Visa on arrival at Bangkok as well, just as in Hong Kong. All we need are two photos, original passport, and 300 Thai Baht per person. The airport is huge. We finally located the visa counter and filled in our forms etc. The chaps at the immigration counter were so very much like Indian clerks: merrily chatting away. The stern looking chap who took our forms was imitating someone, much to the amusement of the others. Our visas were finally processed in some twenty minutes amidst peals of laughter, jokes and comments amongst the visa counter staff!

Bangkok resembles India in many ways. First, the clerks who have their minds on anything but work. Second, rip offs: we were surrounded by taxi operators who wanted to take us to our hotel for THB 600. One chap quoted THB 500. One very honest counter chap advised us not to fall prey to these vultures, and offered us the cheapest ride at THB 250, but tried to sell us a compuslory taxi tour instead! We shrugged off all these chaps, and settled for the THB 250 taxi ride.

We checked into the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza on Shilom road at some 0235 hrs, and slept like logs till some 1035. Three days of hectic touring at Hong Kong, plus the flight had taken their toll.

We were pleasantly to see Hindu gods embedded on the wall in the hotel reception.

We went down into the hotel reception lobby late in the morning, and booked tickets for our tours for the next two days. No way we could catch any of the tours the same day. The departure times for tours in Bangkok are unusual: 0835 and 1315. We went out for lunch, and located an Indian restaurant. We gorged ourselves at India Hut, after surviving on junk food in HK for the past three days. Wife and son are 100% strict vegetarians, and the HK food scene was not quite to our liking.

The Holiday Inn Crowne Plaze is situated on a slight height, and an inclined road leads to the portico. We noticed another Hindu temple at the base of this incline. Usually, very few temples are dedicated to the Hindu god Brahma, the creator. Bangkok seemed to be an exception. This one was at the base of the incline, which I mentioned just moments ago.

Having dined and made arrangements for the following days tours, we were left with the afternoon off. The charming old lady who'd sold us our tour tickets had suggested we poke around and visit the Wat Arun, or Temple of Dawn. Another Indian influence: the lady's name was Supatra, adaptation of the Indian name Shubhadra. The name is fairly common in Thailand, we later saw another Supatra among the employees at the hotel.

Bangkok is divided into two parts by the Charo Phraya river running right through the city. Given the desperate traffic conditions in Bangkok, and unending traffic jams, the river is a very convenient and fast mode of transport.

Apart from various boats plying on the Charo Phrayo river, Bangkok is famous for its famous water buses. Large motor boats are fitted with bus type seats inside. There is a driver (steering with a typical bus type steering wheel) up front, and a landing platform at the rear. The best way to reach Wat Arun was to take a water bus, we were told. So here we are then, waiting for the water bus. Wife and son are posing, while a water bus speeds past.

A long tunnel like passage leads from the main road to the water bus stops on the river bank. Most of these stops are well signposted. Only problem is, boats ply on one side of the river only. So one needs to take a shuttle boat if available to the other side. These are not common though, so mostly the buses are used by people on one side of the river alone. Here is one of the water bus stops. Note the passage like entrance/exit, the signboard, and the floating landing platform.

And here is the interior of the water bus. Some of the water buses are also fitted with luggage racks. Most have conductresses on board, who carry cylindrical shaped coin boxes, which they keep rattling to remind you to get your ticket. Fares vary from boat to boat, as there are some 'express' boats which charge higher fares. All seem to halt at all stops though, and all move very fast indeed.

