Sorry You Couldn't Come Along

The Chao Phraya is a busy river running through the heart of Bangkok, although technically between Bangkok (the side of the Royal Palace) and Thonburi (the side of Wat Arun, where we were staying). The longtail boats (with a propeller powered by a truck engine at the end of a long shaft that also serves as the rudder) really zip along. Upper left, by the way, is a lock connecting one of the many canals to the river.

On our last day in Bangkok, before a late night flight, we took the public fast ferry to a stop not far from the National Museum. We were grateful that our six nights in Bangkok seemed to have earned us a very late checkout at the hotel since the extreme heat would make a pre-departure shower a welcome luxury.

The National Museum certainly lives up to its name (although there are additional locations around the country). It’s one of those museums where you’re feeling overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of fascinating material you’re seeing and then realize that you’ve only scratched the surface and you have room after room to go. Like the Met, only with more buildings.

The King Ram Khamhaeng Inscription (discovered at Sukhothai in 1833) had been moved into a special exhibition space along with other “priceless documents.” From 1292, it records the origin of the Thai script and language and provides a description of life in and the norms of the ancient city of Sukhothai (predecessor of Ayutthaya as the capital of the nation).

Of interest to us was the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the United States and Siam, aka the Roberts Treaty, in a manuscript in Thai, Portuguese, Chinese, and English.

One of the holiest Buddha images in Thailand after the Emerald Buddha in the Grand Palace, Phra Buddha Sihing was brought to Bangkok in 1787 by Rama I from Chiang Mai and is thought to be from the 13th century. It presides in the Buddaisawan Chapel with some stunning murals surrounding it.

(One of those overwhelming “wow” spaces.)

A comparatively small teak house, The Red House, is also among the many buildings on the Museum grounds. It had been the personal quarters of Rama I’s older sister, moved from Thonburi, and then of Rama II’s Queen. Among the artifacts on display were some mended figures (the heads re-affixed) that served as a sort of talisman or magical figure that would suffer death so that a human would not, but would be protected from harm.

On the left, an 8th century stele from Ayutthaya Province depicting miracles at Savatthi where the Buddha spent most of his monastic life. On the right, multiple Dhamma wheels, each symbolizing the Buddha’s teachings. After reaching enlightenment, the Buddha set the wheel of Dhamma in motion with his first sermon in Sarnath.

All 6-12th centuries, all from Thailand, except Ganesh, a gift of the Dutch from Java.

From 13th century Sukhothai, the bronze Harihara is a synthesis of Shiva and Vishnu, i.e. “All is One,”and the highest god for followers of both Shiva and Vishnu, combining the powers of Shiva who destroys the world in order to build a new one and Vishnu who protects and maintains the world.

Royal insignia, a palanquin, Royal thrones, battle drums to signal troops to advance with prayers written in Khmer characters and the Pali language, all from the 19th century.

Khon performance dates from Ayutthaya and is an all-male dance performance to narration and music, typically of stories from the Ramayana.

Bang Pa-In Palace

Royal residences on Bang Pa-In island go back to the Ayutthaya era when King Prasat Thong had a palace built in the 17th century, now long since destroyed. It was Rama IV who returned and constructed the first temporary residence in the 19th century. It wasn’t until the 1870s and 1880s that most of the current buildings were erected. Today the palace is used only occasionally as a residence and for receptions.

In 1880 Rama V dedicated this small Khmer-style shrine to King Prasat Thong, whose name literally means King of the Golden Palace because a miniature golden palace was discovered during his reign. The tree is from a cutting from the sacred Bodhi tree and is protected by eight boundary stones (“sema” or “sima”) that ordinarily surround a bot (ordination hall) within a temple.

In 1876 Rama V built this copy of a pavilion in the Grand Palace that was used for changing regalia prior to mounting a palanquin (you know, the big box you sit in while a bunch of men carry it around on poles). A statue of the King now stands in its center. The covered bridge with louvered walls behind it to the left connected the semicircular building (a gate for the King’s use, now used for exhibitions) to the Royal Residence (part of the Inner Palace). The ladies of the Court could look out from the bridge without being observed by those in the Outer Palace grounds (the public area accessible to people who were not part of the royal household).

