Monthly Archives: January 2012

Thai King

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When you visit a foreign country, you should come prepared and learn a little bit about their culture. One important thing in a foreign culture to learn is about the cultural do’s and don’ts — make sure you know what they value, and avoid doing things that are considered as disrespectful. In Thailand, one of these etiquettes is in talking or referring to the Thai King. There is actually a law that considers speaking ill about the King, the Queen, and the Heir Apparent as crime, and it’s serious enough that those found guilty of this violation can be sentenced to anywhere between three to fifteen years in prison.

For those coming from countries like the United States where there is so much emphasis on ‘freedom of speech’ (which in politics sometimes are taken quite far to even stretching the truths and saying negative things about other people), this ‘lese majeste’ rule seems to be too much. But I think you should consider looking at this from the point of view of the Thai people. They see their King as someone to admire, as he has many accomplishments and is known to be very committed to improve the conditions of the poor and unfortunate in his country. King Bhumibol Adulyadej has reigned since 1946, making him the world’s longest serving current head-of-state and the longest reigning monarch in Thai history. Throughout his reign, the King has accumulated a long list of royal nation-building projects ranging in scope from health to agriculture to education. In return, the nation displays their dedication to the King in their daily lives. You see the King’s photo in front of offices and on the wall of homes and stores, and people voluntarily wear yellow on Mondays to honor the day of the week when the King was born.

During our visit to Bangkok, we saw the photo of the King everywhere — what was interesting for a photographer like me was to see that on some of these posters, the King was shown with his Nikon camera hanging on the neck strap. Apparently photography was one of his hobbies. He is also an accomplished jazz musician and composer (known for his works on alto saxophone), an accomplished sailor and sail boat designer (he had won sailing races and designed several small boats), and a patent holder (for waste water aerator and rainmaking equipment). So quite an illustrious life — and no wonder his subjects revere him. During a tour while in Bangkok, our tour guide mentioned the Thai’s reverence to their King by telling the story about the city of Bangkok preparing fireworks and big celebrations for the King’s birthday so he could see those from his hospital bedroom (the King has been hospitalized since 2009 with various ailments).

The photo below was taken outside a building near the Grand Palace. We saw this as we walked from Wat Pho to the Grand Palace entrance. It was the first among many we saw around the city during our full day in Bangkok (which happened to be on a Monday — the day of the week when the King was born).

Poster of King Bhumibol Adulyadej

Wat Pho

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Wat Pho is a Buddhist temple in central Bangkok, Thailand, near the Grand Palace. It is one of the oldest temples in Bangkok, and is a home of more than 1,000 Buddha images, including the large Reclining Buddha measuring 50 ft in height and 160 ft in length. The temple complex is more than 250 years old, and at one point it was the site of center of education for Thai traditional medicine. The temple complex also includes 91 chedis (mounds or stupas) that commemorate members of the Royal Thai family. There are four large chedis in the middle that commemorate the first four Thai Kings.

We visited Wat Pho as the first stop on our full day in Bangkok during the Southeast Asia trip in 2010. Kristi had been there before, so she just waited outside while I went in to check out the large Reclining Buddha. To go in, you first need to purchase a ticket, then you go in line to walk in. You have to take your footwear off and put them in one of the open slots on the long shoe rack outside the temple, as you have to go barefooted inside the temple (it’s pretty much a Thai cultural practice to take footwear off before entering a temple or even a house — to keep the interior floor clean). You can then walk inside and spend as much time as you like going around the large Buddha statue. Most people would go in to take a photo of it (it’s allowed), and then leave. On one side of the temple, there are 108 bronze bowls that represents 108 characters of Buddha. It is said that dropping coins into every single one of the bowls would bring in good luck (the proceeds would help the monks maintain the temple).

After that, we spent some time in the temple complex admiring the colorful buildings and chedis. There are also some writings and pictures on stone wall that illustrates instructions for traditional Thai medicine — helpful for those who back then could not read.

One activity you could also do at Wat Pho if you like is to get a Thai massage. After all, this place is said to be the birthplace of traditional medical practice. I was considering that as an interesting activity to do, but we ended up skipping that and moved on to visit the nearby Grand Palace instead.

The photo below was taken inside the temple. I tried to get as much as I could of the Buddha, and took the photo quickly before other people came and get into the field of view.

Reclining Buddha

Kindness of a stranger… or a scam?

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Another part of experiencing a culture is the interaction with the people. You can learn about the good and the bad of a culture from the experience interacting with the locals during your stay. It is helpful, however, to read up about the culture before you go. Many guidebooks (and online travel guides) have good information about what to expect when meeting the locals, and some also warn you on what to avoid.

