Francesca and Henk-Jan's Backpacking Trip!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Bazaar Bangkok!
After relaxing the next two days to recover from New Years, Henk and I decided to start discovering Bangkok on the night of January 4th. The Suan-Lum Night Bazaar was our first point of attack. Since we knew the bazaar was open until midnight, we decided to stop off for some Indian food at the mall around 7:30 pm before jumping on the SkyTrain and making our way there. The market itself sold mostly souvenirs and clothing, nothing too special, but we were still pretty blown away by what we saw. Why? The outdoor food court was awesome! Row after row of extremely cheap Thai and Western food stalls, a large stage with performers singing and dancing, and – should you not want to watch the performers – a couple of large screens showing current sporting events. The whole experience was complete with cute Asian Tiger beer girls walking around in their short blue dresses and heels. Not bad!
The next day we planned to go to the Grand Palace, the former residence of the King of Thailand. An absolutely stunning structure, this place was breath-taking. We had to take quite a journey to get there too, first getting on the SkyTrain, then taking the Subway, and finally cruising down the Chao Phraya River on a taxi boat. First stop was to the changing room – we were told Henk’s shorts weren’t modest enough for the palace… but for some reason, my short dress was fine! He had to change into pants that looked a lot like hospital ‘scrubs’ doctors wear during surgery. I made sure to capture that on camera.
Entering the complex was an eye-opener, and the first thing we spotted was the decorative murals on the walls which told the epic Ramayana “Thai-style” – a collection of tales known as the “Ramakian.” We spotted someone doing restoration work on the walls, just painting away while listening to his Ipod. As we explored, we read through our guide/brochure: “The Grand Palace was established in 1782 after King Rama I’s ascension to the throne… [It] covers an area of 218,000 square meters and surrounded by four 1900 meter length walls. [It] served both as the King’s residence and as the site of administrative offices.”
Next we passed a huge model of the famed Angkor Wat (which we’ll see later on this trip) which was impressive in its detail. As we walked through passing the huge golden chedis, we noticed some decorative figures along some of the structures. Some were monkeys, some were demons, and some were half woman/man-half bird creatures that represented angels. Two of the biggest figures in the whole complex were these guardian giants – two (approximately, we’re guessing) 30 foot high demon-looking creatures on either side of one of the entrances to the palace area.
Finally we reached the main attraction: the Royal Palace of the Emerald Buddha. There was a vat of water outside the temple with a bunch of water lilies (still in their bud state) sitting next to it. We watched the locals, and then followed as they dipped the bud into the water, then turned and dripped the water with a few shakes onto their companion’s head. We ditched our shoes and entered the famed temple. We couldn’t take any pictures inside, but we found one for you online.
The “Emerald Buddha” is in fact made out of green jade – not emerald. But the story of how it rose to fame is quite interesting. According to the brochure, “[The Buddha] was first discovered in 1434 in a stupa in Chiang Rai. At that time the image was covered with plaster and was thought to be an ordinary Buddha image. Later, however, the abbot who had found the image noticed that the plaster on the nose had flaked off, revealing the green stone underneath. The abbot initially thought that the stone was emerald and thus the legend of the Emerald Buddha image began.”
The Buddha was a lot smaller than I had imagined, but I was excited to learn that the followers “dress” him up in various elaborate costumes according to the Thai seasons – summer, rainy season, and winter. Sounds fun! When we saw him, the Emerald Buddha was wearing the costume for winter. The other costumes we got to peek at later in the Temple of the Emerald Buddha Museum, which I thought was an awesome highlight!
There were various Throne Halls, small temples, and a courtyard to explore after the main complex, as well as the Temple Museum I just mentioned. In these museums, Henk and I got to see un-restored examples of the monkey and demon statues, which looked faded but still extremely detailed. After the Grand Palace, we crossed the street to grab some lunch since it was very hot outside and we were starving for some food. (And some AC!) One spicy soup and soy sauce chicken dish later, we waved goodbye to our new favorite restaurant ‘Krisa’ and started to walk around a bit to explore the area, walking in the direction of a large red “swing” we saw on the map. While exploring, we stumbled across a temple founded by King Rama I, a temple called Wat Suthat which housed a bronze Buddha image. The walls of this temple were also covered in Ramakian mural paintings and we enjoyed getting a glimpse at some murals in their un-restored and faded condition.
