The Grand Palace in Bangkok was indeed grand. The amount of detail put into the beautiful buildings was amazing and the entire place left one with a lofty opinion of a successful state.
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| Many beautiful buildings |
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| Up close you realize they are adorned with tiny mirror tiles |
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| The most boring job in the world... |
There are many inexpensive options for transportation in Bangkok including my favorite of course - walking. For any kind of distance, the local river boats seemed to be the best option. For 14 baht (less than .50c) you can go to any one of 35 or so piers including ones on the other side of the river, thus bypassing all the congestion on the roads. There are also some trains that crisscross the city but they were a fair ways from backpacker central where I stayed - infamous in some circles I suppose - Chao San Road. At night, Chao San Road is literally the noisiest place I've ever been. Bars right across the narrow street from each other compete to drown out the music of the other - it's crazy. Thankfully I was in a nice quiet hostel a few blocks away.
The King's birthday was on the 5th and in the evening I went to a massive park area with some hostel mates to see the fireworks. We sat central/back from where I thought the festivities would be only to find that we were right in front of the fireworks launch pad - the first couple scared the hell out of me. I've never been so close to fireworks and was grateful nothing went wrong cuz the whole thing was a recipe for disaster. But oh so cool!
3 nights ago I took a local train to Kanchanaburi. When I got to the train station it was full of police security types and the press. I have no idea why - one of the frustrations of not speaking any of the language. At one point, right before the train before mine left, a guy was rushed in amid a flurry of activity from the press and loaded onto the train. He spoke from the platform in a manner that could only make me think of Caesar Chavez. I saw it on the news later in a shop in Kanchanaburi. I'd like to know what it was all about but probably never will.
I met a lovely man on that train - he translates new age (I told him, my church calls it new thought and he seemed to know what I was referring to) religious books from English into Thai. I have to say, the number of deep spiritual connections I've made with random people has been extraordinary. It cheers me.
The main draw for Kanchanaburi was the history that took place here during WWII. The Bridge on the river Kwai is located here. During WWII, the Japanese brought prisoners of war to the area to build an overland railroad. Many local people were hired as well with promises of high wages, they came from all around. Conditions were horrendous and many, many died. I took a local bus the 80 km to the memorial museum next to Hellfire pass. It was a somber place and very moving.
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| Hellfire Pass |
Am currently waiting for an air conditioned van to Ayuttaya. It should be arriving soon so I will have to postpone pictures - will try to update this posting soon. The plan is to be in Chiang Mai by the 21st. I'll be staying with Sean for a couple of days and looking for a small apartment - I'm feeling a need for an extended break and CM seems like the perfect place. I'm looking forward to seeing Sean and family and am hoping he has something going that I could be of use to him for a few weeks.
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