Click thumbnails for larger photos.

The Grand  Palace and Temple Complex in Bangkok. (Click thumbnail for larger version)

Our guide, Note.

Spirit houses: These small shrines give the disturbed spirits a place to live when buildings replace trees on the land. (Click for larger version)

Lotus flowers at the Bangkok market.

Floating vendors find customers on and along the canals of Bangkok.

Jin shared some techniques of Thai cooking at a class in her home.

Bank demonstrates a traditional Thai stringed instrument.

• Part III: A massage, a blessing, home life and temples

• Back to Part I: Getting there and Angkor Wat

• Contact Ruth Marie

  November 22: Left the hotel at 7:30 a.m. to go to the Tonle Sap, a fresh water lake caused by the backup of the Mekong River during the rainy season.  A whole community of people lives on floating houses in the lake.  It was a fascinating look at a totally different culture.  The vendor who sold vegetables (or whatever) just paddled right up to the floating homes.  There was a school, a church, a couple of small stores and a bar/restaurant, even a small zoo where there were some birds in cages, also a python, iguana, and porcupine.  I would never have expected to see those animals in a setting such as this!  Since it was the beginning of the dry season, the water level was dropping and the settlements were moving toward the center of the lake.

    After the boat trip we headed back into town and visited a very interesting school for artisans.  The school is underwritten by the European Union and trains young people ages 18 - 25 in the local handicrafts of stone and wood carving, silk making and polychrome work.  The students are chosen from small villages and given aptitude tests to see which type of work they are best suited for, but if they prefer one of the other types there is nothing to keep them from trying it as well.  After they receive their training, they go back to their village and continue their trade.  Their work is collected periodically and is for sale in the shop that adjoins the school.  This way they become contributing members of their village and have a salable skill.  We visited each of the work areas.  The young man who took us around and explained the work spoke very good English with a slight French accent.  In the shop, we bought a lovely little bird carved in teak.

    Lunch at another open air restaurant.  Delicious spring rolls and a lot of other things as well.  Next door was a very posh shopping area.  As you stepped into the show room, a young salesgirl "attached" herself to you.  She asked questions very politely, and if you showed any interest in an article, she was ready with the sales pitch.  Since I am not much of a shopper, my girl finally lost interest, which was fine by me.  Some of the others found it annoying to be hovered over while looking at merchandise.  Obviously, private enterprise is alive and well in Cambodia.  The people are working hard to get out of the desperate poverty they have been in for such a long time.

    Before it was time to meet our flight, we went to a Killing Fields Memorial that was on the grounds of a Buddhist temple and cemetery.  What a despicable person Pol Pot was!  Millions were killed during his regime.  Som, now 36 years old, was in his teens when this was happening.  He feels that at least half the population of the country was annihilated.  He said that the wealthy, the educated and the old were the first to go.  Then the Khmer Rouge began killing shop keepers and workers.  Finally, they began killing everyone.  Because Som's family was made up of simple farmers, some of them survived.  He told us about stumbling over skulls and bones in the field next to the temple when he was taking the family buffalo to drink.  Jim and I were pretty much overcome by this memorial.  It was the first time I shed tears of sorrow on this trip, but it would not be the last.

    Another delightful flight with Bangkok Air.  Again, they served a light meal on the 45-minute flight!  It was while eating our sandwiches and fruit that we realized that today was Thanksgiving Day - and we have so much for which to be thankful!

    After landing and passing through all the controls, we changed money before finding Note, who was to be our guide for the remainder of the trip.  A personable young man,  polite, business-like and efficient with a musical side we did not discover until half-way through the trip.

    Our bus was large, high up off the ground, with more than enough seats.  It was bright red (we'll always be able to spot it!) and the curtains inside are bright pink!  It came to be known as "The Bordello Look."

    The traffic in Bangkok is formidable, to say the least!  I actually fell asleep on the bus as we sat waiting for it to move.  By the time we got to the lobby of the Regency Park Hotel, I was asleep on my feet.  It was all we could do to get to our room, which was very nice.  There was no way we were going to go out for dinner.  We ate some of the dried fruit and nuts that we always carry, drank some water, washed out a few things and by 9 p.m. were in bed and asleep.  Of course, I woke at 4:30 a.m. and could not go back to sleep but that was after seven hours of sleep which made me feel much better!   

    November 23: Wonderful breakfast buffet right outside our door.  We are on the third floor and that is also where the buffet is served - very convenient!  This is the place where pad thai (a special noodle dish) was so very delicious. It became my favorite breakfast item from the Asian side of the menu.