Our first interactions with the locals during our visit to Bangkok, Thailand, were true to what was said about the Thai. They were very friendly, kind, and you’re met with smiles. We were off to a wonderful start during our full day in Bangkok with an unexpected birthday gift for my cousin Kristi from our hotel staff. We also received helpful advice before we left and the hotel provided us with a map that covers the areas that we wanted to visit. The hotel manager also gave us a curious warning when visiting the Grand Palace: beware of anyone saying that the palace is closed and that you need to go back later. I wasn’t really sure why anyone would tell that to tourists…

When we walked closer to the temple of Wat Pho, a gentleman standing at the street corner came and said hi to us in English. I guess it was obvious that we were tourists — our backpacks, cameras, and maps gave it away. The gentleman asked us where we’re from, our impressions of Bangkok, and where we’ve visited. He also asked where we were going to go. When we mentioned that we’re on our way to Wat Pho, he said Wat Pho was closed at that time of the day due to a ceremony, and that we should come back at later time. Then he asked me for my map, and started pointing out places on the map where there are other temples to visit. He suggested that we visited those first, and then come back to Wat Pho when the ceremony was over. He also said that he could help us finding tuk-tuk to drive us to these other temples as they are a bit too far to visit on foot. We had quite a packed schedule for the day and were planning on being elsewhere for a scheduled tour later on that day, so I politely declined the offer. We were about to continue walking towards the entrance of the temple when he told us to go to the other direction — he said there was nothing to see in the direction we were headed to. I just smiled and continue walking to find out that we were heading to the right direction. The temple was open, and there were other tourists around visiting as well.

Later on, on our way out of the temple to go to our next destination, the Grand Palace, we were stopped by another gentleman at the temple exit. He asked for our tickets, and when I gave him those, he marked the tickets and asked me where I was going next. When I said we were heading to the Grand Palace, he told us that the Grand Palace was closed around noon time for a ceremony, and he suggested that we should visit other tourist attractions before coming back. Sounds familiar? It was the same thing… another scam to get independent tourists to go on tuk-tuk ride elsewhere in the city.

So I think the lesson learned from that experience is to expect the best from your experience interacting with the locals, but don’t let your guard down and be a victim of scams… It’s always good to learn about this beforehand by reading guidebooks or learning from other people’s experiences.

The photo below was taken inside the Wat Pho complex. The large stupas were built to commemorate the first four Thai kings. As you might have guessed… there was no ceremony going on that morning, and tourists were free to come and visit the temple.

Wat Pho

Bangkok Street Food

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Part of experiencing a culture is in trying the local food. When visiting Bangkok, Thailand, you can find good representation of the Thai cuisine in restaurants that serve Royal Thai cuisine like Thanying, but if you ask the locals, they would likely say that the best Thai food is found at the street stalls or small local shops. But if you ask for recommendations, you would likely hear varying opinions on favorite places to eat — each person likely has his or her own favorite place to go.

If you’re in Bangkok, and you want to try the street food, you can search around on the Internet to find out what the locals have to say about areas or places to go to find their favorite food stalls if there is a particular dish that you want to try out. But another way to go about it is simply to just ‘play it by ear’ (or, by nose) — plan your day to visit the places you want to see, and then around lunch or dinner time (or even along the way when you like to eat snacks), just look around and go to places that have food that looks or smells delicious, and where there are others eating. You may have to be creative in communicating with the vendor if he or she only speaks Thai and you don’t understand what they have written at their stalls (most are likely written in Thai, though the price would be written using the same numeric scripts). You should also have an open mind and be adventurous in trying out the food, as some of the ingredients may not be what you are used to eat at home. Also, be ready with some medication in the event that your stomach can’t handle the food that you eat — it’s a risk that you have to take, but in my opinion it’s worth it.

The photo below was taken when we stopped outside the pier near the Grand Palace where we disembarked after riding the Chao Phraya Express Boat. The pier exit was lined with stalls selling variety of food and fresh fruits and vegetables. It was quite a shock to the senses with the sights, smells and sounds of the food being prepared and served. My cousin Kristi decided to stop at one vendor that sells coconut-based snacks. It was freshly made to order and the price was quite cheap. And more importantly, it was delicious.

Street food

Chao Phraya Express Boat

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The Chao Phraya Express Boat is a good alternative means of transportation to try out and experience when visiting Bangkok, Thailand. The Chao Phraya Express provides transportation along the Chao Phraya River that goes through downtown Bangkok. When you want to visit the area near Wat Pho and the Grand Palace, you can’t take the Skytrain or the MRT there, but there are piers nearby where the Chao Phraya Express Boats stop. The locals use the boat as well for commuting, especially those who live on one side of the river and work at the other side.

Our experience to take the boat was when we traveled from our hotel Bangkok Loft Inn in Thonburi to the Grand Palace area. The hotel manager suggested that we took the Skytrain and then connected to the Chao Phraya Express Boat as an economic way to go (the alternative would be to take a cab). We thought that would be an adventure in itself to learn about the public transportation in the city.

When we arrived at the Sathorn Central Ferry Pier, we were unsure about where to go and what to do, as most signs were written in Thai. I did remember our hotel manager mentioning about the boat having a flag to indicate its route (more like which one stops at the destination you’re going to), and we generally knew the direction that we’re going (northbound on the river). So when a boat came with the flag color that we’re looking for, we just followed other passengers on board. We had not bought any ticket, and didn’t see any place to purchase tickets, and no one around seemed to speak English. So we just went on board, and we thought we just figure it out then. It turned out that it was the right thing to do. There was a lady on the board walking around collecting the fee and giving each passenger a little paper ticket. We just gave her the money, and she gave us the ticket and change in return.

The photo below was taken on the boat. You can see it’s a wooden boat, and it’s quite orderly and quite clean on board. Most people were commuters, mixed with some western tourists (they stood out with their more casual attires and cameras). The boat ride itself was quite nice, it provided a different vantage point to observe the daily life in the city of Bangkok.


Chao Phraya Express Boat