Outside of the Buddha room there was a “horoscope” or “fortune” cup – I saw them before when I went to China. These large cups have a bunch of numbered wooden sticks inside them. One asks the Buddha for their fate, then kneels before him and leans the cup slightly on its side – shaking it wildly until ONE stick falls out. Notice the emphasis I placed on “one stick” – I had to repeat this process a couple of time until I got just one stick to come out! This wooden stick has a number on it and once you know your number, you go to the box “cubbies” and pick a sheet of paper from the box with your number on it. Written on this paper is your fortune! Henk’s paper said “good fortune envisioned.” Let’s hope Buddha’s right about that!
After leaving the temple, we walked past Rommaninat Park where we saw a large group of Thai men and women doing aerobics led by a very eccentric man. Some were better than others at keeping up with him! We were making our way to a monument of Rama IV and by the time we made it there it was starting to get pretty dark out. After taking some pictures, we attempted to find a tuk-tuk to take us to the SkyTrain station, but the drivers just wanted to charge outrageous prices and we were in too much of a hurry to haggle with them.
Finally finding a cab, Henk and I jumped in and headed directly towards the Night Bazaar yet again. This time not for food and shopping – but for a show! On our previous visit to the Bazaar, we had seen a sign with colorful pictures of Thai puppets advertising the “Joe Louis Traditional Thai Puppet Theater.” Looked awesome! The puppets were bright, colorful, and quite large. Plus we managed to get a nice discount on the show which is always a bonus! At 7:30 PM, 30 minutes before the show itself started, we went into the auditorium for a documentary on Thai puppets. The video didn’t really tell us much except that Joe Louis was officially sanctioned by the King of Thailand to protect the art of Thai puppetry. Guess we came to the right show!
As the show began, we realized just how many people it required to stage a puppet production. On the right hand side of the stage were three “vocalists,” who both sang and read the Thai dialogue throughout the show. On the left hand side were 5 or 6 musicians – I noticed in particular the two large Thai xylophones, which would provide the main score for the majority of the songs. I am familiar with that instrument; when played, the xylophone evokes a light yet strangely haunting tone that is unlike anything I’ve heard before. Both the Thai dialogue and music added to the creation of an elaborate illusion – bringing us back to an ancient time before the birth of their god Ganesha.
“The Birth of Ganesha,” is the religious epic tale of how the half elephant/half man god Ganesha came into existence. When the performers took the stage, we noticed three performers per puppet. One person handled the right side, one the left, and one in the middle to control the puppet’s use of stage props and the puppet’s head/expressions. The person who ended up in “the back” of the three helped to steer them all in the right direction on stage and thus they appeared to move in unison. One of the most unique aspects was that the puppeteers really acted as if the puppets were an “extension” of themselves. The puppeteers “acted” while holding their puppets: their faces showed expressions of anger or sadness as their puppets acted out the same emotions. Really extraordinary to watch!
The show began by showing us Isuan, who is “in deep mourning for the loss of his consort Satee,” according to the synopsis we received. “The demon, Taraka, sees Isuan incapacitated by grief, and wickedly plans to dislodge him as master of the universe… Taraka ends up obtaining Isuan’s powers and invades heaven with an army of demons.” We earlier learned that as part of Taraka’s deal with Brahma for Isuan’s powers, that the only person who could defeat Taraka is Isuan’s son. Since Isuan didn’t have a son, Taraka agreed gladly. However, Isuan ends up being sent an incarnation of his consort Satee named Uma with whom he falls in love and has a child.
BUT Uma has this child when Isuan is away on a retreat. When he comes back, he doesn’t recognize the child as his own, only sees a large child with a weapon guarding Uma’s door. Isuan severs the child’s head with his trident, and upon seeing this, furious Uma is changed into Kalee – a monster/woman. Isuan learns the truth and gets an elephant head to attach to the baby’s body. Thus Ganesha is born. Ganesha eventually fights against the demon Taraka in battle and orders a serpent to kill him and the story ends. At the end, the performers pay tribute to the gods of art, and we joined in by practicing a “wai” (placing the hands together and bowing the head slightly) and banging a small gong.
After the show, we took some pictures with a puppet of Hanuman, the white monkey king from the Ramayana. Then Henk and I went to the outdoor food court to grab some late dinner. We enjoyed a unique cashew pizza and a chicken salad while watching some new dance performers on the stage. One SkyTrain ride later and we were back in our hotel for the evening.