A favorite residence of Rama VI, the Chinese gifted this residence to Rama V. It possessed the first elevator in Thailand. Alas, it would have been nice to be able to go inside the various residences, but walking the grounds of the Summer Palace(s) did reveal once again the beauty that can be created with absolute power and unlimited resources. 😉

Ayutthaya

As is often the case, Ayutthaya the 14th century Siamese capital, sacked in the 18th century, is now wrapped around and through by 21st century Ayutthaya. It lies at the confluence of three rivers, including the Chao Phraya. There are ruins everywhere, temples everywhere, Buddha statues everywhere. We saw ruins, but not so much the better preserved bits around the city, such as a Catholic Church that survived the sack. The capital was named for Ayodhya, a fictional kingdom in the Ramakien, the Thai Ramayana.

The wihan or shrine hall of Wat Lokaya Sutharam housing this 140’ long Buddha was destroyed by the Burmese only leaving some brick pillars. The Buddha image represents his increasing his size 100 fold to confront the demon Rahu.

People can “make merit” by purchasing the cloth and draping the Buddhas.

All of these Buddhas have the same hand gesture of Calling the Earth to Witness. Depictions of the Buddha do feature different hand gestures having different meanings. This gesture refers to his coming to enlightenment and overcoming the temptations set forth by the demon Mara.

The Buddha head may have been separated from the body by the Burmese or by later thieves, no one knows for sure. But, what is remarkable is that it has been embraced (seemingly protected) by the Bodhi tree in an upright position. As with all Buddha figures, it is treated with respect and has become an iconic image for the country.

A horrific story from World War II is most remembered because of a work of fiction and the movie based on it. While exploring themes of loyalty and obsession, the novel does, however, capture the enormity of the actual events.

Resupply of Japanese forces in Burma (now Myanmar) by sea was threatened by Allied forces, causing the Japanese to dust off old ideas about a railroad to be routed through the mountainous jungle from Thailand. The Japanese assembled a slave workforce comprised of 60,000 Allied prisoners of war and 200,000 impressed Tamil, Javanese, Chinese, Malay, Burmese, and Thai laborers (“Romusha”) of whom an estimated 12,500 POWs and tens of thousands of Romusha died. Through the exercise of brutality and disregard for life, a task thought to require five years was completed in 16 months, despite POW efforts at sabotage.

The Hellfire Pass Interpretive Centre and Memorial Walkway was created and maintained by the Australian government in honor of those who died here. It is an excellent and sobering museum.

We elected (it being well over 100°F) to walk down through the first (Konyu) cutting and to the Memorial (1 km round trip), rather than the >5 km round trip through 5 more cuttings for which you are required to carry a safety radio.

The VFW erected this memorial plaque last year (2023) to commemorate the approximately 690 Americans among the Allied POWs, most captured on Java. It does not record whether any of those died in the building of the railroad. Our neighbor’s father was among the Dutch POWs forced to labor on the construction of the railroad, having also been captured on Java. He, fortunately, survived. We wished we had brought something to leave at the memorial.

We walked back up to our van, a cold bottle of water and a ride back to Bangkok.

We stayed on in Bangkok so that we could spend time with extended family.

Jim Thompson House and Museum

First stop was the Jim Thompson House where we had lunch to mixed reviews by our hosts who weren’t convinced that the Spanish chef was creating versions of Thai cuisine that were entirely satisfactorily, at least for Thai tastes. Of course, we thought it was really good.

Thompson (on the left) was a former architect, American army officer, OSS (CIA) who became a businessman and designer credited with not only saving the Thai silk industry after WWII, but really putting it on the map in the fashion industry. He settled in Thailand after the war and became one of the most famous people in Southeast Asia before mysteriously disappearing in 1967 while in the highlands of Malaysia. His legacy is not only a fashion business that bears his name, but a remarkable house he designed and constructed on a Khlong (canal) from six traditional teak houses he salvaged, mostly from Ayutthaya province, that is filled with a stellar collection of Southeast Asian art and antiques.