There is one daredevil individual who travels on the rear landing platform all the time. He is the one who docks the boat at each stop. The speeding boat is suddenly thrown into reverse gear when it approaches a stop. The water is churned up like whipping of cream and the massive beast protests loudly while she comes to a halt. The reverse forward reverse motion is repeated while the driver skilfully edges towards shore. When the boat is some two feet away from the shore, this daredevil jumps ashore and loops a rope from the boat onto a capstan on the shore. The boat is then manually dragged towards the landing platform. By this time, several have got off, and some have started jumping on! All this time, whistle codes are exchanged between the daredevil and the driver. Once all the passengers have got on and off, a final long whistle sets the boat in forward again: the daredevil unloops the rope,and jumps aboard when the boat is already a couple of feet away! Here are some passengers getting on board at one of the stops:

A word about the landing platforms: safety regulations mean that they all have to be floating. This rule was initiated after a whole lot of people, mostly schoolgirls returning from school, were drowned as they were trapped UNDER the wooden platform they were standing on when it collapsed due to the weight.

We see several buildings on the waterfront. Some are squalid living quarters and homes, some are flats in slightly better condition.

We also see some grand temples and Wats (temples) beside the river.

As it were, we missed the stop for the Wat Arun: we admired it from the water as we sailed right past! No one told us that this boat will not go by the other bank, and that we had to disembark at Wat Po and take another shuttle boat to the other bank! So, here is Wat Arun from the water.

We also noticed several lumbering rice barges. You can actually feel their weight as they sail past, usually in group of four or five barges tied together. They are the water equivalent of your heavy freight train hauled by three or more locomotives. The rice barges are really slow, and seem to be in no hurry to get anywhere. We saw several of these lashups, only the last boat seemed to be manned. Here is a lashup of rice barges on the Charo Phraya River.

We finally returned to the Wat Po stop and caught a shuttle ferry to Wat Arun on the other bank. The Wat Arun is a very interesting piece of art, and towers high into the sky. This is a pic taken from the base of the main tower.

But not before getting another taste of India in Bangkok! Tourist rip offs. There are scavengers at all important tourist spots out to make money from innocent tourists. Although these scavengers are not quite as aggressive and pushy like in India, the fact that they are there irritates. Here, the scam is, stick your head into one of these cutouts and pay Thai Baht 20. We were poorer by THB 40 as neither wife nor son, nor me for that matter, had noticed the shabbily scribbled THB 20 at the base of the cutouts. Well, I was looking through the viewfinder! Anyway, the consolation is, we got a nice picture of Wat Arun in the background!

It started pouring cats and dogs soon after we landed at Wat Arun, and we had to dive for cover into one of the inner shrines. It was a subsidiary temple, with chanting going on inside. A kindly Buddhist monk invited us inside, and later blessed us as we knelt before the Buddha inside. True to Buddhist tradition, we were encouraged to light three incense sticks each (the Buddhists always light incense in threes, representing the past, the present and the future).Here is wife lighting a lamp in the shrine.

At Wat Arun, we also noticed another form of Thai architecture: slender needle like structures mounted on a pedestal. We later spied several of them in the Grand Palace the following day. Here is one of them. Well, the ones at the Grand Palace were on pedestals, this one has a shrine under it!

So after a pleasant evening out riding the water bus, exploring (and getting ripped off) and getting blessed at Wat Arun, getting drenched and all that, we caught a ferry back to Wat Po, and then to the Oriental Hotel stop. We got off one stop early as one of the tourists misguided us (dumb us! the stops are so well signposted!), and returned to the hotel after picking up a lychee like fruit (but without the spines) and custard apple from two charming ladies near the Oriental Hotel water bus stop.

   Just like Hong Kong, Thailand too seemed to be women dominated, though one could not see a predominantly woman population when one walked on the streets!

We hit the sack after feasting on long kong, custard apple, break, cake and flavored milk which we'd picked up on the way home.

DAY 2: Full day tour to the Damuen Saudek Floating Market.

We had originally intended to travel to the ancient capital of Ayuthaya, but were advised by the old lady Supatra to take the Damuen Saudek tour instead. Which is just as well. This tour had more variety, and better as a first taste of Thailand for first timers such as myself. The tour was to cover the Damuen Saudek floating market, a teak wood carving cum training center, lunch at the Rose Garden resort, and a cultural show. Hmmmm.

We reached Damuen Saudek after a long one and a half hour ride by bus from the main tourist office. There was once a floating market right in Bangkok, but it was moved away as it created more chaos than anything else, plus it polluted the busy Charo Phraya river.