Francesca
The next day we planned to go to the Grand Palace, the former residence of the King of Thailand. An absolutely stunning structure, this place was breath-taking. We had to take quite a journey to get there too, first getting on the SkyTrain, then taking the Subway, and finally cruising down the Chao Phraya River on a taxi boat. First stop was to the changing room – we were told Henk’s shorts weren’t modest enough for the palace… but for some reason, my short dress was fine! He had to change into pants that looked a lot like hospital ‘scrubs’ doctors wear during surgery. I made sure to capture that on camera.
Entering the complex was an eye-opener, and the first thing we spotted was the decorative murals on the walls which told the epic Ramayana “Thai-style” – a collection of tales known as the “Ramakian.” We spotted someone doing restoration work on the walls, just painting away while listening to his Ipod. As we explored, we read through our guide/brochure: “The Grand Palace was established in 1782 after King Rama I’s ascension to the throne… [It] covers an area of 218,000 square meters and surrounded by four 1900 meter length walls. [It] served both as the King’s residence and as the site of administrative offices.”
Next we passed a huge model of the famed Angkor Wat (which we’ll see later on this trip) which was impressive in its detail. As we walked through passing the huge golden chedis, we noticed some decorative figures along some of the structures. Some were monkeys, some were demons, and some were half woman/man-half bird creatures that represented angels. Two of the biggest figures in the whole complex were these guardian giants – two (approximately, we’re guessing) 30 foot high demon-looking creatures on either side of one of the entrances to the palace area.
Finally we reached the main attraction: the Royal Palace of the Emerald Buddha. There was a vat of water outside the temple with a bunch of water lilies (still in their bud state) sitting next to it. We watched the locals, and then followed as they dipped the bud into the water, then turned and dripped the water with a few shakes onto their companion’s head. We ditched our shoes and entered the famed temple. We couldn’t take any pictures inside, but we found one for you online.
The “Emerald Buddha” is in fact made out of green jade – not emerald. But the story of how it rose to fame is quite interesting. According to the brochure, “[The Buddha] was first discovered in 1434 in a stupa in Chiang Rai. At that time the image was covered with plaster and was thought to be an ordinary Buddha image. Later, however, the abbot who had found the image noticed that the plaster on the nose had flaked off, revealing the green stone underneath. The abbot initially thought that the stone was emerald and thus the legend of the Emerald Buddha image began.”
The Buddha was a lot smaller than I had imagined, but I was excited to learn that the followers “dress” him up in various elaborate costumes according to the Thai seasons – summer, rainy season, and winter. Sounds fun! When we saw him, the Emerald Buddha was wearing the costume for winter. The other costumes we got to peek at later in the Temple of the Emerald Buddha Museum, which I thought was an awesome highlight!
There were various Throne Halls, small temples, and a courtyard to explore after the main complex, as well as the Temple Museum I just mentioned. In these museums, Henk and I got to see un-restored examples of the monkey and demon statues, which looked faded but still extremely detailed. After the Grand Palace, we crossed the street to grab some lunch since it was very hot outside and we were starving for some food. (And some AC!) One spicy soup and soy sauce chicken dish later, we waved goodbye to our new favorite restaurant ‘Krisa’ and started to walk around a bit to explore the area, walking in the direction of a large red “swing” we saw on the map. While exploring, we stumbled across a temple founded by King Rama I, a temple called Wat Suthat which housed a bronze Buddha image. The walls of this temple were also covered in Ramakian mural paintings and we enjoyed getting a glimpse at some murals in their un-restored and faded condition.
Outside of the Buddha room there was a “horoscope” or “fortune” cup – I saw them before when I went to China. These large cups have a bunch of numbered wooden sticks inside them. One asks the Buddha for their fate, then kneels before him and leans the cup slightly on its side – shaking it wildly until ONE stick falls out. Notice the emphasis I placed on “one stick” – I had to repeat this process a couple of time until I got just one stick to come out! This wooden stick has a number on it and once you know your number, you go to the box “cubbies” and pick a sheet of paper from the box with your number on it. Written on this paper is your fortune! Henk’s paper said “good fortune envisioned.” Let’s hope Buddha’s right about that!