While he followed tradition in having much of the house elevated a full story above the ground and using high thresholds between rooms (either something about containing ghosts or crawling children), he went his own way in having an internal staircase and turning the wall panels around so that exterior decoration was now on the inside.

Khlong Bang Luong and the Artist House

We next were taken to a very relaxing place on one of the canals that’s frequented only by Thais (finding it wasn’t even easy for locals) and ogled by the foreign tourists going by in boats . . .

. . . to simply enjoy being together to while away the time working on crafts, eating, talking, and taking in the scene.

You just had to be careful on the little bridge over the khlong, as the motorbikes like to use it too!

A Nighttime Cruise on the Chao Phraya

Nongnooch Botanical Garden, Pattaya

The next day, a few of us headed out of the city and down to Chonburi Province and the city of Pattaya where we had a great lunch.

Nongnooch Gardens covers 500 acres with an absolutely astonishing (honestly, overwhelming) quantity of plants in rows, in piles and constructions, everywhere, in the open, under cover, and in elevated areas, row after row after row – a testament to what you can do with abundant water and sunshine.

There are also vast constructed landscapes, some religious in inspiration, others mimicking the grandeur of foreign places.

And then there are the dinosaurs (and other contemporary animals).

The Sanctuary of Truth, Pattaya

Perched above the Gulf of Thailand, the Sanctuary of Truth Museum is the largest wooden castle in the world. Constructed using traditional techniques (for instance, no nails) beginning in 1981, it remains a construction site and visitors must wear hardhats.

It is one of three museum projects conceived and executed by Thai businessman Lek Viriyaphan (1914-2000) in an effort to inculcate values derived from the major Eastern traditions through an ongoing massive sacred art installation . . .

. . . art intended to address the major issues facing people, “Who are we? Where are we from? How do we survive? and what is our life purpose?” as well as convey the five missions of humans and the seven truths by which we should live. Although inspired by the temples of Ayutthaya, the museum draws from multiple religious and artistic traditions.

Will it ever be completed? Perhaps not.

The Monarchy

Photographs of King Rama X are prominent throughout the country. Kingship of a unified Siam/Thailand was created in 1238 by the founder of the Kingdom of Sukhothai and continued as an absolute monarchy until 1932 when a constitution was granted.

The current dynasty was founded in 1782 when an Ayutthaya military leader seized power and moved the capital across the river from Thonburi to Bangkok, taking with him the sacred Emerald Buddha. All Kings of the Chakri Dynasty take the name Rama, an incarnation of Vishnu. Based on estimates from 2019, Rama X is the wealthiest monarch in the world in terms of personal net worth, not including assets of the state, the government, or the crown as an institution, easily outdistancing the Sultan of Brunei ($43 billion vs. $28 billion). To criticize the monarchy remains a serious criminal offense. The Grand Palace is the official seat of the Royal House, although the King’s official residence is elsewhere. His father, Rama IX was especially popular with the people during his long reign.

The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew

Once inside the walls of the Grand Palace, it’s clear it’s a city, a world, in and of itself. Inside the inside is the holiest of Buddhist temples in the country, Wat Phra Kaew, although one with no resident monks. It is where the Emerald Buddha resides. We, however, had little idea of what we were seeing as we moved along with the masses of visitors on a Sunday morning.

But, here we are at the Bot, the sacred building constructed for the Emerald Buddha. Legend has it that in Chiang Rai in the north of Siam in a temple also called Wat Phra Kaew lightening struck a chedi or stupa (a structure housing relics) one night in 1434 to reveal an image rendered in stucco which the abbot took into his residence. Much like what happened with the Golden Buddha more than 500 years later, the stucco flaked off to reveal an image of Buddha carved in jasper. It fell into Royal hands when the King of Chiang Mai sent his elephants to retrieve it.

Photographs are not permitted inside the Bot, but these images of the 26” tall Buddha dressed in costumes according to season are made available by the Palace. It is one of the duties of the King to personally ascend to the very high place above, in the large room where the Emerald Buddha presides, to change its costumes.

