Full speed ahead in Bangkok
16 August 2011….Julie and I are living the old line ‘there’s just not enough time in the day’ or week or month or year. With our various travel and work commitments filling most of our calendar we always look forward to a free day or weekend to explore more of Bangkok or interesting places nearby. And the list is endless.
In January Zach and a few of his mates ended up in Bangkok after finishing their three week trip aroundAsia. We got to hear all the detailed stories first hand from their adventures in Vietnam, Laos and Thailand and Zach stayed with us for a couple of extra days.
In late January we took a day trip to the ancient capital of Ayuthaya, focusing in particular on the Bang Pa In palace south of Ayuthaya. This is the beauty of having our own car, we can explore the back roads and secondary places that interest us so much with total freedom. Bang Pa In was initially built in the 17th Century but was heavily renovated in the 19th Century by King Rama V after his return from Europe. The mixture of Thai, Chinese and European architecture in all the buildings is worth the trip. And of course we enjoyed kicking around some of our favourite places in Ayuthaya itself, the great temples, history and general ambiance.
An aspect of our lives that has grown this year is the work Julie has been doing with Sister Joan down in the slums of Khlong Toey. Khlong Toey is a very poor area down near the ports and many thousands of people live there on ramshackle houses on stilts above the high water mark. And living in there amongst them is Sister Joan, originally from Perth, now almost 80 years old after having lived here in Bangkok for more than 20 years.
In May Julie and I finally visited the Snake Farm in Bangkok. I say finally because it is within walking distance of where we live and is quite well known for producing anti-venom serum for snake bite victims. There is an excellent display centre and a live show with king cobras, pythons and all sorts of other snakes. The whole set up was surprisingly good and a great afternoon.
In June we took a day trip to Lopburi which is another one of these ancient capitals north of Bangkok (not far from Ayuthaya). Lopburi is a quiet town with some excellent temple ruins scattered amongst the city streets. Most people remember Lopburi for its monkeys – a troop of these macaques live amongst the ruins, especially at the San Phra Kan temple where they follow you, jump on you, steal from you and generally wear out their welcome very quickly.
But Lopburi has a very good old royal palace which has a throne hall, museum, pavilions, water reservoirs and other buildings in its complex. The whole place was built in the 17th century so is in fairly good nick. There are a few other very good temple ruins to explore around town and almost no tourists. We rated Lopburi very high as a day trip from Bangkok.
On another free Sunday in June we took our trusty Toyota Wish south toward Pattaya, stopping at the little port town of Si Racha to catch a little ferry to the island of Koh Si Chang. This was a little bit of a pot luck trip because we really didn’t know what to expect on Koh Si Chang but we were pleasantly surprised. The ferry ride was memorable, a small boat absolutely packed with local tourists making the day trip to the island, strong winds, big waves, a seriously rocking boat with us sitting inside in a steamy hot and tense environment. Let’s do that again.
Koh Si Chang has no beaches, no high rises and no tourist trade. It is a sleepy place that has a link to Thai history which some people come to visit. We hired a tuk-tuk driver for the day, agreed on the agenda and off we went. First stop was an impressive San Jao Phaw Khao Yai Chinese temple overlooking the port which involved many steps, a grotto filled with ceremonial offerings, great views and lavishly painted walls, pillars and ceilings. A few more stops, a pleasant lunch in an open restaurant and we ended up at the Hat Tha Wang Palace which was built by King Rama V (again!) as a summer palace and was used by some of his sick children for recuperation but was abandoned when the French briefly held it in 1893. A few buildings have been restored, the gardens are great and the whole setting is absolutely magnificent.
In July Julie and I took advantage of a two night resort package down in Hua Hin that she bought as part of some charity event. Hua Hin is on the other side of the Gulf of Thailand opposite Pattaya and is a popular haunt for wealthy Thais (the King has his official residence there although he no longer uses it). Each day we ate breakfast right down on the beach, spent an hour or so under our beach umbrella and swam in the surf before jumping in our car to explore the surrounding areas.
The other afternoon we explored another royal capital called Petchaburi. This is a sleepy town between Hua Hin and Bangkok, known for its teak homes and its imposing palace complex on top of a limestone mountain. We took the funicular up to Khao Wang Historical Park for a look at this special place. King Mongkut (Rava IV, more famously known as the King of Siam in the movie The King and I) built his palace here in the early 19th Century and it dominates the region. The Chedi on top of the hill is visible from miles around and the views were excellent. You have to avoid those annoying monkeys again but the rest is good value.
The other two great things we’ve done this year are our team Thai lessons and our team golf excursions. Together we took Thai lessons two nights a week from the very patient Khun Gung and yes we did learn a lot but no we are not great at speaking Thai. Neither of us are linguistically talented but we’ve used the experience to get a better base of knowledge in the language and then try to use as much of it as we can when we are out and about. But it’s not easy.
And Julie’s master plan of learning to play golf well enough so the two of us can go out and play together some day is on track and going well. She is taking weekly lessons and we have been going to the driving range when we get a chance. Our next big step is to visit a little par 3 course somewhere and survive that experience. From what I’ve seen so far I think it will be easy.
And the best news over the last month or so is that Thailand has held a peaceful federal election and now has a new Prime Minister. But the best news is not who won the election – the red shirt aligned Pheu Thai Party who’s leader is now the first female Prime Minister of Thailand – but the fact they held the election at all. Thailand’s ongoing experiment with democracy has taken a good, if somewhat tentative, step forward. Regardless of where one’s political ideology might sit we all want and need a stable freely elected government. A good step forward indeed.
A few signs we’ve seen lately…