Thailand Part I

With the prospects of an early move away from Kuwait looming large, we quickly changed our plans for spring break to maximize the use of round trip tickets included in our benefits here. A 7 hour direct flight to Bangkok was the perfect excuse to visit a country that is home (part time) to our "adopted daughter" Tanya. I've always wanted to visit Thailand and when Tanya's parents agreed to let her go with us and be our guide, we jumped at the chance. Molly was sad to miss the trip but we obliged her by Emily making a "flat Molly" to tote around with us and include in fantastic photo ops which let her enjoy the experience vicariously while at college. Expats unanimously enjoy Thailand and by our first day there, I began to understand why. It's hard not to compare it to Kuwait in terms of friendliness, cleanliness, and orderliness! While many areas were far from modern or wealthy, they were mostly clean and well organized. The people are beautiful and gracious. Each time we came and went from our hotel we were greeted with the traditional palms pressed together at the chest like in prayer, with a tiny bow. I desperately wanted to learn a few greetings in Thai and was so thankful that I could learn to say "hello" due to the similarity of it's sound to "So what the crap/ca" depending on your sex. Imagine saying this with a big smile everywhere we went! No one took offense! "sa-wat-dii dhrap/kha was met with warm smiles sung back to us with genuine hospitality.

Saturday morning after we arrived via plane, train & taxi, we checked into our beautiful Windsor Suites Hotel adjoining rooms on the 15th floor looking out over the Sukumvit road in Bangkok. We each had sitting rooms, bath and bedroom for $48 per room/night and an enormous breakfast buffet of Western and local food to include rice & pork porridge, stir fried veg and noodles, and the ever present fresh and exotic fruits to savor. Our first destination was the weekend Chatuchak Market by way of the public train system. I once more enjoyed the thrill of clutching a map and walking off into a new city, new language, new sights & smells to explore yet another culture. Sri Lanka barely counted for our Asia exposure so I was delighted for this opportunity. With newly acquired "baht" in our pockets we negotiated the transportation system with Tanya's help and found the market to be sprawled out around a park for more distance than we could cover in a day. We sampled the street vendor's food as we went: first was some grilled pork balls with glass noodles and rice...delicious! Ethan had not changed out of his jeans and was soon hoppin' hot with sweat so we bought him some long baggy dragon shorts and flip flops which suited him well. The girls were enchanted by strings of colored ball lights that wound up inside a basket like a lamp so we toted these two fragile bags all throughout the rest of our trip. I shopped for interesting jewelry for Molly, but mostly we just enjoyed the browse. Tanya's food recommendations often seemed exotic but she never failed to suggest very tasty treats that we would have never tried without her. The one exception would be the fried scorpions, water bugs and other critters she offered us down in Pattaya!

We drew the line there! The corn and rice ice cream at the market was a hit with the kids and I drank in the watermelon to quench my thirst.

We are a bit embarrassed to admit that we had German food our first night in Thailand but the restaurant was right in front of our hotel and we knew we'd indulge in Thai food the rest of the week. This one exception was indeed a trip down memory lane as we enjoyed all our favorite German dishes, even warm pretzel rolls and butter! Seeing the Thai girls dressed in dirndls was a funny sight, but we loved every minute of the evening. Even played our traditional Dutch Blitz while we waited for it to come.

We were conveniently located only a few blocks down the road from the Evangelical Church of Bangkok, and what a joy to attend church on SUNDAY for a change! This large international church welcomed us and the pastor even knew our pastor in Kuwait. It was a vibrant congregation and the sermon was a fresh and fantastic take on Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. It was soul food for which I was so grateful. Even the way the baby dedication and send off for seniors was comforting in it's familiarity. Through communion I encountered God today.

I'd planned a bike tour for the afternoon and was delighted that the threat of rain kept everyone but us away. Our guide seemed to be as entertained by our family as we were by her on this 3-4 hour private tour.  Onge took us in and out of busy streets to neighborhoods like shanty towns where hardworking Thai live. In conditions of what looked like extreme poverty we were still met by smiles and welcomed to take pictures of them and their houses. Our narrow path practically led right through their homes but these people never put a hand out and the children never begged. They only offered their products or fresh food cooked up between their door and the motorbikes but were never pushy or in our face. They had so much dignity though surrounded by tumbledown wooden/metal shacks build on foundations of rubbish. In every section there would be a Buddha statue and a spirit house be-decked with fresh flowers and offerings of fruit. Further on we entered a tropical forested area that was blooming with exotic flowers and fruit. 

