Francesca and Henk-Jan's Backpacking Trip!
Friday, January 8, 2010
Buddha Bangkok
The 6th of January started rather calm, as we recovered a little from the hectic day before. The Lonely Planet and several websites had listed the oddly named ‘Cabbages and Condoms Restaurant’ as one of the must-visits of Bangkok. I knew it wasn’t too far away from our hostel, so we took the Skytrain and found our way to a little Soi (alley) on Sukhumvit Road and headed for lunch. The restaurant proved a little hard to find, but it was well worth the walk! We entered a very large and well-kept restaurant with condoms as decorations all around us.
To explain a little about what makes ‘Cabbages and Condoms’ so unique I’ll quote their own introduction: “‘Cabbages and Condoms’ is run by Thailand’s largest private-voluntary organization. This organization is called PDA and it was founded in 1974 by Mechai Viravaldya as an organization to promote family planning. Mechai realized that unless radical steps were taken to contain Thailand’s rapid population growth, the government’s efforts to promote development would be fruitless. PDA established community-based distribution networks throughout the country, providing the villagers access to pills and condoms. Village volunteers were recruited to be responsible for promoting and providing birth control. The name ‘Cabbages and Condoms’ comes from Mechai’s belief that for any program to be successful, birth control should be as accessible and easy to buy as vegetables in the supermarket!” I think you can guess now how the name came to be! Oh, and a side note: 100% of the restaurant’s revenue goes towards PDA.
Anyway, we sat down half-expecting we’d need to splurge a little in order to eat more than a slice of garlic bread here. Surprisingly, the menu was not overpriced and we chose some tasty meals. Francesca loves her sweet and sour chicken with cashew nuts, so it was an easy choice for her. I had a harder time, but I settled for a stir-fried mix of seafood and vegetables. We also ordered some plain rice to mix up with our food. Our servings were large and we filled up nicely! After the meal we walked around the restaurant and saw how the glass tables had condoms under the top layer. We also found several amusing posters, mannequins covered in condoms and a condoms-Christmas tree.
Francesca and I walked back to the Skytrain-station and headed for Siam, the center of Bangkok. The large mall right outside the station there caught Francesca’s eye, so we went inside. Siam Paragon, as the mall was called, still had its Christmas decorations! Inside we found a large variety of expensive and well-known brands. We did some window-shopping and eventually ended up in the basement where we stumbled upon the ‘Snack Carnival.’ A row of stalls solely selling snacks! Francesca was in heaven! One highlight was the ice-cream of IceDea: we got to try some very unusual flavors, such as ‘Global Warming’ and ‘Cigarette.’ Even though my experience with cigarettes is non-existent I could still tell the flavor was eerily accurate. It even looked like ice-cream ash!
We ended our exploration of the mall and went for the Hard Rock Café to pick up Uncle Randy’s next pin. Finding the Hard Rock Café proved a little difficult, since it was sort of tucked away, but with the help of some locals we found it in the end. We got a unique pin and skipped the food, since the prices were quite outrageous. Once outside again I spotted a hairdresser. I hadn’t had a haircut since leaving New York and it looked like I had grown manes. I decided it was time to get something done about that! Francesca wanted me to get some highlights, so I settled for a few. The hairdresser seemed to have a hard time understanding and started doing all of my hair. The price would go up quite a bit, and we did not want to spend a lot of money. I had them remove the dye and just had her do the haircut. Looking much younger and feeling good about it we headed towards our next stop. Unfortunately it had started raining, so we had to duck into some little stores. Francesca found an extremely cool t-shirt for a few dollars. Of course it ended up in our bag! By the time we got back at the hostel it was already dinnertime, and since our neighbor was open again we went inside.
I have been continuing my healthy habits and lost quite a bit of weight so far. Therefore I went with the spicy seafood salad. Francesca wanted the mac and cheese. After dinner we went back and watched a few episodes of ‘Dexter’ before falling asleep.
