Left for Bangkok on Thursday afternoon. There were already 2,078 passengers at the low cost carrier terminal when I entered the waiting room. It was havoc and sheer madness everywhere. It seemed most flights out were leaving from gate T8 and we had no choice but to wait patiently to be called to board our plane. It didn’t help any that the electronic board kept displaying that the earlier flight to Bangkok had closed, with no update whatsoever on our flight and the announcements made only served to confuse us further. Upon further query, we found out that our flight would depart on time [or rather, we would board the plane at the time the plane was supposed to have departed!] and that the 1340 flight to Bangkok was the one delayed [and still delayed by the time we finally took off at 1640!]. I guess they should add ‘on time departures are not guaranteed’ after the tagline Now Everyone Can Fly. Now imagine if you had been on The Amazing Race Asia and thought you’ve secured a lead over the other teams because you managed to book an earlier flight only to find that your supposedly earlier flight would depart much later!
We landed at the spanking brand new Suvarnabhumi Airport at 5.30 pm local time [Bangkok is an hour behind] and it was already getting dark. Night had fallen by the time we cleared immigration, collected our luggage and got a cab to the hotel. It was then when I got a taster of the language barrier and understood how frustrating it must have been for The Amazing Race Asia contestants to be travelling in the city. Luckily, my Thai friend, Nita, had translated our hotel details and other travelling directions into the Thai script. The cab driver waved off our map but looked at the translated hotel name; later I told F that I suspected he could not read the map as it was in English. Anyway, we arrived safely at our hotel, Princeton Park Suites, after about half an hour.
After checking in, we decided to take the bellboy’s advice and venture out to the Suan Lum Night Bazaar for dinner. The hotel staff later told me that the bazaar opens daily from 7 pm to midnight. So off we went into the Bangkok night. We wanted to take a tuk tuk on our return trip but the driver wanted THB400 [which was ridiculous considering we only paid THB240 from the airport to the hotel!] so we took a cab instead.
Friday, 29 December 2006. Nita and another friend, Tony, came over to the hotel to bring us for an up close and personal look at what this City of Angels (or Krung Thep, short for the much longer tongue twister Thai name) has to offer. It was already very bright and hot. We drove past the royal residence and the Parliament to the Ananda Samakhon Throne Hall. The beautiful Throne Hall was built in the reign of King Rama V using marble for construction in the Italian Renaissance architectural style. This is where the King delivers his televised speeches.
We then drove to Dusit Palace and upon discovering that we could purchase a day pass to enter the Vimanmek Mansion at the Grand Palace, we decided to leave the car behind and take a cab instead to the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) [as there may be problems finding parking spot near the Grand Palace]. Foreigners pay a premium fee over that paid by the locals [the locals get to enter for free at some places too!]. The wat structures are extremely colourful, comprising gleaming, gilded stupas, polished orange and green roof tiles, mosaic-encrusted pillars and marble pendiments. We went to see the Emerald Buddha, which is set in a glass case on a pedestal high above. Now the Buddha is actually made of type of jasper [a type of jade] and he has three seasonal royal costumes [for summer, rainy season and winter]! We then walked around the compound; there is even a miniature Angkor Wat at the Upper Terrace.
We then walked over to the Grand Palace, which apart for certain ceremonial occasions, is closed to the public. We snapped some Kodak moments before leaving the compound.
We decided to head for Wat Pho (or Wat Phra Chetuphon aka Temple of the Reclining Buddha), which on the map looked like it was situated just around the corner. After a few hundred metres, Tony recalled that it was actually a bit further [still within walking distance under normal circumstances but not in the sweltering noon heat!] and he suggested we had lunch first. We readily agreed and walked to a restaurant situated on the banks of the Menam Chao Phraya. We dined outside in the shade, enjoying the cool river breeze and watching activities along the river – the barges, the ferries and the long boats plying the river.
Now, the opposite side of the river is Thonburi, which was Thailand’s capital for 15 years before Bangkok was founded. Except for Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), most tourists stick to the east side of the river where we were on, or Ko Ratanakosin. Ko Ratanakosin (Ratanakosin Island) is where most of the older temples and the original palaces are located. Despite the name, Ko Ratanakosin is not really an island though in the days when Bangkok was known as the Venice of the East, the two lengthy canals that run parallel to the river to the east, Khlong Banglamphu and Khlong Ong Ang, were probably large enough for the area to seem like an island.
Having had a hearty seafood meal [which cost less than RM60 for the four of us!], we decided to brave it and take a tuk tuk to Wat Pho. Yes, four adults in a tuk tuk after a lunch but the tuk tuk driver took it [or us] in stride and off we went, clinging on to dear life as we cramped in the back seat. It was fun and hilarious nevertheless!
The largest temple in Bangkok, Wat Pho houses the tremendous reclining Buddha, all 46 metres long and 15 metres high. It illustrates the passing of Buddha into nirvana. Mother-of-pearl inlay ornaments the eyes and feet of the Buddha figure, with the feet displaying 108 different characteristics of a Buddha. We then explored the surrounding areas and even found the pit stop site for the Bangkok episode of The Amazing Race Asia.