After leaving the temple, we walked past Rommaninat Park where we saw a large group of Thai men and women doing aerobics led by a very eccentric man. Some were better than others at keeping up with him! We were making our way to a monument of Rama IV and by the time we made it there it was starting to get pretty dark out. After taking some pictures, we attempted to find a tuk-tuk to take us to the SkyTrain station, but the drivers just wanted to charge outrageous prices and we were in too much of a hurry to haggle with them.
Finally finding a cab, Henk and I jumped in and headed directly towards the Night Bazaar yet again. This time not for food and shopping – but for a show! On our previous visit to the Bazaar, we had seen a sign with colorful pictures of Thai puppets advertising the “Joe Louis Traditional Thai Puppet Theater.” Looked awesome! The puppets were bright, colorful, and quite large. Plus we managed to get a nice discount on the show which is always a bonus! At 7:30 PM, 30 minutes before the show itself started, we went into the auditorium for a documentary on Thai puppets. The video didn’t really tell us much except that Joe Louis was officially sanctioned by the King of Thailand to protect the art of Thai puppetry. Guess we came to the right show!
As the show began, we realized just how many people it required to stage a puppet production. On the right hand side of the stage were three “vocalists,” who both sang and read the Thai dialogue throughout the show. On the left hand side were 5 or 6 musicians – I noticed in particular the two large Thai xylophones, which would provide the main score for the majority of the songs. I am familiar with that instrument; when played, the xylophone evokes a light yet strangely haunting tone that is unlike anything I’ve heard before. Both the Thai dialogue and music added to the creation of an elaborate illusion – bringing us back to an ancient time before the birth of their god Ganesha.
“The Birth of Ganesha,” is the religious epic tale of how the half elephant/half man god Ganesha came into existence. When the performers took the stage, we noticed three performers per puppet. One person handled the right side, one the left, and one in the middle to control the puppet’s use of stage props and the puppet’s head/expressions. The person who ended up in “the back” of the three helped to steer them all in the right direction on stage and thus they appeared to move in unison. One of the most unique aspects was that the puppeteers really acted as if the puppets were an “extension” of themselves. The puppeteers “acted” while holding their puppets: their faces showed expressions of anger or sadness as their puppets acted out the same emotions. Really extraordinary to watch!
The show began by showing us Isuan, who is “in deep mourning for the loss of his consort Satee,” according to the synopsis we received. “The demon, Taraka, sees Isuan incapacitated by grief, and wickedly plans to dislodge him as master of the universe… Taraka ends up obtaining Isuan’s powers and invades heaven with an army of demons.” We earlier learned that as part of Taraka’s deal with Brahma for Isuan’s powers, that the only person who could defeat Taraka is Isuan’s son. Since Isuan didn’t have a son, Taraka agreed gladly. However, Isuan ends up being sent an incarnation of his consort Satee named Uma with whom he falls in love and has a child.
BUT Uma has this child when Isuan is away on a retreat. When he comes back, he doesn’t recognize the child as his own, only sees a large child with a weapon guarding Uma’s door. Isuan severs the child’s head with his trident, and upon seeing this, furious Uma is changed into Kalee – a monster/woman. Isuan learns the truth and gets an elephant head to attach to the baby’s body. Thus Ganesha is born. Ganesha eventually fights against the demon Taraka in battle and orders a serpent to kill him and the story ends. At the end, the performers pay tribute to the gods of art, and we joined in by practicing a “wai” (placing the hands together and bowing the head slightly) and banging a small gong.
After the show, we took some pictures with a puppet of Hanuman, the white monkey king from the Ramayana. Then Henk and I went to the outdoor food court to grab some late dinner. We enjoyed a unique cashew pizza and a chicken salad while watching some new dance performers on the stage. One SkyTrain ride later and we were back in our hotel for the evening.
Francesca
2 Comments:
Bedankt Lieve Francesca voor je mooie verhaal en de prachtige foto,s. Ik heb het even snel gelezen, want ik moet naar de bus Ik moet naar m,n werk. Ik lees hem natuurlijk nog wel een keer.Hoelang blijven jullie nog in Bangkok. Gaat het verder goed met jullie.Met Henk-Jan ook alles goed.
Liefs Oma xxx
hey lieve kids!!
Heerlijk om weer wat van jullie te lezen en te zien, jullie zien er lekker relaxed uit.
Heb sinds gister weer internet, dus ik kan weer uitgebreid en rustig lezen. Net als oma ben ik ook benieuwd hoelang jullie nog in Bangkok blijven, er is zeker nog genoeg te zien??
Hou van jullie!
Mams
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