The fascination angle and exotica angle aside, Damuen Saudek is actually a bit of a tourist trap. The market operates very early in the morning, so many serious photographers and really keen visitors go there the previous night, and visit the market at the first light of dawn. Thats when the market is at its busiest. As it were, we reached just after peak hour, around 11-ish.

Hat wearing merchants sell things out of long paddle boats, things like fruit, vegetables, hats, clothes, and the famous Thai soup. Nowadays, most boatmen seem to concentrate on touristy stuff like hats and handicrafts. And its a real tourist trap, as prices are jacked manifold.

That apart, as long as you keep your hands on your purse strings, you should be ok, and have fun in the process. Although the floating market is just a few metres away from the parking lot, you are dropped off at a far away point,from where it takes no less than half an hour by low boat. You are taken through a narrow network of winding canals, and the only way to approach is by boat. Here we are then, on our way to Damuen Saudek.

En route, we spotted these two Thai boatmen presumably dredging, or digging an irrigation canal. They boat they had with them was full of mud.

The low boats go fast enough, but its a pain when it comes to those narrow turns. The boat is thrown into reverse gear, then the boatman actually coaxes the boat into the narrow mouth of the canal. The boat rocks like crazy at this point. As we approach the market itself, wife and son are mighty pleased indeed. Is this where we get off, my wife seems to ask.

We are at the Damuen Saudek floating market. Here are two views of the floating market. Note an ad on the lamp post in one of the pictures advertising for Thai soup. (spelt 'sup')

We noticed the way that several shops selling groceries, hardware, medicines etc. opened onto the water. Here is a person shopping by boat.

We also saw several signs advertising the 'deadly Bangkok cobra show'. That made me squirm uncomfortably in my pants, fortunately, we did not see any of those ugly beasts.

Rip off with charm, thats what it is! This lovely Thai maiden kept tempting us with a colorful Thai hat which doubles as a fan when its half folded. The asking price was Thai Baht 250, which we bargained down to THM 75. Quite a good bargain, we thought, that was more than a 2/3 drop! Imagine our shock when we spotted the same item at one of the Wats in Bangkok the following day. The asking price was THB 50, with bargaining we might have got it cheaper! Well, here is the charming lady from whom we got that hat.

The floating market is of course only part of the story. On the landing, there is a large covered market selling handicrafts, curios, t-shirts and traditional Thai jewellery. As I said, its a tourist trap, so beware. Traditional Thai costumes too were on sale, some were woven on the spot. Here is a weaver doing his stuff in the covered area on the banks of the floating market.

The way by boat to the parking lot was barely five minutes. More scams in Bangkok, typically India style. As the boats left earlier in the morning towards the Damuen Saudek floating manual, a group of camera wielding men shouted out 'hello'! One was armed with a new Nikon F55, another had a digital camera. On our return, we were shocked to see our pics mounted on a badge, plate and stuff. The friendly 'hello' was apparently to make you look in their direction and smile. Of course, no one bought any of this unsolicited merchandise. Our guide informed us that in such a case, they just clean up the plate and start all over again, with the face of another poor sucker!

Next stop was the teak wood carving facility. Terrific bas reliefs and models are turned out in teak. Carving is a time consuming and precision exercise. We also saw hand made paper being made.

Here is the pic of an elaborate teak carving under process. You can see the large plank of teak, line drawings as a guideling to carving, the partially carved portion and a photograph to base the scenery, all in this same photograph.

Here is a finished carving. Wife and son pose. Not all carvings are painted on. I somehow felt that the natural finish looked better than this colored version. Well, tastes vary. On offer were smaller panels which are more easily portable, and huge life sized elephant carvings.

