After a short nap, I went out to get my bearings. The sultry air gives way to out and out tropical heat when the clouds clear. I was wearing long pants to be allowed into some of the more sacred places (long pants required) and I was feeling the heat. There are a dizzying number of spires all through the city, but nowhere more so it seems than around the Grand Palace. The palace was closed when I arrived (it closes at 3:30), so I went "next door" to Wat Pho (A "wat" is a temple), and one of the MUST SEE items on my list. The Giant Buddah.
Wat Pho was founded in the 16th century, but the present site really dates from the 1781 when it was completely rebuilt. It is filled with dozens of buildings and spires (stupas) in the several sanctuaries (think courtyards) within the complex. Some of the sanctuaries are guarded by giants that were transported from China and carved out of solid granite, others feature small gardens with sculptures of various sizes and a whimsical nature. This wat also has one of the largest collection of Buddah figures to be found anywhere. Most are covered in gold. This wat also has a long standing association with the healing arts, including the teaching of traditional Thai medicine and massage. Still, the highlight of this temple is the image of the giant reclining Buddah. At over 100 feet long and over 40 feet high, this image of the supine Buddah as he passes into nirvana is indeed one of the sights to see here. The image is modeled out of plaster over a brick core and covered entirely in gold leaf. I was in a sort of hushed awe (so was everyone else) I took off my shoes, entered and walked entirely around this colossal figure.
I left the temple grounds and decided to walk towards the river. I came across the area where there has been a great deal of political unrest in recent weeks. There was activity there. Thai people take their politics seriously and protest when the perceive their government has made a mistake. In recent times, that has been unrest due to rival factions supporting the current government, which is in fact democratic but accused of "buying votes" from the very poor through corruption and those who wish for a different form on representative democracy where everyone does not have a vote. The clashes have been intense lately. My impression is that the army backs one side and the police back the other side. That could lead to some interesting skirmishes. People were making political speeches, there was a small crowd present. Still, mostly it was the food vendors who were winning. You could buy delicious street food right there, have a foot massage, and even purchase t-shirts and toys!
I next wandered to the amulet market. Along this street there are dozens of people selling mall religious trinkets designed to keep in a purse, you home, your pocket, anywhere you would like to be reminded of the help from Buddah. They are all fairly small, with the tiniest of the at about 2 inches high and piled along the street by the thousands. The street terminated at an open air market where I wandered among the food sellers. The food is quick friend right in front of you. I chose a small piece of pork (no pork in Turkey or India). The girl serving me chopped it up and put it into a plastic bag with some chopped up, friend garlic. She also put in a small bag of fresh home made HOT sauce and a bamboo skewer. It was street lunch for about one dollar. I also got what I am calling "coke-in-a-bag". Here they take a plastic bag with handles, put in lots of ice and then pour in an entire bottle of coke. Next comes a straw and you are ready to go, with a coke hanging from your pinkie!
The evening was one of the other things I had been looking forward to: Muay Thai kickboxing! I caught a cab to Lumphini stadium, one of the two homes here to Thai boxing and a national institution. There are several seat options available, but I decided on the spectator seats at ringside (however, anyone can see that the fun stuff is in the cheap seats where the betting is taking place)! All in all, there were ten matches scheduled for the evening beginning with kids around 13 to 14 and ending with older boxers. The seventh bout was for the Thai Bantam weight championship! All of the fighters were very skilled and it was impressive to watch. A small band consisting of a shawm, a drum and some small cymbals played whenever the fighting started and throughout the round. Each match consists of five rounds of three minutes each. For each round, the band plays a bit faster. Simultaneously, there are family, friends and supporters for each fighter behind each corner yelling and shouting support for their person in order to sway the judges. By the end of the fight, the crowd is in a frenzy and the athletes are working very hard to put on good showing. It was as exciting a thing as I have ever done and a great way to end my first day in this remarkable city!
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