Tuesday was a very relaxing day. I slept in, had a late and relaxing breakfast with sausage (although the sausage wasn't good at all), and hired a taxi to take me to the Ban Batrra Community.
Ban Battra is the last remaining community that makes the alms bowls that the monks used to carry to get their food and donations. It is a dying art, and it is beautiful. The bowls are handmade from steel. They pound together 8 pieces of steel to make the bowl. While there I met this amazing woman who is one of the last people to make the bowls. She was so sweet and greeted me on the street with a smile and a bow. She couldn't speak much English, but that didn't prevent her from talking to me and mentioning my height and her height! She is very tiny, as most Thai are. She showed me around her little community and allowed me to sit and pound at the bowl that was being made. She sat with me and showed me how to do it! While I was looking at the different bowls she showed me her guest book and proudly pointed out all the visitors that she had from USA. I just couldn't tell her that I was from Abu Dhabi, she was so pleased to have another American visit. I guess in reality I'm from America via Abu Dhabi. So I signed her guest book as an American and then bought a bowl (happy birthday Mom!!!:) As I was leaving this wonderful lady we took another picture near the entrance to the community (the difference is height is very pronounced when we both are standing) and she instructed me to send her a copy of the picture. I will definitely do that!
After leaving the community my taxi driver took me to the Jim Thompson House. Jim Thompson was an American who settled in Thailand and helped to make the industry of Thai silk what it is today. His house was made from 6 separate houses and moved from different parts of the country to Bangkok. Pretty neat how they put it all together; you really can't tell that it's 6 different houses. Each room was a different house. The most spectacular part of the house were the gardens. Absolutely beautiful. Lots of vibrantly colored flowers, hanging vines, ponds with fish, and greenery everywhere. An interesting note about Thai houses; they build very high entrances into the house (what is that called?) so that the evil spirits that can only travel in straight lines can't get into the house. Interesting, but made for painful entering of each room/house. I took a quick tour of the house and went to the gift shop. The Thai silk is beautiful. Very colorful and soft. It really didn't feel like silk at all. The silk was very expensive, even in Bats, so I did not buy anything I just looked.
I left the Jim Thompson House and headed back to the hotel for a relaxing afternoon and evening. I would have loved to sit by the pool, but the weather was not cooperating at all; cold and windy all day.
Temples and City Tour 3/30
Another early morning. I had to be ready to leave the hotel at 7:30, so I got up early and had a quick breakfast so I would be ready for the tour. The driver showed up at 7:30 and then we went to 2 different hotels to pick up other tourists. There were only 5 of us on this tour so we didn't have a big bus, just a van. It was still pleasant and there was enough room for all of us to be comfortable.
The tour started with the Golden Buddha. This Buddha is made of nearly 5 tons of solid gold! The interesting story is that it was covered in plaster during a war and it wasn't until 1955 when it was discovered that it was made of solid gold.
From the Golden Buddha we went to the Reclining Buddha. This Buddha is huge! More than huge, massive. It is not made of solid gold, but the gold leaves. The feet of the Buddha are made of mother of pearl and are gorgeous. The Buddha measures 46m long (~150 ft) and 15m high (~ 49ft). It was very difficult to get a full length picture of the entire statue. The head itself is huge.
The last Buddha we saw was at the Marble Temple. This temple is made from Italian marble and is very different from the other temples in the area. The Buddha that is featured in this temple is pretty much like the other Buddhas. There is one area that has 52 Buddha statues, including one of Buddha fasting.
After the temples we were taken to the largest gem factory in the country. Thailand is known for its gems and jewelery. At the entrance to the factory/store there was an armed guard. Kind of impressive and scary at the same time. We toured the factory and got to see the gems being cut, polished, and placed in jewelry. Pretty neat. After watching the process of making the jewels we got to tour the store. Lots of jewelry and gems. Very sparkly! Very expensive even though I know the prices were cheaper than they would be at home, it's still too much to pay like 20,000 Bat for jewelry. I just enjoyed looking at the different cuts and stones.
That was the last stop on the tour so it was back to the hotel. Once at the hotel I had lunch and now it's time to get ready to leave. It's been a great vacation, but I am ready to go home. Not necessarily ready to go back to work, but ready to go home. I have seen some wonderful sights and had a great vacation, but it's time to return to normal.
Notes about Bangkok
- Very crowded
- Traffic is atrocious
- A lot of poverty, begging, and pickpocketing
- Good train system for traveling within the city
- A lot of pollution, both noise and air because it is so crowded
- 9,100,000 people in Bangkok
- Green in color and recycling
- Very nice people (everyone greets you with a bow and welcome to Thailand or their greeting)
It's so interesting to read about your adventures in other countries! And funny that you say you're ready to "go home" and "return to normal." In Abu Dhabi! :) I know what you mean, though; after I spent the weekend in another city, I just wanted to come back to Takasaki!
ReplyDeleteYou know I didn't even realize I used those words. Weird how it's becoming like home here!
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