummy) ended our first downtown experience. Stay tuned! More to come! And there's still a lot of India to see, too! Ack!
(Yes, I'm still months behind chronicling our adventures in India. You'll have to bear with some time travel for the next little while. Enter the TARDIS.)
There's a lot about Thailand that reminds me of Chennai -- the heat, vegetation, and snakes in the yard come immediately to mind -- but there's also a lot that's different. Thais are not so traditional in their dress and mostly wear Western clothing, which fools dummies like me into thinking they'll speak English, too. Not so! Very few Thais I have met speak English -- or not much more than "hello," anyway -- except for one extremely nice woman at the local Big C who was very concerned that I might leave the store without claiming my free mouthwash. I'm going to be learning some Thai!
Two weeks in country means two weekends in which to explore. Woot! We have not been idle.
Johnny has a book of 101 wonders of the world (according to whoever wrote this particular book), and Johnny has been busily checking off the things he's already seen. As soon as we found out we'd be coming to Bangkok, he informed us that the Emerald Buddha is in Bangkok and that we'd need to see it post haste. So our first sight-seeing adventure in Thailand was the Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha (and here).
The Grand Palace is the seat of the kings of the Chakri Dynasty. The current king (Thailand is a constitutional monarchy), Bhumibol Adulyadej, is the ninth in the dynasty and so is known as Rama IX. He doesn't actually live at the Grand Palace, but it's still used frequently for ceremonies and state functions. The entire complex is stunning, but I especially loved the temple complex in the outer court.
The temple complex, or Wat Phra Kaew, was our first stop, because Johnny was going to DIE if he didn't see the Emerald Buddha IMMEDIATELY!
The gates are guarded by giant demons.
I love this very natural-looking Buddha statue at the complex entrance. (I'm not entirely sure it's the Buddha, but I'm pretty sure.)
Offerings are similar to what we saw in India -- flower garlands and lotus flowers on long stems.
The architecture is what's known as old Bangkok style, built in the 1700s. All of the buildings at the temple complex are covered in colorful, sparkling tiles made of glass and enamel. Beautiful!
The inside of the wall that surrounds the temple complex is entirely covered with murals. John and I were standing there wondering what story the murals were telling when Johnny threw up his hands and said, "It's the Ramayana, of course!" He's right (of course). The Thai version of the epic is called the Ramakien, and although the story and characters are the same as in the Indian version, the setting is distinctly Thai. Read about it here and here.
I knew that the Chola Empire of South India had a big influence on this part of South Asia, but it's been pretty surprising to me to see the strength of that influence. The Hindu god Hanuman is on the seal of the kids' school, the International School of Bangkok, and I've seen images of Hanuman, Vishnu, Shiva, Indra and Brahma everywhere. Thailand is 96 percent Buddhist, and I guess I wasn't expecting the Buddhism to be so connected to Hinduism. Looks like I need to do some studying.
More giant demons ...
The murals are protected by an ornate roof ...
The temple complex is full of mythological creatures, like this tantima bird guarding one of the temples ...
... some kind of lion thing?? (again, I need to do some research) ...
... the Thai version of the naga ...
... demons supporting a shrine ...
... and these kinnon, half bird, half man.
The temple that houses the Emerald Buddha is especially ornate, and the bright sun makes it even more spectacular.
Look at Johnny's face. This is the face of a boy who's just checked something off his bucket list. Emerald Buddha? Been there, done that.
You can't take pictures inside the chapel, but you can sneak one through a window. The Emerald Buddha is actually carved of jade, and the legend is that the country in possession of it will be blessed with prosperity. The Thais are VERY proud to have it, and its story has strong ties to the history of Thailand and the Chakri dynasty.
Detail outside the chapel ...
Offerings left in honor of the Emerald Buddha. There was also a huge bowl of holy water where people would dip their flowers and then sprinkle the water over their heads.
Demons and naga on the outside of the chapel ...
Here are Evie and Samuel around the back side of the temple complex. We went around back to use the restrooms, where (I am THRILLED to announce) I was able to communicate with a very friendly old Thai lady. I understood her questions about the names and ages of the kids and answered reasonably well. Yay, Thai quick course!!!
The kids do attract attention here, as they did in India, but Thais seem to understand the Western idea of personal space a little better than Indians do. Sam and Evie are getting some pinched cheeks, though.
The peaks of the temple rooflines have what's called a cho fa, which I think looks a little like a peacock's head.
And what does Samuel find so amusing ... ?
... this crazy picture from the Ramakien murals. I'm not familiar enough with the story to know what's up here ...
I love watching how people worship in sacred places throughout the world. Here worshippers were covering these Buddha images with small squares of gold leaf ...
... as well as leaving flowers and incense sticks.
We've arrived in Thailand during the hottest of the hot seasons, and though it's not too much worse than May in Chennai, an ice cream break was pure bliss.
Then it was on to the Grand Palace. We couldn't see any of the interiors, and we're not sure if they're ever open to the public (will be researching that), but the buildings were spectacular. Here's a balcony with a throne ...
You can see some Western influence in the style of the buildings and some Chinese influence in some of the décor ...
Here's a member of the Royal Guard at his post outside the main doors to the palace. We also saw some guard units marching around the complex.
I love these doors!
We had to sprint from the Grand Palace to one of the little museums on the grounds to avoid the daily downpour, but we happened to shelter in the museum that houses the different golden outfits that adorn the Emerald Buddha in different seasons. Score! (No photos allowed.)
Lunch in a tiny Thai restaurant (yummy) ended our first downtown experience. Stay tuned! More to come! And there's still a lot of India to see, too! Ack!
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