isobelll - with 3 l

Pictures coming on here as soon as I can find a free internet connection!


As I got of the plane in Bangkok everything seamed surreal, it was quiet, not that warm and the atmosphere at the airport wasn't Asian at all but as soon as I got outside security the scenery changed. Some nice but very firm people persuaded me to take a cap for 900 bath into town and I didn't have the energy to barging. But I got to Wat Pho, the temple I was suppose to see. Cat and I had been checking it out on the web earlier. And as I tried to cross the street a nice man helped me and said that Wat Pho was closed until noon. I had totally forgotten about the warnings on wikitravel about people saying stuff was closed but it wasn't. So I let the nice man write down some places that I should go and see. And he helped me to get a Tuk-Tuk for 50 bath that would take me to all the different locations and wait for me while I was inside looking around. Of course I was nervous but hey, what did I have to lose? If I didn't like it I could just hop out and take a cab back to the airport.

First I went to Watin (That's what he wrote but I can't find it anywhere on the net), which is a very tall Buddha covered in gold, most Buddha's in Thailand are, and I learned how to “worship”.

1. “Donate” money to the Buddha, 20 Bath.
   
2. Take some incense and a small yellow candle.
3. Ask if you might take a flower as well, they are long and have a white bud that hasn't bloomed jet.
4. Put the flower in the vase in front of the Buddha.
5. Light the candle and set it down by the rest of them.
6. Take out the little piece of paper that sits between you incenses sticks.
7. Light the incense and bow down.
8. Put your hands together, palm to palm and pray while holding the incense.
9. Take the hands up and down in front of you head three times.
10. Stick the incense in with the rest of them in a bucket of sand or it might have been ashes from previous sticks.
11. Take of you shoes !!!
12. Go on up to the Buddha and take out your little pieces of paper, there you will find 3 or 4 tiny gold squares, very fragile and thin. Stroke them on to Buddha's foot.
13. You are now fully... blessed? Prayed out? Good as gold? (As they say down here in NZ.)
    

I did this procedure lots and lots of times through out the day.


Next I went to this cool marble temple called Watr (?as he wrote it again, I'm gonna have to do some deep research here I think). They were praying as I got there so I didn't want to bother them but it was real cool hearing the monks chant away. They had a huge collection of Buddha's who all were very different, one that looked like a skeleton, real scary. And I had a stroll around the grounds bare feet course of all the signs everywhere saying I should take of my shoes. It rained but I didn't mind, it just added up to the hole feeling of the place.

Then my tuk-tuk driver, who had been waiting patently while I was gasping at everything, took me to the next Buddha. On the way from and to every “tourist attraction” I shot lots of pictures of the city, I didn't have time to go there but at least I had them in digital form? Better then nothing?

The driver pointed me in to a little brown temple which didn't look like much on the out or inside. There was a real sweet man who grabbed a hold of me and showed me the way to the lucky Buddha and how/what I should do in front of the altar. “Make a wish and it will come true!” So I did and I hope it will.

Sadly I didn't have enough money to go shopping for real but everyone persuaded me to go to this Export centre. Every year for one week they get to buy jewellery there without having to pay taxes. But I neither wanted or had the money to get anything, not there anyway. There was a better store a bit later where I couldn't help of feeling sorry for the tuk-tuk driver, he could get a ticket for 10 L gas refill if I only bought something out of the shop, which I (as a real tourist ought to) did. When I got back to where I started out at Wat Poh and it was time to pay him I felt sorry for him again. He wanted 100 bath before the nice man who told me where to go negotiated it down to 50 bath. And as I sat there, doing a bit of quick maths on how much that was, I realized that giving him a tip for 20 bath would have made me feel stupid as well. So I gave him the hundred, not knowing if he really needed it or just had succeeded in fooling me. But either way it's okay with me.

At last I got in to Wat Poh, which was a really big temple place. Lots and lots to see and to take your shoes off. But the best of course was the main one, as I got in I couldn't believe my eyes! There it was, that's got to be the biggest Buddha in the world (?)! Reading about it is nothing like seeing it for real, 15 meters high and 45 meters long. He's laying on his side, all coved in gold as the rest of them but huge!

Pretty quickly after seeing the big one the others seamed less interesting and though I went in to a few more temples on the sight, prayed some more and took lots of more pictures I was all Buddhad-out! One more hour until I had to go back to the airport, you never know how Bangkok traffic will treat you, I strolled around the city's small shops and found myself walking along some small streets far away form tourists attractions. And there it was, the river I had heard so much about. Beautiful! And another nice man wanting to take me out in his boat for a ride , but I didn't have the time. Shortly after he also wanted to take me to the airport again for 1200 bath in his private car but I heard the alarm ringing in the back of my head and kindly declined. And my reward for doing that was not only getting a taxi for 600 bath (set price).No, the best thing was to be able to walk right out into the street, look as cute as you can and in “real Hollywood style”pull up a cab. Yay me! I have never been able to afford that and it's the easiest way to get around in Bangkok if you are in somewhat of a hurry. And quite cheap as well.

Just because nothing bad happened to me on my strange adventures in Bangkok it doesn't mean that it never does. And the worst thing I could possibly do I of course did, in original Elli style, I fell a sleep in the cab. But if was totally fine, the driver laughed and I was back at the airport.

With some food in my belly, sore feet, being tired as hell, still having time to pass, I had some bath left over. What to do? Oh, I know! Get a Mochachill! I don't know where I got that splendid idea, oh but yes I do! It's you again Cat! You introduced me to the one at 7-11 which almost doesn't taste like coffee at all, more like Baileys! But this one didn't and I was just about to throw it away when the sky must have cracked open, suddenly it was real nice! And I promised myself I would never tell, but look at me now? That's the second impossible thing you taught me Cat, what are you doing to me? Think of my reputation! I've been a strong anti coffee-tea person all my life. An while I'm writing this I'm drinking a huge mug of Earl Gray...