The 7th started off slow as well. We had booked tickets for a show in the evening. Knowing there was supposed to be a Cultural Center near the show we headed there a little early. We had to walk quite a distance, but eventually were halted by some security offers near the Center. We wondered what was going on, but they let us pass. We walked around the compound for a while, confused, not finding any exhibitions. Finally we went into the main hall, which was filled with more security officers, and a lot of men and women in suits or uniforms. We felt a little out of place on our flip-flops… One of the officers asked us what we were doing here and told us the Center was closed for a reception that day. Good to know!
We had no other choice but to go to Siam Niramit a little early. After we walked around the compound for another few minutes, looking at some statues we exited and asked for directions to Siam Niramit. The parking lot for Siam Niramit was completely empty, except for one lonely guard, who sent us to the Information Counter. We asked to see where our seats were, and seeing they were a little off to the side asked to have them changed. The lady gave us perfect seats! We had to sit around for a while, waiting for the gates to open, so we took that time to plan out the following days. When we were done with that the gates were open.
At 5:30 PM we went inside and checked out the rural Thai village; a nice little extra. The ‘villagers’ were still preparing for their little ‘shows’ for after the show, but we had the whole village to ourselves, giving ample time to take good pictures. The houses were built in different styles from all over Thailand, and from different times of the year. We also saw we’d be able to try some snacks later that evening. Francesca and I took our time, climbing into the little houses and talking to some of the ‘locals.’ Francesca spotted some ‘Wayang Kulit’ (shadow puppetry) puppets and got all excited! We decided we’d do another round after the show.
Since we found a really good deal online for our tickets a buffet was also included. We were quite hungry after all the walking and sat down for some delicious local and western food. It was funny to see how the Asians were mostly eating western meals, whereas we went for the Asian dishes. Francesca and I both filled our plates with as many different samples as we could. Very, very tasty! I don’t think we’ve ever taken an hour to eat, but around 7:00 PM we went downstairs again to go to the show. It was pretty much dark, but the unmistakable shape of an elephant was easily spotted. I saw we could feed the elephant for a few Baht, so I bought a little basket with pickles for Francesca. The elephant knew exactly where to go and its trunk was going for her basket. Francesca was a little scared, but I saw she enjoyed being so close the gentle giant. When the pickles were gone we spotted a dance performance right next to the entrance to the show. We sat down for a few minutes to watch the dancers perform a small part of the Ramakian, as well as some local dances. We also took some pictures with the entertainers before going to our seats.
I had to give up our camera, so I couldn’t take any pictures during the show. We found some online, hopefully it will give you an idea of what we saw. Siam Niramit boasts the highest stage in the world – certified by the Guinness Book of Records – so the décor was enormous. The story told was divided into three parts. The first was called ‘Journey Back into History: The Ancient Kingdom of Lanna’ and showed us people from different cultures meeting, mixing and bonding. There must have been over 100 dancers with spectacular costumes. Elephants and other animals were used and walked through the rows. The second part of the show was named ‘Journey beyond Imagination: Blissful Heaven’ and we got to see mystical creatures, with performers flying around the stage. The coolest part was the portrayal of hell and the worst sins that a Thai can commit. Apparently, Thais that consume alcohol end up in hell, where they have to drink boiling water. The performers had lights under their dark clothes that lit up when they got ‘forced’ to drink boiling water. The final part was called ‘Journey through Joyous Festivals: Loy Krathong,’ which showed us some of the local Thai dances for different festivals. The show was really spectacular and we enjoyed it thoroughly!
Once outside Francesca and I walked through the village once more and got to try a very tasty rice pudding, a Thai omelet, saw a little ‘Wayang Kulit’ and got peddled around in a traditional Thai boat. After that we looked for the free shuttle to the BTS Station, but decided we might as well walk and catch some fresh air. We headed back to HI-Sukhumvit and planned out our next – very busy – day.
Francesca and I got up pretty early on the 8th of January: we had a lot to do and see and we wanted to make sure we could. We grabbed some free breakfast, consisting of toast with orange jelly and a cup of traditional Thai tea for me and milk for Francesca. We then took the BTS to its final stop and grabbed a taxi to our first stop: Wat Arun. Wat Arun is named after the Indian god of dawn, Aruna. It’s covered in slightly damaged porcelain tiles, making for a very imposing mosaic. Wat Arun is also quite high, with the spire reaching 82 meters (250 ft.). Francesca wasn’t too keen on climbing the large and steep staircase up, but managed to make it to the top. The view over the Chao Phraya River and the city in distance was amazing and well worth it. We made our way down again and I got a little photo shoot on the stairs! We explored the rest of the temple grounds before heading to the waterfront. The driver had told us to take a water taxi to the other side of the river for our next destination, and so we did.
