Bangkok
24th - 28th of January, 2016
Bangkok, Thailand
Although we had been warned of the scorching heat that was to greet us in Thailand, I actually find myself to be quite cold here! We both agreed that small bags were more practical than large ones so we carry only 40L backpacks each. Small enough to pass as hand-luggage but big enough to fit our entire lives for the next year and a half. I had not expected to need many (if any) warm clothes for the next year. At night, I find myself suddenly very dependent on the only fleece I packed. Naturally it is far from being ‘cold’ in the real sense of the word. The weather is still warmer than any average Scottish summer but the Thai people are in shock, especially in the evening when the temperature really drops. They still frequent the street but they are bundled up like eskimos; hats, gloves, scarves, blankets, basically anything they can find! This morning, the friendly guy working at the reception of our hostel told us that this weather is not the norm for this time of year. That only two days ago it was roasting but this chilly snap arrived yesterday and will likely not leave for another few days. “One week of winter” he jokes. To be honest D and I are thrilled. This at least gives us a few days to ease into the new climate.
As for Bangkok itself, it is far greener than I ever imagined it would be. Riding into the city on the sky train I was struck with just how much foliage there was. Of course, human presence is everywhere and giant grey buildings emerge from the ground, stretching out way further than my eye can see. Some are new, others under construction, others lie abandoned. Perhaps abandoned but far from dead. Mother Earth has claimed forgotten walls; trees, vines and plants burst from the crumbling bricks. It is hard to see where exactly the city has overgrown nature and nature the city. Temple roofs twinkle in the distance and the large familiar font of 'TESCO' indicates that the western world is deeply intwined here.
We are also welcomed by 'Boots', the chemist, on the famous Khao San road. This is a delightful street created, I am sure, entirely for tourists but fun-none the-less. Here you can buy anything you want. Venders are everywhere selling BBQ meet kebabs, fried scorpions if you are game (i was not… yet), haircuts on the street, braiding, dreading, tattoos, so many beautiful and cheap clothes (that i managed to resist… for now), restaurants, fruit juices squeezed right in front of you, even delicious, fresh coconut ice-cream.
We spend a morning lost in the narrow bustling streets of China town. I find myself surrounded by wonderful and bizarre ingredients: fresh, dried, pickled, marinated, powdered, most of which i cannot distinguish at all. The odours that meet our noses are sweet, aromatic and unpleasant all at once. We constantly trip over ferrel cats that have claimed Bangkok as their own. By night China town transforms into another place altogether. Tables appear in the middle of the street and the ingredients we looked over this morning are suddenly converted into the most deliciously incredible meals. Smoke bellows into the heavens as we sit watching our food being prepared before spending a good two hours devouring it.
D gets into contact with two Thai girls (Ace and Wan Wan) who he studied English with in Australia 2011, so we are even blessed with our own local guides. I am touched by their kindness as they offer us gifts and a constant stream of random street food. By the end I am literally about to burst. Pad thai, fried squid, prawns, sticky rice, fresh coconut water, a delicious ground up dried fish powder, pork, chicken, sweet fried dough balls with condensed milk and, what tasted to me like, a rice pudding milk shake. They appear to be so pleased that we are visiting their home country and proud to show us the best it has to offer. We shower them with questions and practise our rough Thai (much to their amusement). I feel so lucky knowing that an evening with these locals has helped enrich our short time in Bangkok! Without their help we would never be able to ask for, or pick out any of these yummy treats!
In some ways I find Bangkok exactly as I expected, a bustling, crazy pandemonium. In other ways it has really surprised me. I had been told it would be quite a dirty city but I d not find it anymore dirty than most other large cities I have visited. Perhaps I have low standards! In fact I am impressed by the clean, open, bright feel of the place. It is not uncommon to see citizens sweeping the pavement outside their houses and we even see official street sweepers constantly cleaning communal areas with bamboo dustpan and brushes. There is definitely a sense of pride deeply felt within the city. It is also, considering the population, not that loud a city. There are copious cars, scooters, tuctucs, taxis and buses but hardly any honking or blaring at all.
