Bangkok

A 3 am uber and two short flights later we touched down in Bangkok. Immediately we were struck by how calm the city feels in comparison to India. Night and day.

Massive billboards featuring a picture of the Thai king welcomed us into the city and subsequently have watched over our shoulders every couple blocks.

We took the tram into the city and after some minor subway confusion got to our hostel, “Loftel”, in Chinatown. The Thai currency is Bhat and the exchange rate is currently 33 to 1. We paid 300 Bhat per person per night for beds in a four bedroom dorm. After setting down our bags we walked to a nearby street food vendor and ate basil infused pork and spicy shrimp with rice. Although the food didn’t have the pop of the food we’ve been eating in India my stomach has taken much better to the Thai cuisine (and kitchen hygiene).

I struggled to sleep last night and ended up reading “When Breath Becomes Air” cover to cover.

This morning we ate a breakfast of banana muffins and walked to the river running north south in Bangkok. Louise read online that Bangkok is famous for its boat transportation and with the help of a friendly Thai man we caught a boat going north for 14 Bhat each. The boat dropped us near Wat Pho just as my temperamental phone decided to take a mental health day.

Most interesting about the boat ride was the communication between the driver and the man responsible for helping people on and off the boat. The helper used a whistle to communicate with the driver, instructing him to speed up, slow down, or approach differently with different intonations of his whistle.

Was Pho is a temple decorated with hundreds of golden buddhas. The largest, the “Reclining Buddha”, occupied the entirety of one building in the temple. We shuffled along barefoot and stared at the gold leaf flaking off the chubby artifacts. On one side of the temple the wall was lined with small bowls for donations. People donated 20 Bhat to pick up a bowl filled with small change, and walked along the wall placing one coin in each bowl. Each coin resonated differently as it connected with the container creating an odd sonic environment around the laid back Buddha.

In an adjacent room, I made the mistake of showing the bottom of my feet towards the Buddha in the center of the room and a security guard gently corrected me. Louise was required to wear a shawl covering her shoulder while in the temple.

Afterwords we borrowed a map from another tourist to get our bearings and walked through an amulet market before coming back to the port. There are many more tourists here than in India, and I’d guess 60% of them are wearing elephant pants. It’s possible I’ll be joining their ranks. We shall see.