We took a few pictures of people feeding the plentiful catfish splashing around near the pier. As the water taxi took off Francesca and I got a great view of Wat Arun as it slowly faded away in the distance. A few minutes later the taxi arrived on the other side and emerged in a little market. Francesca spotted a purple drink, made of dragon fruit. We could not resist temptation and bought a bottle. The taste wasn’t bad at all, very reminiscent of mild lemon and a little bit of sweetness. We slid through the market and shortly after found our next stop: Wat Pho.
Wat Pho is the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok, dating from the 16th century. It also has the biggest collection of Buddha images in the country. There’s one more big attraction, but I’ll come to that in a minute. Apparently, there was a certain order in which we were supposed to walk through the large complex. The map was lost on us, so we wandered through by ourselves. We could see how much money was being pumped into the temple and its surroundings immediately. Loads of locals were making offerings and restoration and renovation was going on all around. The artwork and images were generally in mint condition. We spotted some pictures of ancient reflexology – the art of massaging certain parts of the body to reach and maintain balance. We saw a pretty big sitting Buddha, followed by an even taller standing one. We overheard someone talking about a third large Buddha, and wondered where this one would be.
When we got to the center hall and took our shoes off, entering the hall on our bare feet Francesca and I were blown away by a gigantic reclining Buddha. When I say gigantic, I really do mean GIGANTIC. It’s 46 meters (153 ft.) long and 15 meters (50 ft.) high. It illustrates the passing of the Buddha into final nirvana. As we slowly walked around we saw the intricate detail put into the giant. Most notable was the bottom of the feet, covered in mother-of-pearl displaying 108 different characteristics of a Buddha. We got somebody to take some pictures of us, so try and imagine the sheer size of this Buddha. As we walked around the backside of the Buddha Francesca spotted people throwing little coins into buckets. It’s done for good luck, as an offering and you’re supposed to make a wish per coin. We bought some coins and walked down the aisle popping coins as we went along. Let’s hope our wishes come true! Francesca couldn’t quite get enough of the reclining Buddha and thus we made another circle around. Once outside we knew nothing could beat this Buddha image. We headed towards the museum to update our (rather limited) knowledge of Thai history.
Walking towards the National Museum the heat was getting to both of us. We looked for an escape and spotted the King Chulalongkorn Hall. We had no idea who he was, but found out he was also known as King Rama V and reigned from 1868 to 1910. We also learned he was a great innovator, modernizing his country with Western technology, without losing touch of Thai culture. He spent several years in Europe and brought back a lot of knowledge. It was good to see how a King can make such a tremendous difference in the shaping of a country, for good.
The Museum wasn’t too far off anymore, and my companion and I dared to venture into the heat once more. The National Museum turned out to be a massive treasure of information. The first hall told us the story of early Thailand, or Siam as it was known then. We learned of Kings of old, the last being King Tak Sin. When this King died his chief commander, Chao Phraya Chakri took over and started the Chakri dynasty. This dynasty has held power since 1872 and has seen a total of 9 Kings. We then saw a list of accomplishments of each King. After working our way through this already large section Francesca and I checked our maps and saw we had another 50 halls to go. Luckily the other halls weren’t covered in written word!
In fact, most of the other halls had artifacts from different periods. We found one with a large collection of elephants’ tusks. It’s highly illegal to sell the ivory nowadays, so seeing so many in one room was sad and mind-blowing at the same time. We weren’t allowed to take photos, but because I’m a bad boy I took one anyway! Francesca was almost equally excited to see a whole room filled with xylophones and other local instruments. Yet another hall was devoted to Thai textiles, most notably silk. I found the ‘War Room’ more interesting as it was covered in pikes, mazes, swords, halberds and other sharp, pointy things. There was even a life-size war elephant, complete with soldiers! Again, no pictures… so here’s one!