A morning spent lost in the Grand Palace is enough to leave any tourist overwhelmed. It is expensive and crowded but immensely beautiful. A whole walled complex of stunning temples, wats, statues, stupas, buddhas, each decorated with, what seems to be, tiny coloured sequence. Gigantic columns of royal blue, emerald green and glittering gold tower over our heads. The whole place looks magical and, as the tiny mosaics catch in the light, I am momentarily blinded. It looks as though a giant six year old child has dropped her entire craft box on top of this place. I later discover that this is not so far from the truth. A Thai woman in full concentration hunched at the base of a column catches my eye. She seems perfectly undisturbed by the constant flow of tourists that surround her. She sits quietly working with glue and a box full of tiny blue cut squares which she proceeds to stick in place. One-at-a-time. This place is massive! I cannot believe that everything is hand-stuck. I have only seconds to stare at her in disbelief before the crowds sweep me into their current.
We abandon our shoes at the base of some steps, following the lead of the many tourists, and enter one of the majestic buildings. This one houses the famous Emerald Buddha which sits on a lavish gold chair high up at the far end of the room. Paintings hang all around and as I look up I can see that the ceiling is also covered in the tiny coloured squares. How on earth do they get up there? In front of the buddha is a barrier designed to prevent the flocks of onlookers from getting their sweaty, sticky fingers too near. On the other side of this barrier sit three monks dressed in tangerine orange robes, cross legged on the ground, meditating. These are this first monks I see meditating in Thailand so I spend a good few minutes taking them in. How can they possible concentrate with all these people behind?! They are still and serene and I think that maybe they do not hear us at all. Some people nearer the front of the crowd are kneeling and praying to the statue. They bow their heads to the floor then back to prayer position. They do this three times with the swift ease of a lifetime of practice before standing up, and zigzagging their way out through the temple towards the crowd of selfie loving tourists.
Spirituality clearly runs deep in Thailand, it takes only one day in the country to be aware of this. One part of the Bangkok, near our hostel, seems to be dedicated solely to making and selling buddha statues. It is hard to describe with only words, but the statues will spread from the pavement deep into the dark depths of the shops. Maybe a couple of hundred in each. Most of them are gold, some mimic the emerald buddha and others are carved from grey or black stone. They are in different positions, tiny little ornaments to great figurines looming over our heads. It is a pretty impressive sight and particularly beautiful when the sun begins to set, the warm, rose light reflecting off of their golden heads.
I am startled in one shop when I see a man meditating in the shop window. I walk on by not wanting to stare too much, impressed. “Wow, they really can meditate anywhere!” I tell D. As we walk on I realise the same man is also sitting on the floor in this shop. In fact he seems to have a twin behind, wrapped up in a clear plastic bag like an easter egg! On closer inspection I realise that these are also statues! Life like, life sized, almost like Madame Tussaud’s Wax figure monks, meditating in the shade. After passing 25 of these shops (in a row!) we wonder what all these statues could possibly be for. Maybe people save up and buy a massive one for the bottom of their garden? A whole neighbourhood dedicated to religious statues, they cannot possible all be for temples. Wrong. They are indeed all for temples! After travelling around and seeing the sheer amount of temples this now does make sense. We see three monks with dark sunglasses clamber into a silver Honda and my mind wonders back to the tranquil monks once more.
There is something simply beautiful about the constant presence of monks here in Thailand. In the beginning I am as curious as a child who cannot stop staring. Completely oblivious of social decorum. As we spend longer in the country we see them everywhere and naturally my burning desire to stare and photograph them wanes. These are, of course, normal people so it is only natural that we see them on buses, trains, buying coke, hailing taxis, etc. This leads me to regularly consider their lives. I wonder where they live, what they do each day and what goes on in their minds. The more I think and see the more confused I become.
Before arriving I read that monks cannot touch money but I have definitely seen more than one touching bank notes. They have their own seating area in train stations and on trains and as far as I am aware, they do not pay to ride them. I have also seen a monk slowly peel the wrapper off a Cornetto ice-cream, before casually throwing the paper on the ground without a second thought. This was the most shocking for me. I know that littering is not such a big deal on this side of the world, but Buddhism is about respect and littering is such a basic thing for someone who practices respect daily. I also know that, as a woman, I am not really meant to go near them. This was affirmed for me when I witnessed a school girl profusely refuse to take a seat in front of a monk on a super busy train but then, I have also seen a monk talking to a woman while smoking a giant cigarette. To top it off, I have even seen some with televisions in their little monk houses. Watching cartoons! I do not know why I had such a naive idea that all monks would be spiritual, enlightened beings.
