Sitting in Bhutan but Writing about Bangkok.

Today is April 7, our last night in Bhutan. I have mountains of material about this fascinating country, but I haven't told you anything about our stay in Bangkok which remains one of my favorite cities. Here in Bhutan we haven't had access to the internet until today where we are spending our last night in a most interesting hotel called Zhiwa Ling in Paro. This is a change from where we were booked but more about that later. As usual, posting pictures is difficult because the connection is so slow and sometimes just before it loads it screams ERROR at you and you have to start over, so I'm going to post what I have and try pictures later or maybe tomorrow when we are back in Bangkok for one last night before flying to Beijing.

After Chiang Mai, we flew back to Bangkok. Our stay in Bangkok was enhanced in several ways. First, by our guide, Bee, a young woman with a terrific sense of humor, great command of the language, and a lot of sensitivity to our needs. Her father named her Bee for the first letter of his BMW. She has a younger brother, Em, but thankfully the parents didn’t have a third child who would have been stuck with the name DoubleYoo.

Second, we stayed at the Oriental Hotel. Now people, if you ever come to Bangkok, do not stay anywhere else. Of course, it is well known as one of the best hotels in the world, but we have stayed in a few others with such reputation and seldom have they lived up to the hype. The Oriental is exquisite in every way. Mary and I had stayed with our group of ladies at the Sheraton three years ago and we loved that, but the Oriental is light years above any place I’ve ever been. The view from our room was straight down the Chao Praya and one could do nothing but watch the river activity all day long and be happy. The room itself was perfect, and mind you, this was not a suite, just one of their standard rooms. It had an internet setup with printer, fax, secretarial supplies and even magic markers (!), a bathroom where the lighting permitted you to actually see yourself in the mirrors, and the bed was one you didn’t want to get out of. Unfortunately, to catch our 6:00 AM flight on the morning we left for Bhutan, we had to arise at 2 AM, probably a world’s record for early rising. There is a butler on every floor and if you ring for yours, they are ringing your bell within seconds with ice or whatever you need. Fresh flowers and fresh fruit daily in the room, fresh towels in abundance, plenty of room to put your stuff, and the décor is, as the brochure says, “elegant but not stuffy.” The lobby is one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen, and the service impeccable. Tom is so spoiled he is insisting I bow to him at home and greet him at the door with hot compresses. Dream on, sez I. This was our big splurge and it was well worth it.

Bangkok is a fabulous, modern, vibrant city with one major drawback. It is hotter than the hinges of hell. It had been quite warm in Chiang Mai as well, but we’re talking Dallas mid-August sweltering in Bangkok, well over 100. I remember visiting the Grand Palace with the ladies on our first trip and having to be covered from head to toe with long sleeves, long pants and even no backless shoes. But they’ve relaxed the rules a little and sandals, sleeveless tops and skirts are now allowed. So we thank God for small favors. Just as we had the first time, we took a boat down the Chao Praya to the Grand Palace so the breeze made the heat less oppressive. It was very crowded in spite of getting a really early start, but I must say it was every bit as impressive as the first time I saw it. Bee was most informative and she would find us a spot of shade while she explained some fascinating tidbit or another. The sheer amount of gold is dazzling, and every inch is encrusted with mosaic or glass or in a few cases rare jewels. The Emerald Buddha is still there I’m happy to report, and he is made of jade, not emeralds.

On our first trip to Bangkok, a few of the ladies went on their own to see the Reclining Buddha, a famous local attraction, but for some reason Mary and I opted not to go. We both have always regretted it. This time, RB was on our agenda and we finally got to see him. Forty-five meters (that’s about 135 feet long) and 15 meters high, he is housed in a rather compact temple with just enough room for his substantial length and for the sight-seers and worshippers to walk around him. There are large square pillars every 20 feet or so and a fence between the pillars, so you can’t see him all at once—just vignettes of the various parts of him. For example, when you enter you can see his enormous smiling face propped on his hand, arm akimbo to support his body resting on its side. As you move down his length, you can see the folds of his robe and the curve of his legs beneath and of course the entire statue is in dazzling gold. When you get to his feet you can turn and walk up the other side, but don’t miss the bottoms of his feet—they are inlaid with mother of pearl and marble (I think) in a most intricate design and with all ten of his toes complete with exaggerated toe prints. His head is covered in tiny (scale-wise) ringlets and his earlobes are very long, to indicate his Buddha-hood. He is a most impressive sight.

After we visited the Grand Palace and the Reclining Buddha, we went by water taxi back up the river and had lunch at a seafood restaurant right on the water where again the fascination of the river activity is the main attraction. After lunch, we took a longboat into the clongs or canals which run snake-like in all directions off the main river. A longboat is like a cigarette boat, long, narrow and VERY low-slung and difficult to get into but after we were situated it was easy to maneuver (for the boatman, not us) into the more shallow and narrow arms off the river. We saw how Bangkokians live, both rich and poor, with their homes built right on the water. Some were luxury homes with palm trees, elegant patios and wrought iron gates, others were more middle class looking, and still others were quite poor looking, but almost every house was festooned with flowers, hanging baskets and plants. Spirit houses (small personal temples) are in front of many of the homes, small stores interspersed among the homes, and of course every so often a temple appears right in the middle of this water residential area.

Our next day in Bangkok was action packed so I'll put it in a separate blog.

Note: I have tried for the past hour to post pictures, first five at a time (no can do), three at a time (no can do) and then just one, and even it would not post. I know it has something to do with the very slow connection, but now I'm concerned I won't be able to post this blog! So I'm going to try right now and worry about pix tomorrow. So sorry, I know my prose needs pictures, but I gotta work with what I got. Love to all from the backwoods of Bhutan!