It was almost 2:00 PM by now and both of us were quite hungry. We located the Museum’s Café and sat down. Francesca and I ordered a ham and cheese sandwich and a tuna sandwich, which we shared. Francesca also ate some chips, as that girl loves her chips! She had found a bit of an odd museum in the Lonely Planet: “The Royal Barges Museum.” She was quite intent on seeing it, and since we didn’t really feel like walking we took a quick taxi to the entrance. Well, we thought it was the entrance. We saw some unassuming barges and wondered if this was the museum. Some guards started laughing and sent us in the right direction.
On the other side was a sign pointing to the museum. We walked through some little alleyways and found another sign. We passed somebody cooking and selling food and found another sign. We continued and found one more. Next, we crossed some water and passed an old dog on 3 legs… only to find a new sign. You get the drift; we got to do some extra sightseeing before reaching the actual museum. Once we made it there we were glad we’d gone the extra mile: before us lay about 10 beautifully decorated barges. Barges are the old, long boats used for travel, work and even warfare. Nowadays they’re only used for ceremonies, which is why they’re in such excellent shape. The longer ones measure up to 50 meters (166 ft.) and take up to 50 oarsmen to move. All the barges have a different ‘head,’ telling their own stories. All were made to strike fear into enemies.
We moved on and took another taxi to our next destination. We wanted to see one more thing after that and closing time was approaching fast, so we had to hurry a little bit. When we got to the next temple we saw something completely different from the other temples we had seen: Wat Ben – or Wat Benchamabophit was built under the reign of Rama V in 1899, and is made of white Carrara marble. It’s a stunning example of modern temple architecture. We walked around it for a while, eventually entering the main hall, where the Buddha image could be found. To our surprise the courtyard contained a much larger collection of Buddha images, from all periods of Thai Buddhist art. Some of them were very different from anything we’d ever seen. Very cool!
By the time Francesca and I were done with Wat Ben our final item on the to-do-list had closed, and we could no longer go there. Instead, we drove to the Victory Monument BTS Station and had a quick look from the distance at the Monument. It was certainly MoNas in Jakarta-large, but not very impressive. I found some fresh watermelon much more interesting, before heading back to the hostel for some rest. I went out later that night to get myself a tuna salad and Francesca some satay with little buns. What a day!
To explain a little about what makes ‘Cabbages and Condoms’ so unique I’ll quote their own introduction: “‘Cabbages and Condoms’ is run by Thailand’s largest private-voluntary organization. This organization is called PDA and it was founded in 1974 by Mechai Viravaldya as an organization to promote family planning. Mechai realized that unless radical steps were taken to contain Thailand’s rapid population growth, the government’s efforts to promote development would be fruitless. PDA established community-based distribution networks throughout the country, providing the villagers access to pills and condoms. Village volunteers were recruited to be responsible for promoting and providing birth control. The name ‘Cabbages and Condoms’ comes from Mechai’s belief that for any program to be successful, birth control should be as accessible and easy to buy as vegetables in the supermarket!” I think you can guess now how the name came to be! Oh, and a side note: 100% of the restaurant’s revenue goes towards PDA.
Anyway, we sat down half-expecting we’d need to splurge a little in order to eat more than a slice of garlic bread here. Surprisingly, the menu was not overpriced and we chose some tasty meals. Francesca loves her sweet and sour chicken with cashew nuts, so it was an easy choice for her. I had a harder time, but I settled for a stir-fried mix of seafood and vegetables. We also ordered some plain rice to mix up with our food. Our servings were large and we filled up nicely! After the meal we walked around the restaurant and saw how the glass tables had condoms under the top layer. We also found several amusing posters, mannequins covered in condoms and a condoms-Christmas tree.