Wat Pho and the Reclining Buddha

Next door to the Grand Palace, Wat Pho is Bangkok’s oldest and largest temple and currently a center of traditional medicine housing the most respected massage school in the city. When he moved his capital to Bangkok, Rama I rebuilt the 16th century temple and enlarged it.

The King brought with him Buddha images from what could be salvaged of the prior sacked and now abandoned Siamese capitals at Sukhothai and Ayutthaya, so that the temple now has over 1,000 Buddha statues.

What brings people to Wat Pho, however, is the imposing gilded 150’ long plaster and brick Reclining Buddha, in its own chapel within the Wat, built by Rama III in 1832.

Fact #1

There’s water everywhere (this is the Chao Phraya River, but the city’s laced with canals).

Fact #2

It’s stunning in its aggressive beauty. Our first reaction being, is this Hong Kong or Singapore? Lots of crazy looking buildings in that skyline.

Fact #3

It’s hot! No, really. It’s both a very exciting city and really, really (really!) hot. Also, humid, as in most of Southeast Asia. Umbrellas aren’t for rain and we were very happy we had picked up those rechargeable little fans to carry around when we were in Saigon.

Fact #4

If you love food, it’s paradise! These were two of the dishes we had for our first dinner in Bangkok (we way over-ordered) and they were wonderful. It was a little restaurant on the sixth floor of ICONSIAM, a spectacular high end shopping mall close to our hotel.

The ground floor of ICONSIAM features, among other things, a truly enormous “Sook” or food court area with a staggering array of foods where you can grab a decent meal for a couple of dollars. Kind of overwhelming at first.

Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn)

When the capital of Siam (now, Thailand) at Ayutthaya was sacked by the Burmese (1767), King Taksin fled and arrived at this place, boasting an insignificant temple, at dawn. He greatly enlarged it, entrusted the Emerald Buddha to it (later moved across the river to Bangkok and the Royal Palace when the capital was moved) and called it now the Temple of Dawn, Wat Arun. It has since been again greatly enlarged, its central Prang (or tower) now standing 260 feet. The design is based on the Hindu and Buddhist idea of Mount Meru, a five-peaked mountain at the center of the universe, the same design as that of Angkor Wat in Cambodia (the temple and city sacked by Ayutthaya in the 15th century).

The incredible ornamentation is mosaic created from broken ceramic much of which was donated by local residents and executed in the 19th century. Everything is based on Hindu and Buddhist cosmology.

The young women in traditional dress standing in the shade are foreign (most likely Chinese) tourists who rent costumes imitating characters from a favorite movie.

Wat Trimit (Temple of the Golden Buddha)

Wat Trimit houses a solid 18 karat gold 5 ton Buddha, likely from 13th century Sukhothai, that sat unrecognized for centuries in layers of black lacquer and plaster intended (successfully) to protect it from looting by the invading Burmese.

It was “discovered” in 1955. In the process of being moved, the Buddha was dropped when a rope broke and a portion of the plaster with lacquer underneath fell away.

Within the same structure as the temple housing the Buddha and its museum, there is an interesting museum focused on the Chinese community in Thailand which dates from ancient times and has always been encouraged by the Royal family. A substantial portion of the Thai population shares Chinese heritage and Chinese have risen to positions of power and influence in the country.

Now for Some Food!

Recognition by either Michelin or the Royal Family was a big factor in the places we stopped by for sampling. The tour was very well organized with people saving places for us and getting us to the front of the line wherever we went.

The sweet ending to a night of roaming the packed streets of Chinatown was provided by a new fruit known as a mango plum, soy sauce ice cream topped with sweet soy sauce, and the classic mango and sticky rice. The final count was 22 different foods (all delicious) and a memorable evening.

The other thing that made it memorable was sharing it with not only our Thai guides, but our fellow gourmands from Switzerland, England, and Vietnam.