We rushed through the teak factory to get to the next stop, Nakon Pathom. Nakon Pathom is supposed to be one of the oldest capitals of the Thai kingdom. Also seen here is one of the tallest Buddhist stupas in the region. This site is held in great reverence as the large stupa is said to contain part of the ashes of the great Buddha. The guide went on to explain how Buddhism is similar to Hinduism. She also outlined some of the ancient Buddhist traditions and showed us telltale signs of a recently concluded temple fair there.

Here is a view of the tallest Buddhist stupa at Nakon Phatom.

We got a taste of the overdose of Buddha images we were to see the following day. Here is a tall gold painted Buddha image at Nakon Phatom.

By this time, we were quite hungry. Again, India style, there was a public gathering outside the Nakon Phatom shrine. A loudspeaker was blaring out something in Thai, we could see two monks on the stage. It was hot, it was lunchtime, so no one was showing much interest. I was zapped to see an Indian build Premier Padmini car in the temple parking lot. That was the sole Indian vehicle I'd seen on my travels so far.

We drove to the Rose Garden resort for lunch and a Thai cultural show. Extensive Thai fare, a tad smelly and bland, not to my liking, and definitely not to the liking of my 100% strict vegetarian wife and son. Anyway, after lunch, we went off for the cultural show.

What follows is a series of pictures outlining the highlights of the cultural show.

The show started off with a procession of sorts, complete with caparisoned elephant, where the man who would be monk is paraded around town.

Then came the famed Thai 'fingernail' dance. This is supposed to be a welcome dance. Too bad I was limited to a 110mm zoom.

More colorful dances.

Thai boxing is said to be a formidable sport. It is called Mai Thai, spelt by some as Mai Tai. This mock boxing match was a bit of a spoof, as it had a lot of comedy thrown in!

Even more frightening is the Thai sword fight. This was another spoof with comedy thrown in. This is an unique boy-girl combination. The girl wins. (naturally. That blok should know better than to cross swords with a lady!)

A few dances later was a mock Thai wedding. More colorful costumes, more charming ladies, more gaiety. In the end, the 'wedding couple' pose with delighted tourists for a photo session.

After this, we all go for a mighty elephant show. Earlier, many of us had taken elephant rides at the Rose Garden.

My son was rather pissed of as there was a bloke with a live python nearby offering photo opportunities for a price. Surprisingly, most of the folks who patronised this bizzare session were ladies, a phenomenon we noticed later in Singapore as well.

Before the show, one of the elephants showed off his excretory talents by unloading both his water as well as the other stuff almost into our faces! Later, the elephants performed acrobatics and things. The space is so limited there that the jaggernauts are almost on top of you. You'd better scramble to safety or else!

The show then continued with all the performing artists coming out into the open and performing on the grass.

I managed to get the faces of two of the dancers who came real close, thanx to my 110mm zoom lens.

After an ice cream, and a shot beside a terrific charriot on display, we returned to Bangkok. Note the Thai-Indian type of styling on the charriot. This charriot was used for decorative plants and flowers.

I retired early that night, while my wife took my son swimming in the hotel swimming pool.

Day 2: Grand Palace and Temples tours.

The second day, we took two tours: morning we went and saw the Grand Palace. Afternoon, we took the Temples tour. Other tours too were available, like the snake farm, crocodile farm etc., but we decided to stick to the tours which give us first timers a good idea of the country, its traditions and culture.

Grand Palace Tour:

I will be very brief here, and try and say it all with pictures. This is the palace of HE the King of Thailand. Bangkok was being given a facelift and cleanup due to the upcoming Queen's Birthday celebrations.

On the way to the Grand Palace, we passed one of the largest fresh produce markets in Bangkok. Fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers are sold here. I could not photograph it as it was early morning, it was rather cloudy, and I was behing tinted glass.

We also caught a glimpse of Thailand's famous 3-wheelers, equivalent to the Indian autorickshaws. These are called tuk tuk in Thailand, named after the sound of their motors. Once a 'must see' in Thailand, tuk tuks have lost favor among tourists due to the reckless driving of those in charge, poor safety record, being open to the elements, and the fact that recent union activities have made tuk tuks almost as expensive as taxis, with much less comfort. The number of tuk tuks is dwindling, so what you can see are few and far between. We saw this tuk tuk outside the Grand Palace.