Francesca and I walked back to the Skytrain-station and headed for Siam, the center of Bangkok. The large mall right outside the station there caught Francesca’s eye, so we went inside. Siam Paragon, as the mall was called, still had its Christmas decorations! Inside we found a large variety of expensive and well-known brands. We did some window-shopping and eventually ended up in the basement where we stumbled upon the ‘Snack Carnival.’ A row of stalls solely selling snacks! Francesca was in heaven! One highlight was the ice-cream of IceDea: we got to try some very unusual flavors, such as ‘Global Warming’ and ‘Cigarette.’ Even though my experience with cigarettes is non-existent I could still tell the flavor was eerily accurate. It even looked like ice-cream ash!
We ended our exploration of the mall and went for the Hard Rock Café to pick up Uncle Randy’s next pin. Finding the Hard Rock Café proved a little difficult, since it was sort of tucked away, but with the help of some locals we found it in the end. We got a unique pin and skipped the food, since the prices were quite outrageous. Once outside again I spotted a hairdresser. I hadn’t had a haircut since leaving New York and it looked like I had grown manes. I decided it was time to get something done about that! Francesca wanted me to get some highlights, so I settled for a few. The hairdresser seemed to have a hard time understanding and started doing all of my hair. The price would go up quite a bit, and we did not want to spend a lot of money. I had them remove the dye and just had her do the haircut. Looking much younger and feeling good about it we headed towards our next stop. Unfortunately it had started raining, so we had to duck into some little stores. Francesca found an extremely cool t-shirt for a few dollars. Of course it ended up in our bag! By the time we got back at the hostel it was already dinnertime, and since our neighbor was open again we went inside.
I have been continuing my healthy habits and lost quite a bit of weight so far. Therefore I went with the spicy seafood salad. Francesca wanted the mac and cheese. After dinner we went back and watched a few episodes of ‘Dexter’ before falling asleep.
The 7th started off slow as well. We had booked tickets for a show in the evening. Knowing there was supposed to be a Cultural Center near the show we headed there a little early. We had to walk quite a distance, but eventually were halted by some security offers near the Center. We wondered what was going on, but they let us pass. We walked around the compound for a while, confused, not finding any exhibitions. Finally we went into the main hall, which was filled with more security officers, and a lot of men and women in suits or uniforms. We felt a little out of place on our flip-flops… One of the officers asked us what we were doing here and told us the Center was closed for a reception that day. Good to know!
We had no other choice but to go to Siam Niramit a little early. After we walked around the compound for another few minutes, looking at some statues we exited and asked for directions to Siam Niramit. The parking lot for Siam Niramit was completely empty, except for one lonely guard, who sent us to the Information Counter. We asked to see where our seats were, and seeing they were a little off to the side asked to have them changed. The lady gave us perfect seats! We had to sit around for a while, waiting for the gates to open, so we took that time to plan out the following days. When we were done with that the gates were open.
At 5:30 PM we went inside and checked out the rural Thai village; a nice little extra. The ‘villagers’ were still preparing for their little ‘shows’ for after the show, but we had the whole village to ourselves, giving ample time to take good pictures. The houses were built in different styles from all over Thailand, and from different times of the year. We also saw we’d be able to try some snacks later that evening. Francesca and I took our time, climbing into the little houses and talking to some of the ‘locals.’ Francesca spotted some ‘Wayang Kulit’ (shadow puppetry) puppets and got all excited! We decided we’d do another round after the show.
Since we found a really good deal online for our tickets a buffet was also included. We were quite hungry after all the walking and sat down for some delicious local and western food. It was funny to see how the Asians were mostly eating western meals, whereas we went for the Asian dishes. Francesca and I both filled our plates with as many different samples as we could. Very, very tasty! I don’t think we’ve ever taken an hour to eat, but around 7:00 PM we went downstairs again to go to the show. It was pretty much dark, but the unmistakable shape of an elephant was easily spotted. I saw we could feed the elephant for a few Baht, so I bought a little basket with pickles for Francesca. The elephant knew exactly where to go and its trunk was going for her basket. Francesca was a little scared, but I saw she enjoyed being so close the gentle giant. When the pickles were gone we spotted a dance performance right next to the entrance to the show. We sat down for a few minutes to watch the dancers perform a small part of the Ramakian, as well as some local dances. We also took some pictures with the entertainers before going to our seats.