Land of Pho and Egg Coffee

On to Independence Palace (now, Reunification Palace)

President Ngô Dinh Diêm started construction on the Palace in 1962 after the old one was bombed by dissident pilots, although his assassination in a coup d’etat the following year bequeathed the honor of living there as head of state to the head of the military junta General Nguyen Van Thiêu who lived (and worked) there from 1967 until April 1975 when he fled the country during the collapse of the Republic of Vietnam.

The area of the Palace for receiving dignitaries and other guests was quite posh and formal.

With the government and military headquarters housed together, when that tank crashed through the Palace gate, it really was the end.

Post Office!

Thien Hau Temple (Mazu, Goddess of the Sea)

On a busy street in Chinatown is a temple first erected in 1760 to the Sea Goddess of the southern Chinese (Cantonese) by the Chinese community, long established as traders in Vietnam. The Sea Goddess is neither Buddhist nor Taoist, but has been absorbed into both by this community. The Sea Goddess (Mazu) is a deification of a young woman who saved her family by spiritual means in medieval Fujian and her worship thrives among the Chinese diaspora with roots in the sea. It was quite beautiful, despite being mobbed with western tourists.

A Small Taste of the Rest of the City

and a Farewell (to Vietnam) Dinner

Having made port in My Tho, rather than heading straight into the heart of Ho Chi Minh City (we’re told it’s still “Saigon” to many of the local residents), we went through the western edge of the city and about two hours north . . .

. . . through a prosperous rural area where people seem to be fond of ceramic dogs in front of their homes . . .

. . . to an area (in red on the map) filled with deep tunnels that was the southern terminus of the Ho Chi Minh Trail along which the Viet Cong, primarily, and North Vietnamese Army brought fighters and supplies into the heart of the South, not far from the Saigon airport and the deployments of US and South Vietnamese forces in between.

But, it was the labyrinth of deep tunnels with rooms for sleeping and cooking (with elaborate systems to contain and control smoke) that shielded the VietCong from both discovery and bombing.

This deep dive into all-too-lived-history makes us eager to see more of the Saigon we glimpsed earlier in the day, one firmly planted in the 21st century, as unsettling as that sometimes is.

Heading into the Colonial River Port of Sa Déc

Sa Déc had been one of the largest cities in the delta prior to the 19th century, but has become a rather low key river town with a nonetheless thriving business as an agricultural center and canals extending its reach further inland.

Setting of The Lover

You’ll be forgiven for not being familiar with Sa Déc’s international claim to fame as the town where the real life story behind French novelist Marguerite Duras’ autobiographical novel The Lover played out. Above is the family home of the young Chinese man, son of a wealthy businessman, with whom she had an affair as a half-orphaned, impoverished, French teenager born and raised in Vietnam. His father did not approve. Ah, the scandal, but an interesting house. The Chinese found success in Vietnam as traders and businesspeople, but have been subject to a lot of resentment for their success and suspicion as people from a very powerful neighbor.

Wandering through the Market in Sa Déc

Stopping by Cái Bè, a Village with Interesting Offerings

Curiously, no one accepted the very kind and multiple offers to try one’s hand at these tasks, perhaps on account of the somewhat elevated temperature in the open air workshop, something around more or less 100°F.

After crossing the border from Cambodia into Vietnam, we take a sampan from the ship and dock near the ferry in the border town of Tân Châu on the Mekong (or Nine Dragons) River.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

Another wild ride takes us through the streets, making our contribution to the local economy.

There was a Cao Dai temple along the main street fronting the river. Founded in Vietnam in 1926, the religion is fascinating, a sort of mashup of world religions that includes Victor Hugo and Confucius among its saints and has an organization like that of the Roman Catholic Church. Here’s a short explanation: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cao-Dai

There was lots to see on the water . . .

. . . including a visit to a floating fish farm that takes advantage of the tremendous volume of water coursing down the river.

We also motored to Vinh Hoa island for a visit to some small scale farms,

and a small village (where ramps allow you to wheel in motorbikes when the floods come)

where we were invited inside (upstairs, above the space for hammocks, as well as the pen for the cattle)

and then headed back down to our sampan waiting in the canal behind the house to take us back to our ship.