Day 198 - The Big Guy

I have been wondering why this is such foodie blog. and I think it is because eating, along with pooping and sleeping, is one of those things we do every day. And while the first squat toilet or hand and water 'wipe' might be a culture shock, after a few times, it becomes the norm and you stop noticing it. Same with sleeping - the beds might vary in dimension, height, or materials, but they are still essentially a rectangular place to sleep. Food on the other hand is different every day. Imagine the variety of foods available at home, and now imagine that same level of variety in each country with not a single item being familiar. Everyday is a surprise. Even if you dine entirely on street food, which we have been doing in Bangkok, one can go an entire trip without eating the same thing twice. Only sampling a only few street stalls, we have had different varieties of meat on a stick, tons of fruit, barbecued squid in spicy sauce, fried fish balls, and an amazing seafood stir fry for a late lunch. Tonight I am going to haunt the streets near our hostel and see if I can't rustle up a plate of phad Thai. (I've heard the vendor on our corner makes the best in the city)

Other than eating, we spent the day riding the water taxi and legitimately visiting the temples that we saw last night. Bangkok used to be known as 'The Venice of the East', a title which still holds water, if you will pardon the pun. By far the most convenient way to reach most of the monuments and temples is via the water taxis and cross-river ferries.

We began our day by taking the water taxi up to the temple district, and then the cross-river ferry over to Wat Arun, or temple of the dawn. The temple's many spires are covered in elaborate mosaics. From a distance, they appear to be simply coloured tiles, but closer inspection reveals them for what they really are; pieces of dishes and other china that had been used for ballast in Chinese trading ships. Flowers whose petals use the curved edges of plates with dainty blue borders flank other blossoms with tiny porcelain saucers for centers. A series of frighteningly steep stairs leads up almost to the top of the wat, and offers views over the river and city.

From Wat Arun, we caught the cross-river ferry back across to Wat Pho, where we visited unofficially last night. Today the 'Buddha Room' was open and we spent a good while marveling at the largest gold reclining Buddha in the world. This guy stretches over 45 meters long and I think 15 meters tall. The pillars surrounding him are all inlaid with coloured tiles and semi-precious stones. Even the soles of his feet are decorated with mother of pearl whorls on his toes, and pictures on the soles. Outside the temple a great gong sat waiting for anyone who wanted to to strike it. It produced a resonant booo-ooong that was as much felt vibrating through one's body as it was heard.

We walked from the giant golden Buddha to Wat Prakaew and the Royal Palace. The place was crawling with people, as this complex is the top tourist attraction in Bangkok. Justifiably so- it is a marvel of gold leaf, mosaic, and Thai architecture. Though the king no longer resides here, it is still used for some official royal functions. This December was the king's eightieth birthday, and in honour of his birthday, much of the mosaic work is being cleaned and restored.

The place complex also houses the Wat Prakaew, home of the Emerald Buddha. Actually made of another green stone (Jade maybe? Jasper? I forget), the little Buddha sits atop a glorious heap of gold and crystal spires. Unfortunately photos are not allowed inside the wat - fortunately, the outside is just as elaborately gilded and decorated.

Hungry from playing tourist, we made our way back to the area near the ferry dock, and tucked into the delicious aforementioned seafood stir fry and a bottle of fresh juice. It was fairly thick, dark green, and not too sweet. It tasted good, and was deliciously cold, but I'm not entirely sure I want to know what sort of plant it came from.

By the time we finished 'lunch', most of the temples and museums were gaining on closing time. rather than trying to rush and cram one more thing in, we hopped on the water taxi and headed for home. We have since spent a quiet evening reading and blogging. I think I will ask at the front desk if we can stay here through New Year's Eve, then try rustle up some street food. The carts outside are calling my name.

Update: We will be staying in Bangkok through New Year's Eve, and have found a ourselves a posse of fellow backpackers to celebrate with. We will have a real UN intro to 2008 - In Thailand, celebrating with an Indonesian (now living in the US), some Americans, and a Swede (now living in Germany) ...plus whomever else we can convince to come with.

We ended up not having street food for dinner after all. We and the Swede went to a shopping center where he had eaten lunch, and ate at a 'shabu-shabu' chain. Shabu-shabu is a like Japanese fondue, with a bowl of boiling broth at the center of the table, and trays of raw foods delivered to the diners for cooking at the table. My arteries are celebrating the complete absence of meat or fat on the veg and mushroom platter we ordered.

After dinner, we returned to the hostel to see what our roommates 'going out on the town' plans might be. In the lobby, we met an Indonesian-born California girl who was going to see the red-light district. Thailand is known for its sex trade. In fact, quite a few westerners come here purely for 'sex tourism'. Intrigued, we, and about half our floor it seemed, decided to tag along. The district itself was quite fun with bright signs, 'hot' markets selling 'designer' goods, and even a baby elephant that for 20bhat once could buy a bag of elephant food (cucumbers and fruit) and feed. The shows themselves are about what one would expect....more dancing than clothing, and some 'special' tricks. Most of the shows are known as 'ping-pong show', I'll leave the whys up to your imagination.

After going to a 'ping pong show' (when in Rome...),we went to a (somewhat) more legitimate bar. There were still 'working girls' and dancers, but no tricks. Everyone (including the girls) seemed to be having a good time. We actually got into conversations with some of both the clients and staff. One gentleman we talked to has been living in Thailand for seven years, and is a regular at the bar. He flirted goofily (and very drunkenly) with all the ladies, and they seemed to like him. Granted they are paid to do that, but in this case, their attentions seemed almost more friendly or maternal than sexual.

All in all, we had a fun time, and look forward to ringing in the new year in 'The city of Angels'. (Really - that's Bangkok's other name)