I had to give up our camera, so I couldn’t take any pictures during the show. We found some online, hopefully it will give you an idea of what we saw. Siam Niramit boasts the highest stage in the world – certified by the Guinness Book of Records – so the décor was enormous. The story told was divided into three parts. The first was called ‘Journey Back into History: The Ancient Kingdom of Lanna’ and showed us people from different cultures meeting, mixing and bonding. There must have been over 100 dancers with spectacular costumes. Elephants and other animals were used and walked through the rows. The second part of the show was named ‘Journey beyond Imagination: Blissful Heaven’ and we got to see mystical creatures, with performers flying around the stage. The coolest part was the portrayal of hell and the worst sins that a Thai can commit. Apparently, Thais that consume alcohol end up in hell, where they have to drink boiling water. The performers had lights under their dark clothes that lit up when they got ‘forced’ to drink boiling water. The final part was called ‘Journey through Joyous Festivals: Loy Krathong,’ which showed us some of the local Thai dances for different festivals. The show was really spectacular and we enjoyed it thoroughly!
Once outside Francesca and I walked through the village once more and got to try a very tasty rice pudding, a Thai omelet, saw a little ‘Wayang Kulit’ and got peddled around in a traditional Thai boat. After that we looked for the free shuttle to the BTS Station, but decided we might as well walk and catch some fresh air. We headed back to HI-Sukhumvit and planned out our next – very busy – day.
Francesca and I got up pretty early on the 8th of January: we had a lot to do and see and we wanted to make sure we could. We grabbed some free breakfast, consisting of toast with orange jelly and a cup of traditional Thai tea for me and milk for Francesca. We then took the BTS to its final stop and grabbed a taxi to our first stop: Wat Arun. Wat Arun is named after the Indian god of dawn, Aruna. It’s covered in slightly damaged porcelain tiles, making for a very imposing mosaic. Wat Arun is also quite high, with the spire reaching 82 meters (250 ft.). Francesca wasn’t too keen on climbing the large and steep staircase up, but managed to make it to the top. The view over the Chao Phraya River and the city in distance was amazing and well worth it. We made our way down again and I got a little photo shoot on the stairs! We explored the rest of the temple grounds before heading to the waterfront. The driver had told us to take a water taxi to the other side of the river for our next destination, and so we did.
We took a few pictures of people feeding the plentiful catfish splashing around near the pier. As the water taxi took off Francesca and I got a great view of Wat Arun as it slowly faded away in the distance. A few minutes later the taxi arrived on the other side and emerged in a little market. Francesca spotted a purple drink, made of dragon fruit. We could not resist temptation and bought a bottle. The taste wasn’t bad at all, very reminiscent of mild lemon and a little bit of sweetness. We slid through the market and shortly after found our next stop: Wat Pho.
Wat Pho is the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok, dating from the 16th century. It also has the biggest collection of Buddha images in the country. There’s one more big attraction, but I’ll come to that in a minute. Apparently, there was a certain order in which we were supposed to walk through the large complex. The map was lost on us, so we wandered through by ourselves. We could see how much money was being pumped into the temple and its surroundings immediately. Loads of locals were making offerings and restoration and renovation was going on all around. The artwork and images were generally in mint condition. We spotted some pictures of ancient reflexology – the art of massaging certain parts of the body to reach and maintain balance. We saw a pretty big sitting Buddha, followed by an even taller standing one. We overheard someone talking about a third large Buddha, and wondered where this one would be.
When we got to the center hall and took our shoes off, entering the hall on our bare feet Francesca and I were blown away by a gigantic reclining Buddha. When I say gigantic, I really do mean GIGANTIC. It’s 46 meters (153 ft.) long and 15 meters (50 ft.) high. It illustrates the passing of the Buddha into final nirvana. As we slowly walked around we saw the intricate detail put into the giant. Most notable was the bottom of the feet, covered in mother-of-pearl displaying 108 different characteristics of a Buddha. We got somebody to take some pictures of us, so try and imagine the sheer size of this Buddha. As we walked around the backside of the Buddha Francesca spotted people throwing little coins into buckets. It’s done for good luck, as an offering and you’re supposed to make a wish per coin. We bought some coins and walked down the aisle popping coins as we went along. Let’s hope our wishes come true! Francesca couldn’t quite get enough of the reclining Buddha and thus we made another circle around. Once outside we knew nothing could beat this Buddha image. We headed towards the museum to update our (rather limited) knowledge of Thai history.