We later caught this tuk tuk on camera the same night. The poor driver invited us to ride, but we were short of time, it was late, so we just photographed his vehicle instead.

   Maybe we should have included the driver as well!

So, here is a general view of the Grand Palace. Its a bit dark as it was cloudy, it was against whatever little sun was peeping out off and on, plus I had run out of 400 ISO film.

The Grand Palace is also famous for its massive gold plated pagoda. You saw part of it in the previous picture. Here is a close view of the gold pagoda.

The guide (same jolly girl we'd had the previous day on our trip to Damuen Saudek) gave us a briefing about various Thai traditions and beliefs. The Hindu epic Ramayana too figures a great deal, and there are paintings from the Ramayana too.

The Grand Palace is also famous for the celebrated Emerald Buddha. Here is an exterior view of the Emerald Buddha shrine framed from withing the doorway of one of the adjacent buildings.

Our guide informed us that the snake and the 'garuda' bird are important in Thai religion, so most temple architecture tries to incorporate the shape of the scales of a snake (the arrangement of tiles on the roof) and the wings of a bird. (the flyers and other protrusions from the roof). If you study the above photograph, you can appreciate some of this.

Back to the Emerald Buddha, its not emerald at all. Actually, its jade. The statue is held in great reverence. While most temples all over the Far East are quite tolerant of gaping tourists firing away, here was an exception. Photography is not allowed inside the shrine of the Emerald Buddha. However, we could photograph through the window. (through the door was not possible, it was far too crowded). This is all we could manage through the window. If you strain your eyes a bit, you can barely make out the shape of the gold ornamented Jade Buddha at the dead center of the photograph.

As we wandered around the Grand Palace grounds, we came across this monument. Note unusual half rooster half humanoid figure in the foreground.

Elsewhere in the temple grounds, we saw a similar figurine bathed in gold.

The sanctum which houses the actual Buddha statue has this terrific gold door on the outside.

Posing amidst unusual needle pointed buildings in the grounds of the Grand Palace.

Still in the Grand Palace, we saw the fruit and milk, and lotus flower offerings for the Emerald Buddha, again a typical Indian style tradition found in any Indian temple. We also saw an exhibition of photographs outlining the chain of events during the king's coronation.

By this time, we have walked right round the Grand Palace. It has taken a major portion of the morning. We still have to have lunch and catch the afternoon temples tour. So as we head towards the rear entrance, rather exit of the Grand Palace, we are taken aback by this strange mixture of Anglo Thai architecture! The King spends much of his time here, and has rather ingeniously put Thai trimmings to the British built buildings. The building with the tall spire you see straight ahead is a funeral parlor, mercifully empty when we visited.

We reached the hotel with barely fifteen minutes to spare before we could stock up on film, grab a bite and rush off to the afternoon tour, the Temples Tour.

On the way, we got a glimpse of the Chinatown district of Bangkok. In fact, every one of the cities we visited, that included Kuala Lumpur and Singapore as well, had a Chinatown district.

We did not stop here, bue we were assured that it is very interesting if we could stop by later in the evening. Memories from our Hong Kong trip were still fresh, as we had just come from there the day before. The resemblance to Hong Kong was very striking indeed, complete with the use of a lot of red, neon signs, many of them vertically oriented, and of course, full roasted duck, complete with head and bill! Here is a view of Bangkok's Chinatown taken from the front windshield of our tour bus.

Afternoon Temples Tour:

We got a different guide this time, a quiet Thai man, quite unlike the cheerful and jolly girl we'd got for the last two tours, who was full of jokes, information and was talking non stop, ending most sentences with 'se'. This chap was just the opposite!

First stop, Wat Traimit, or Temple of the Golden Buddha. We learnt that there were two types of temples in Thailand, the royal temple and common man's temple. The Golden Buddha temple was one of the common man's temples.