    Note met us at 9 a.m. for a briefing and then we were off to visit the Grand Palace and Temple Complex, along with what appeared to be at least half the rest of the world - great  numbers of Thai schoolgirls (ages 10-13), many Chinese and Japanese as well as western visitors. 

    Made up of crenellated walls, gilded spires, fierce statues and ornate buildings, old Siam seemed to come alive as we followed Note about the complex listening to his explanations of history and religion.   

    All of a sudden Note realized that it was Half Moon and this was one of the reasons for so many eastern visitors.  The Buddhist calendar is a lunar one so the most auspicious times to visit the temples are at Half Moon, Full Moon, etc.  Because of this, there was chanting in the Great Temple, which is where the Emerald Buddha is kept.  Actually made of jade rather than emerald, it is the most esteemed icon in the country and wears a different golden garment each of the three seasons.  Because of the high esteem in which the Emerald Buddha is held, it is the King who changes the garments.  The King is also held in very high esteem (more on this later).

    The offerings both inside and outside the temple consisted of food and flowers.  The most predominant flower was the lotus.  They come in white and rose and are absolutely beautiful.  They seem to be offered most frequently in a nosegay made up of six to eight blossoms surrounded by their large leaves.  I never tired of looking at lotus blossoms!   

Visiting the temple, we got our first taste of removing our shoes - it would certainly not be our last.  My advice to anyone visiting the Far East: wear something other than lace-up shoes!

    When explaining about the history during the era of King Rama IV, Note referred to him as "Mr. Yul Brynner" which instantly brought to life in our western minds what was happening in Siam at that time.  When he spoke of King Rama V, he reminded us that this was "the young prince" in the movie, "The King and I."  Both "The King and I" and "Anna and the King" are banned in Thailand because each of these movies indicate that there was an attraction between Anna and the King.  The historians of the country prefer that this impression not be given: therefore, the movies are not available to the Thai people.  Note said that he had seen a pirated copy of "The King and I" many years ago.

    While on the complex grounds several of us were approached by groups of the Thai schoolgirls.  They were doing a school project and asked if we would be willing to be interviewed.  I readily agreed.  Each girl in the group had a particular question to ask, practicing their command of English as well as gathering information.  Answers were spoken into a tape recorder, and afterwards they asked if they could make my picture.  Jim took their camera and they stood surrounding of me for the picture.  Some of their questions were: Where are you from?  Is this your first visit to Thailand?  What is your impression of our country?  Would you return?  What is your favorite thing in our country?  They were so polite!  It was a pleasure to help them out!

    Leaving the Palace/Temple Complex, we headed to a riverside restaurant for a buffet lunch.  Note encouraged us to try the chicken noodle soup.  It was fantastic and nothing like chicken noodle soup a la Campbell's!  It was shortly after 2 p.m. when we finished lunch and got back on the bus, but it was 4 p.m. by the time we made it back to the hotel!  I'll say it again - the traffic is awesome!

    By 4:30 Jim and I were out for a walk along the very large thoroughfare not far from our hotel.  This very wide street was most easily crossed by using elevated crosswalks placed at intervals along the way.  You would have taken your life in your hands to try to cross the actual street!  We happened on a huge many-storied building, named Times Square, whose first three floors contained shops of all sorts.  It was here that we found an Internet establishment.  We were able to get right on a machine and by using my Yahoo address were able to send a number of e-mails to let family and friends know that we were fine.  The keyboard was fascinating because it could be used for four different languages.  All you had to do was tell the attendant which language you needed and he made sure that you had the proper connection.  I had been concerned about dealing with an extremely foreign keyboard but that was an unfounded worry.

    Our hotel was located in "old Bangkok" and the streets were narrow, crowded and the sidewalks were dreadfully cracked and broken.  So, walking was an adventure.  It would have been foolhardy not to watch every footstep ... unless you wanted to end up on your face.

    During our walk we had seen several miniature houses on pedestals outside large modern buildings.  They were usually very intricately made and hung with flower garlands.  We noticed that there were offerings of food at each of these shrines as well.  They were spirit houses and sprang from the animist beliefs that when you disturbed the land by building on it, you were disturbing the spirits of the land and trees that were there before the buildings.  These shrines gave the spirits a place to live.    

    Dinner was in the hotel that evening.  We gathered around a long table with Note at one end.  We had a set menu served family style and true to form, it was delicious ending with coconut ice-cream and diced fresh fruit.  We were more than ready for bed again this evening.  What a wonderful day it has been, but it is only the beginning and as we are to see, each day got better and better!    

    November 24: On the bus at 8:15 a.m. this morning and it is our turn on the front seat.  We are rotating seats each day which is only fair with this many people.  Note takes the front seat right behind the driver which is where the microphone is located and the rest of us rotate around him.  There are several seats in the back of the bus which are not included in the rotation but are there if anyone wants to rest or stretch out.  It will turn out that today will rank very high on the "outstanding" list for me. 