A Thai friend of D’s later explained to us that there are different types of monks, just like Christians. Some are very strict, living very modestly eating only one meal a day. Some dedicate their lives to teaching and helping others while a minority become monks in search of an easy life, where most things are given to them for free. Some may have even been born into a rural village with no secondary school. In many cases like this, the only way for the children to get an education is by moving to the city and into a monastery. So, with all these things to consider, it makes sense that not all monks are the peaceful, spiritual beings we westerners expect.
I do not think many of these thoughts ever crossed my mind before coming out here. It is a hard subject to learn about as I do not speak enough Thai and I feel so uncomfortable going to them to ask. I have learnt that the monastery is a place to learn, just like priests in the past would have been there to teach. But, as a woman, I feel unsure and certain I am going to offend by accident. Things should become clearer in a few weeks as we plan to volunteer in an organic farm run by an ex-monk. From what he writes in his profile, he seems keen to teach about Buddhism and happy to answer questions. It is still the beginning, I am sure it will all make more sense soon.
I have already learnt so much! How to barter the price down on most items (well… maybe D is better at this than me), how to use chopsticks (almost like a pro) and how to eat spicy(ish) food. I was so worried about food being too spicy over here but so far I am able to eat most things, usually because I order it using one of the only Thai phrases I know off by heart: “Pet neet noi” - “a little spicy”. You have to say it in a very nasal way, as though you are holding onto your nose while you speak, or they may just start preparing and refuse to make eye contact. I have since worked out that this usually means: “I have no idea what you just said and that makes me feel uncomfortable so i’ll just pretend you didn’t say anything”. You will know immediately if they have understood. Their faces will crack into a wide smile, a chuckle exchanged with the person at the neighbouring stand. When in doubt just smile at people. It is the best form of communication and in Thailand, unlike the UK, if you smile at random people on the street you are pretty much guaranteed the flash a smile in return. As well as the power of my smile, I have also learnt the distinction between someone starting conversation to make money and someone who just wants a chat.
On our second day in Bangkok we were stopped by a random man as we wandered through a park. I had stepped in to feast my eyes on the weird squirrels, toads, insects and birds there. As we drifted around a smiling Thai man stopped us in our tracks calling, “Hello friends! How are you?”. It is day two so we are pretty unsure and our first thoughts are “this guy wants something from us”. I look around, trying to work out who he is working for but he seems to be alone and relatively harmless. “I’m fine, just having a walk in the park, how are you?”. I can tell he is pleased we talk back and he starts chattering away, asking us our plans. How long we plan to stay in Bangkok, what we have visited already. We explain that we have just arrived and have only a few days here before heading north. We tell him where we are from, we compliment his English (always) after which he looks embarrassed but pleased. He starts to explain that we should go for a trip down the river to see the temples and the buddhas, that it is not far. Danilo gets out his map and our new friend whips out a pen and starts madly circling all the hot spots we should visit. “Don’t forget, ring bell three times for good luck! Oh, also give flowers for Buddha!” He even goes on to tell us how much the actual cost is to ensure we are not over priced, “You pay Thai price! Remember you have Thai friend now, yes!”. We are still taken aback by all this new information and possibly boat trip. We thank him and explain that we will look into it tomorrow to which he exclaims, “No! Why tomorrow? you go now, it not far. 10 minutes in tuctuc”. He yells something in Thai to a passing tuctuc. It pulls up beside us and the men exchange a few words. Our new friend beams at us, proud of his good deed for the day. There is nothing left for us to do now but get in the tuctuc. We clamber in, not exactly sure where it is going to take us, turn back and wave goodbye to our new friend.
Only three days in and already I can feel my mind expanding. New flavours, new sites, new faces and new ways of being. A good start to the adventure, thank you Bangkok.