We took a cab back to Dusit Palace [and the mad cabbie actually knew where the Pig Monument featured in The Amazing Race Asia was! Nita and Tony didn’t know where it was when we queried them earlier] and went to the Vimanmek Teak Mansion, which is the world’s largest golden teakwood mansion. This beautiful L-shaped, three-storey mansion contains 81 rooms, halls and anterooms of which only 31 are open to the public. The interior of the mansion contains various personal effects of King Rama V and it somehow reminded me of the Salarjung Museum in Hyderabad, India.
Time flies when you’re having fun and it was late afternoon when we left the palace grounds. It was end of working day for Thai people, a Friday and the last working day of the year too so you can just imagine the traffic. But it was still bearable [much better than KL!]. We drove to Central World, the largest lifestyle shopping complex in South East Asia. We then said goodbyes to Tony and Nita, thanking them for a splendid day out. After browsing through Isetan [yes!] and some other shops, we left Central World for Siam Paragon, taking the sky walk [a pedestrian bridge that connects various shopping centres situated above the road and below the Sky Train track]. Siam Paragon houses various international boutiques [including Gucci, yes!] so we just browsed through before having dinner at the food court [there is one Muslim stall there]. It had been a long day so we took the Sky Train to Victory Monument and cabbed it back to the hotel from there.
Saturday, 30 December 2006. We took the hotel shuttle to Chatuchak or Jatujak Market [JJ Market to the locals]. This is like the Disneyland of Thai markets; everything is sold here from live pets to herbal remedies to silk stuff and souvenirs and antiques to gems and jewelleries! I only wanted to search for Thai silk and have a look at gems and jewelleries, if any [Thailand is one of the world’s largest exporters of gems and ornaments]. We agreed to go our own ways and meet up again after 1.5 hours. I walked along the perimeter of the market and discovered there were almost 30 sections to the market! Luckily, I sighted a map and took one [a very good guide or one would be well and truly lost]. I went off in search of a Thai silk stall but found another instead.
The crowds got bigger as it was nearing lunchtime and after navigating my way through the maze of stalls and narrow corridors and being pushed, shoved and jostled about by other shoppers, I found F and we decided to have lunch. There is a Muslim stall near the clock tower and we had to wait for other patrons to finish their lunch before we could sit down for lunch.
We then walked to Mo Chit BTS Sky Train station and took the train to Sala Daeng in search of Jim Thompson silk house factory outlet. Now Jim Thompson was an American who briefly served in the Office of Strategic Studies (forerunner of the CIA) in Thailand during WWII. He moved to Bangkok after the war and became a tireless promoter of traditional Thai arts and culture and was primarily responsible for building a worldwide clientele for Thai silk that was then in danger of dying out. While out for an afternoon walk in the Cameron Highlands [yes, in Malaysia] in 1967, Thompson disappeared under quite mysterious circumstances and has never been heard of since... and to add more drama and intrigue, his sister was murdered that same year in the States.
The first Jim Thompson we found didn’t stock Thai silk fabric by the metre so we decided to walk over to the factory outlet instead, but not after stopping first at Unitrade Centre [someone came up to us earlier and persuaded us to go there, informing there was a sale at the Government-owned and run store]. And I err, umm, bought some jewellery there... but at least they were guaranteed and certified genuine.
The Jim Thompson factory outlet was quite small and hence not well-stocked so we left disappointed. We walked along the notorious Patpong Road – it was mid-afternoon and not much activity apart from noisy hauling of stall set-ups was seen and heard - to the Sala Daeng BTS station. We took the train to Surasak station and walked along the North Sathorn Road to Health Land. There were already quite a crowd there and as we may have to potentially wait for an hour for the Thai massage [it costs THB450 for two hours], we opted for the aromatherapy body massage instead. It was almost the same massage I had in KL but with different application; here the masseuse was gentle and keener to make you feel comfortable while at the same time ensuring you have a good massage. The one in KL was not very gentle and more bent on making you feeling painful [and then said ‘You should come again to get used to the massage,’ or indirectly ‘You should spend more money on us before you can get comfortable...’]. To be honest, I was a bit scared and terrified of the masseuse in KL.
It was dark when we re-emerged into the Bangkok air and feeling hungry, we took the train to Siam Paragon for dinner. There was a concert of some sort outside the shopping centre.
Sunday, 31 December 2006/Aidil Adha. Today is one of the holiest days in the Muslim calendar. I could only offer prayers for all the pilgrims performing their Haj half a world away. Anyway, on this side of the world, we took the hotel shuttle to the Mahboonkrong (or MBK) shopping centre. It’s all air-conditioned but there are many small inexpensive vendors in addition to the Tokyu Department Store. You can even bargain at the stalls so it’s like Suan Lum and/or JJ Market but with air-con! We had lunch there at a vegetarian outlet as the Muslim stall at the food court was closed due to Eid.