    Never in my life have I seen a flower market like the one we visited!  I could have stayed there all day just drinking in the beauty of the place.  Orchids were everywhere; long stem roses were everywhere; flowering ginger of all species, lotus blossoms, jasmine, marigolds, heliconias, and more.  The prices were too good to believe - two dozen roses were the equivalent of $2.50 and the nosegays of lotus were about $.75!  Next to the flower market was a small food market which was fascinating as well. 

    This part of our walk took us to the Chao Phraya River where we boarded a boat which would take us to Wat Arun or Temple of Dawn.  The main temple here is built in the Cambodian style with the decoration being made of porcelain pieces which came from China as ballast in the trading vessels in the 1800s.  Cambodian style pagodas resemble an ear of corn standing on end, so they are always easy to recognize. There were also bronze statues which had been used as ballast in these ships.

    From the temple we continued on the river until we came to a turn-off into a canal.  Note told us that as a boy he swam and played in the canals in this area because he had relatives living there.  There were very nice homes as well as some more basic ones lining the canal.  We were on our way to a home visit where we would also have a cooking class - right up my alley! 

    It was Saturday so the children of the family were at home to help their mother with the cooking demonstration and meal.  Father, a customs official, was at work.  The home was right on the canal and the ground floor contained the kitchen, the bathroom and an open air dining and living area which was quite large.

    Our hostess Surajit Amphansaeng (Jin) introduced us to her children and explained their nicknames.  Because children are given names in Sanskrit which are very long and flowery, they are also given a diminutive or nickname by which they are known.  Usually the diminutive has something to do with the parents' occupation or desires or hobbies.  Our guide, Note, is called Note because his father is a musician.  Our hostess' 19-year-old son is "Bas" because the father loves basketball; the 15-year old son is "Bank" because they hope he will be a financier; and the 13-year-old daughter carries the diminutive of "Book" because the mother read many books during pregnancy.

     Bank demonstrated how they use the mortar and pestle on a daily basis to blend the spices and seasonings into a paste. Everything is done fresh.  No curry powder out of a little jar for them. After Bank made the red curry paste, his mother made Red Chicken Curry, which was one of our lunch dishes, she also demonstrated a sauteed chicken with ginger and vegetables which I got to help with.  Also on the menu was pork toast, an appetizer similar to shrimp toast, soup which was a clear broth containing cucumber stuffed with ground pork, jasmine rice to go with the curry and the chicken dish as well as  mixed vegetables, one of which was loofa.  Yes! Loofa, which we only know in the dried state as an implement used to scrub in the bath.  But loofa is a type of squash and quite tasty!  Then came fresh fruit, which we assumed was dessert, but we were mistaken!  Our dessert was extremely unusual and delicious - sticky rice with salted corn and sweet coconut milk.  Yes, I know what you're thinking - "How strange!" but it was superb.  Sweet and salty at the same time and amazingly delicious!  Sticky rice is a glutenous rice which is quite different to the jasmine rice that is eaten with the main part of the meal.  Jasmine rice is not flavored with jasmine.  That is just its name. 

    After lunch, we were invited to see the upstairs part of their home.  We removed our shoes and went up an outside staircase to two general purpose rooms which each measured about 14 feet by 14 feet.  These rooms were sparsely furnished compared to middle class homes in the US.  In the first room, there was a curio cabinet, a shelf which held a picture of the father's grandmother (who had given Jin and her husband the house on their wedding day) and a picture of them on their wedding day.  Each of the children had a piece of furniture which was a storage unit with their name on it and there was a western-style organ and two traditional Thai stringed instruments, which Bank played for us.

     In the other room the parents had their storage units against one wall, a shelf held a picture of the King and Queen, and on the opposite side of the room was a Buddhist shrine.  It was explained that each evening the family spends at least one hour in meditation together at the shrine.  Sleeping pallets were stored in the base of the storage units. I wonder what they would think if they could see all the material possessions that end up in middle class homes state-side!

    It was hard to say good-by to this wonderful family who had shared so much of themselves with us, but we were back on the boat to continue through the canals and a lock, which brought us back into the river and a stop at the Royal Barge Museum.  These are the barges that are brought out for state ceremonies and they are spectacular indeed.

    After a couple of hours back at the hotel, we were taken to a wonderful Vietnamese restaurant for dinner but I won't impose on you the list of wonderful dishes we were served.  I will say that my beverage that evening was made of lychee juice in a very fine shaved ice - extremely refreshing!