Walking towards the National Museum the heat was getting to both of us. We looked for an escape and spotted the King Chulalongkorn Hall. We had no idea who he was, but found out he was also known as King Rama V and reigned from 1868 to 1910. We also learned he was a great innovator, modernizing his country with Western technology, without losing touch of Thai culture. He spent several years in Europe and brought back a lot of knowledge. It was good to see how a King can make such a tremendous difference in the shaping of a country, for good.
The Museum wasn’t too far off anymore, and my companion and I dared to venture into the heat once more. The National Museum turned out to be a massive treasure of information. The first hall told us the story of early Thailand, or Siam as it was known then. We learned of Kings of old, the last being King Tak Sin. When this King died his chief commander, Chao Phraya Chakri took over and started the Chakri dynasty. This dynasty has held power since 1872 and has seen a total of 9 Kings. We then saw a list of accomplishments of each King. After working our way through this already large section Francesca and I checked our maps and saw we had another 50 halls to go. Luckily the other halls weren’t covered in written word!
In fact, most of the other halls had artifacts from different periods. We found one with a large collection of elephants’ tusks. It’s highly illegal to sell the ivory nowadays, so seeing so many in one room was sad and mind-blowing at the same time. We weren’t allowed to take photos, but because I’m a bad boy I took one anyway! Francesca was almost equally excited to see a whole room filled with xylophones and other local instruments. Yet another hall was devoted to Thai textiles, most notably silk. I found the ‘War Room’ more interesting as it was covered in pikes, mazes, swords, halberds and other sharp, pointy things. There was even a life-size war elephant, complete with soldiers! Again, no pictures… so here’s one!
It was almost 2:00 PM by now and both of us were quite hungry. We located the Museum’s Café and sat down. Francesca and I ordered a ham and cheese sandwich and a tuna sandwich, which we shared. Francesca also ate some chips, as that girl loves her chips! She had found a bit of an odd museum in the Lonely Planet: “The Royal Barges Museum.” She was quite intent on seeing it, and since we didn’t really feel like walking we took a quick taxi to the entrance. Well, we thought it was the entrance. We saw some unassuming barges and wondered if this was the museum. Some guards started laughing and sent us in the right direction.
On the other side was a sign pointing to the museum. We walked through some little alleyways and found another sign. We passed somebody cooking and selling food and found another sign. We continued and found one more. Next, we crossed some water and passed an old dog on 3 legs… only to find a new sign. You get the drift; we got to do some extra sightseeing before reaching the actual museum. Once we made it there we were glad we’d gone the extra mile: before us lay about 10 beautifully decorated barges. Barges are the old, long boats used for travel, work and even warfare. Nowadays they’re only used for ceremonies, which is why they’re in such excellent shape. The longer ones measure up to 50 meters (166 ft.) and take up to 50 oarsmen to move. All the barges have a different ‘head,’ telling their own stories. All were made to strike fear into enemies.
We moved on and took another taxi to our next destination. We wanted to see one more thing after that and closing time was approaching fast, so we had to hurry a little bit. When we got to the next temple we saw something completely different from the other temples we had seen: Wat Ben – or Wat Benchamabophit was built under the reign of Rama V in 1899, and is made of white Carrara marble. It’s a stunning example of modern temple architecture. We walked around it for a while, eventually entering the main hall, where the Buddha image could be found. To our surprise the courtyard contained a much larger collection of Buddha images, from all periods of Thai Buddhist art. Some of them were very different from anything we’d ever seen. Very cool!
By the time Francesca and I were done with Wat Ben our final item on the to-do-list had closed, and we could no longer go there. Instead, we drove to the Victory Monument BTS Station and had a quick look from the distance at the Monument. It was certainly MoNas in Jakarta-large, but not very impressive. I found some fresh watermelon much more interesting, before heading back to the hostel for some rest. I went out later that night to get myself a tuna salad and Francesca some satay with little buns. What a day!
