Bangkok (March 1-4, 2007)

First day in Bangkok

Bangkok palace

Bangkok Canals

The plane ride over was much better than expected. I saw “the Prestige”, which brought up a few interesting concepts. First, that a life’s work must be a total dedication and that there is no easy way. However, neither Jackman nor Bale are really happy. They are lost in the jealousy they have for each other. One is successful, one is married, but neither is happy. The simple presence of envy blocks out any chance of happiness..

The best way to describe Bangkok has been firmly planted in our cultural psyche for over 20 years – “This grips me more than would a muddy old river or a reclining Buddha” from One Night in Bangkok, the hit song that came from the Chess, the Musical. Bangkok is the result of too many people poured onto a peaceful land. Their culture, ethic is crushed under the shear weight of their overgrown society. And from the refuse, the worst of its society spills out. It is a teeming city. Hot, overcrowded, rank with pollution.

The beauty of the temples, the simplicity of the Buddha, the silent meditation of the monks, the beauty of thousands of years of training and thought are eclipsed by the seeping out of refuse of all society. Sadness abounds in every corner. One run through the streets of the city displayed the mélange of despair, poverty but also the signs that within this refuse, lives close communities, who are working together to get by.

Then there are the tourist areas, catering to distorted pleasures. This is a poor man’s mid life crisis paradise. Whereas Boca might cost you a red Lamborghini and dinner at Bova, here middle age doctors can purchase a mid-life sex pet for a mere $1000 Baht ($30 dollar) a day. OK, so she probably has at least one major venereal disease, but small price to pay. And for the quick thrills traveler, there is always the happy ending thai massage. Welcome to Bangkok.

Traveling through Bangkok is simple: Shack, Shack, Temple, Shack, big government building done in a modern/ancient mélange style, skyscraper hotel, shack, shack, big house, shack. There is almost no order to the city, that, with 12 million people, stretched as far as the eye can see in all directions. Developers definitely don’t have to deal with tough zoning and planning boards here. Shack’s are shacks. Temples, as we soon learned, are incredibly ornate, frequent and, after the second one, indistinguishable. We did see the “reclining Buddha” at the Wat Pho temple, and, yes, it is huge – the biggest Buddha in the world. The androgenous being stretches half a football field. It is the Godzilla-Buddha. I am sure some little Thai children have nightmares of the reclining deity getting up and walking through the streets, 200 feet tall and taking vengeance on unfocused children.

But at the same time, it is an incredibly friendly and spiritual city. The little bow they do as you approach is genuine, even if it’s the 1000 time they’ve done it day. As I took a jog along the streets near our Holiday Inn in Silom, guards and people waved to me (the big towering sweaty white guy who was dumb enough to run outside in the humidity). People were honestly nice, and spiritual. We were there for “big Buddha Day”, a name one taxi-cab driver explained the holiday as, justifying why the Tai-Boxing we were trying to see was closed. Big Buddha Day. While at the Imperial Palace, I bought the incense, candle, lotus combo and laid it on the Buddha statue for healing. Kind of cool.

On the second day, I finally got a Thai massage. I, strangely, don’t like massages that much. And, so much cracking of the back (I think mine cracked like ten times) can’t be good. From my friend Rafi who is a back surgeon I have learned one lesson in life – don’t mess with the back. Once its messed up, it never gets better.

Altogether, we saw just enough of the temples to gain a strong appreciation of their beauty – Temple of Dawn, Imperial Palace, “Big Buddha” Temple all were interesting, but wouldn’t need to see any more.

I am left glad I came and glad to leave. I never indulged in the “finer” offerings, but did see the muddy old river, the reclining Buddha and got an opportunity to meditate in a city with considerable holiness.

Things to travel with
For all ye to-be travelers out there, a few words on wisdom on some helpful technologies:
1. Bose Headphones – consider me an expert on planes, since I have spent 36 hours getting to Australia over 4 days. There is nothing like being able to create your own sanctuary. Don’t get the Bose QC-3, that, though smaller and equal in their “noise cancelling”, don’t go over the ear like the better QC-2’s. The Qc-2 are awesome and well worth the $300 investment. They almost completely shut out sound and make any noisy experience much more enjoyable. They have made the travels quite relaxing.
2. That stupid neck pillow – Buy the really good one at Sharper Image. You’ll thank me. It’s really comfortable.
3. Skype – I feel a bit like I am the last one to get on this bus, but if you are even slower than me, get to your computer and download it. Greatest thing ever. From Thailand, I can call the US, Australia, and almost anywhere for 2 cents a minute. And if I am calling somebody who has skype, its free.
4. Canon Powershot DS800 – Its absolutely amazing. The quality of pictures because of the image stabilizer combined with the 7.2 megapixels has not failed to amaze any person yet.
5. Tour guides – not so much. Get a good one. In Bangkok, we had Katy, a Thai local who provided no value except – “look, Demon…take a picture” – whenever we would ask what something was, she would answer either “look at ticket”, where there was a wo line explanation or “look, demon, take picture”