Our path was an elevated meter wide trail on stilts with not sides to separate us from the green algae water below. This was rather threatening for Tanya who had not been on a bike in many years, but it was ETHAN who looked back on a turn and flipped his bike just as we got to the end! He managed to jump off, back onto the path as his bike landed upside down in the brush. Impressive! This lovely area was reached by taking a ferry across the Nam Chao River away from the buzz of the city. This jungle like terrain was divided into squares of land with canals for catching rainwater running between them. Our guide stopped for drinks and snacks and was prepared with mosquito spray, sunscreen, or first aid kit when Ethan got a little scrape. She was awesome but I can't believe we biked thru Bangkok with our kids and NO helmets! People actually looked out after us and smiled as we trailed like ducklings behind Onge. We were an oddity because locals mainly only travel by motorbike: up to 4-5 plus their shopping all piled happily on one bike! Both young and old raisin faces that hid smiling eyes wove in out of our caravan on their motorbikes, often with dinner swinging in a plastic bag like goldfish in water from Kmart.

After this 12km ride we were thrilled to take advantage of the cheap massage shop down the street from our hotel after a dinner of pineapple fried rice, mango with sticky rice and other yummy things I can't name. The ladies invited us all in and gave us a special one hour deal: feet, head, neck and arms for 60 mins finished off by tea=$6 each! We lined up on cots looking like we were all in a hospital recovery room (but visible from the street) and started by getting our street feet washed and dried. The ladies spoke no English but were very professional to my surprise. They used trigger point massage, wonderful oils, pressure sticks and we were all in heaven.

Monday was our day to see the Grand Palace where the all things Royal and Sacred are celebrated. We had a couple of scammy taxi rides and this was one who seemed to want to go the long way, but Robert insisted on the route he knew. I guess to get revenge, the driver dropped us off at yet another scam point: the gate that is not really an entrance.  At this spot, locals dressed to look "official" tell tourists the Palace is closed for a royal ceremony, then suggest they visit another nearby site until it re-opens. Conveniently located at the curb are tuc-tuc drivers ready to transport the unsuspecting tourist to the new location for a fee!  Fortunately, we'd been forewarned.  Next, we walked to the proper entrance and were singled out as inappropriately dressed because Ethan had on knee length shorts.  I thought this was also a scam to get us to buy clothes, but it was not.  We were just being harassed by the temple police who further on also insisted my capri pants were too short to enter, after having been admitted at the first gate.  For a deposit, they loaned Ethan some long pants to wear which were later peeled off away from the modesty police.  It was a joke because some people were being admitted with much less clothes than others.  Funny, it was worse than Kuwait at the temple!

The Temple of the Emerald Buddha is within this magnificent complex that was too large to cover on foot, especially since it started raining. The architecture and decor throughout were so detailed, colorful, and, well...so "Asian" it was a visual feast. The gardens were meticulously carved works of art and the buildings with their pointy layered roofs were beautiful. After stowing our shoes, we joined the tourists and worshippers in the temple where the relatively small green Buddha sat clothed in his summer robe (dressed by the King) high up on a pedestal. Devotees of Buddha knelt on the floor and bowed in prayer. Tanya modeled the proper way to sit with legs to one side and feet pointing away from Buddha. She was very reverent and prayerful as we enjoyed pausing in front of a fan. I had such a longing that all who were praying there could just know Jesus so I paced and prayed for his revelation to them, whispering his name as I went. while, we had a quite conversation with Tanya, wondering aloud if Siddhartha 
Gautama (known as Buddha after his enlightenment) ever thought that his teachings would produce a following of people who would pray to him and give such honor. I suspect he wanted people to be devoted to his teachings but not decorate statues of him with oil and flowers and 
prostrate themselves in prayer to him! We had to laugh at the parallels at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem where Christian pilgrims did similar things at the site where Jesus may have been laid. While people kissed the stone and rubbed souvenirs over it, lit candles and other forms of ritual, we had the same feeling: this looks like a case in missing the point! It was very humbling to think how we too must frustrate God by our attempts at worship. Oh, that we could understand the meaning of a living sacrifice. "Smells and bells" are fine and have a place, but I suspect God longs for more relationship and less ritual. Tanya told me she thinks people mostly come to temple now to ask for a blessing or for help with a specific problem. Probably the same reason most Christians pray. Across all cultures there really does seem to be a common need to worship, even among the Buddhists who insist they do not follow a religion, just a way of life.