We enter through a gate and go up a passage lined with stalls selling curios. It was here the we dicovered that the asking price for a colorful Thai hat which doubles as fan was a mere Thai Baht 50. We had been delighted at Damuen Saudek the previous day when that charming girl quoted THB 250 which we bargained down to THB 75! A massive funeral parlor appears straight ahead, which was mercifully empty. To the left, up a flight of stairs is the shrine of the fabulous Golden Buddha. Here is a picture of the Buddha.

Most temples all over the far East are extremely tolerant of photographers, and no one seems to even cast a second look. Quite unlike India, where most temple managements have turned blood suckers, levying hefty fees for use of cameras in the temple premises. There too you are not supposed to shoot the sanctun santorum. Not like that in Thailand. And for that matter in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Shoot all you like.

Back to the GOlden Buddha, the fabulous statue was reportedly covered in plaster to ward off invaders. It was only when a part of the plaster chipped that someone discovered the gold inside. The plaster was then chipped off, and this exuberant Gold Buddha was exposed. A piece of plaster is kept beside the statue.

Again, the photography scam: a chap with a Nikon digital camera was shooting most of the visitors who entered. By now, we were wise to the scam and did not bother to look into the camera. On our return, a fat Thai lady kept thrusting badges with our picture on it into our faces. We resisted and walked on.

Next stop, temple of the massive Reclining Buddha.The massive 30 foot long statue of the Buddha lying down is a jaggernaut alright. While its difficult enough to get it all in your camera viewfinder as it is, some scaffolding due to restoration work going on made the task of photography all the more difficult. Still, here is a pic of the mega statue:

Note that the body tapers away after the chest level, plus we are at knee level, so the statue extends a bit behind us as well. This was the best we could do, under the limitations. The only restriction here was that we had to remove our footwear, and keep moving on.

Other shrines in the temple include a 30 foot high statue of the Buddha. Other temples in this complex included a gold Buddha set on a fabulous gold base. We were asked to kneel before this statue, so this picture is taken from a kneeling position. You will notice that even the umbrella above the Buddha's head is made of gold.

Here are some more of those needle point shrines in the grounds of the Reclining Buddha temple. A slight Islamic influence can be seen here, as the design is garish mosaic set in white plaster.

On the way to the fabulous Gold Buddha on a gold pedestal, we crossed a small passage through a narrow door, where we espied this long glass case with several Buddhas lined up inside. Reminded me of the Bamboo Forest Monastery we'd seen in Hong Kong just a couple of days ago.

We finally also saw this statue of Buddha with droopy ears.

Grand Palace, Wat Traimit, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, by this time, it was getting to be a bit of a Buddha overdose. The last stop was to be the Marble Temple.

This temple was a tad different. First, it was of a comparatively more modern design. Second, the use of marble. Thirdly, the Buddha image had a halo painted around it, so that gave the whole thing a surreal effect.

Fourthly, the use of stained glass in the shrine gave it a totally different atmosphere. My photo of one of the stained glass windows unfortunately went totally off center. I corrected it while scanning. The bane of less than 96% viewing in the SLR viewfinder!

So that then concluded our Bangkok trip. During the course of driving to the various spots, we also saw the UN building, old assembly cum convocation/graduation building, old city walls and parts of the Dusit Zoo. Our tour ended in a handicrafts emporium where we were treated to drinks on the house, and a film show. After spending a lot of time over Thai silk, my wife eventually settled for a single jade bangle.

Overall, Bangkok was looking rather gay and cheerful, preparing for the Queen's Birthday bash on 12 Aug. 2002. We wound up our Bangkok trip with street shopping for T-shirts, a vist to the Mariamman temple next to our hotel (the first place where photography inside the temple was forbidden), and dinner. We left for Kuala Lumpur the following morning.

Thank you for reading this far. Hope you enjoyed the photographs and the travelog.

To see my pics from the rest of the world, go here:

http://www.worldisround.com/home/shankie/index.html

If you would like me to reply to your comment, please leave a live e-mail link in your message!