We then took a non-metered cab [the first one that I saw in Bangkok!] and after bargaining with him, he agreed to take us to Pratunam Centre but not before we stop at the Gems Gallery on Rama VI. It reminded me of those Government-owned outlets catered for tourists in Beijing and Shanghai. I was amazed at the gems and jewelleries on display – in various gigantic sizes, set in such magnificent settings! I couldn’t really part with more Baht on more jewellery so after admiring some, I walked over to a smaller gallery room housing various other Thai souvenirs. They were reasonably priced so we bought some souvenirs each while at the same time ensuring the cabbie got five free litres of petrol [if we had not bought anything, he’d only got one free litre]. It wasn’t so much to help him but as we could find something reasonable there, it turned out to be a win-win situation for both parties.
We didn’t venture into Pratunam Market because we’ve had enough of markets but went to Pratunam Centre. Even though not many shops were opened, I could tell this was a mistake. It’s a poor, sad excuse for a shopping complex and we were done in 20 minutes. We decided to walk to the nearest Sky Train station and go back to the hotel.
After resting, I went out alone in the evening [because F didn’t want to] to Suan Lum night bazaar in search of last-minute souvenirs. I had yet to buy souvenirs to be honest. So I left early, before 7 pm, as I wanted to be back before 9.30 pm. There was considerable traffic and I thought that it was due to New Year’s Eve. We passed the Victory Monument and I remember wondering why were there so many people on the sky walk looking down at the roundabout. I then saw police cars and crowds on the road and thought there must be some accident that had happened earlier. The cabbie then spoke on his hand phone for a while but because he couldn’t converse in English, I didn’t ask him what had happened.
It was when I had arrived at the night bazaar when I got a text saying that there were some explosions in downtown Bangkok. But I Always have this tendency to think that God will protect me insyaAllah. Maybe it’s just me - I tend to dismiss such things because I have Faith that I will be protected: I once encountered a bomb scare when travelling in the London Underground, no thanks to IRA terrorists; I also visited Belfast once with the army patrolling about - despite my parents’ warnings – and only told them after I came back safe; and I visited the States four months after the 9/11 incident and alhamdulillah didn’t encounter anything untoward [in fact a very friendly Yankee approached me and wanted to take me around his city!]. So pardon me if I didn’t see the reason to panic or be overly paranoid.
It was after an hour later when some stalls started closing down that I wondered if the situation was perhaps more serious than I thought. I mean, this was Suan Lum night bazaar and the shops here normally close at midnight. Then I started getting text messages from my girlfriends in England all asking about my whereabouts and that got me wondering how bad the situation really was. I hurried on with my Shopping, not that I had much luck with the stalls closing down and those that were still opened somehow didn’t quite catch my fancy. Took a cab back to the hotel – the cabbie could spoke good English this time! – and asked him what had happened. It was then when I learnt that there were seven explosions in Bangkok just after 6 pm. And I just passed Victory Monument, which was one of the sites of the explosions, shortly after the blast too, oblivious to the incident that happened only minutes before. Talk about ending the year with a bang! When I tuned into CNN later that evening, I found that New Year celebrations were cancelled in Bangkok. [If you ask me, I can tell you of many other ways to celebrate New Year]. Anyway, back in the cab, I kept thinking of the lyrics to the One Night In Bangkok song:
One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble
Not much between despair and ecstasy
One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble
Can’t be too careful with your company
I can feel the devil walking next to me
F was not happy that I didn’t respond to her texts; I told her that my hand phone battery was running low and that I had already sent texts to my friends in England and to Nita telling them I was safe. It turned out that her following texts only got delivered to me later that night and early the next morning! Funny ain’t it that I got texts from England quite promptly but very late from a roaming hand phone. Must be some network jam or something. I was a tad sad and disappointed that no one back home called to check on me as they usually do then realised that Akak was at HQ for Eid and we don’t have Astro installed there. In fact, Mummy told me that they only found out about the explosions the next day.
Monday, New Year’s Day. Boy, oh boy. Another brand new year to be greeted with enthusiasm and optimism, when I only have cynicism, pessimism and scepticism with the failings of humans with the never-ending war, the ever so elusive peace, the worsening global climate as evidenced by the extreme weather changes – no thanks to human activities [I like to think I’m doing my little bit in conserving resources], the famine in Africa, the increase in species listed as endangered [even polar bears are endangered now!]... maybe it’s just me but it’s just another day to me. Different year, different month, different date of course, but apart from that, it’s just another ordinary day.
Found out from CNN as I was getting ready that there were more explosions that rocked Bangkok five minutes after midnight. Left for the airport at 6.20 am because we thought there may be increased security check at the airport. Turned out the AirAsia counter would only allow check in two hours before departure. After checking in, I paid the departure tax of THB500 and went in immediately. Browsed the duty free shops before making my way to the gate. Flight took off on time and we reached KUL at 1235 hours. The bags were late and I was only reunited with my bag more than 45 minutes after touching down. Reached micasa at 1530 hours, knackered and hungry.
|