Chiang Mai, Thailand
We've been so relentlessly scheduled that I haven't been able to get to an internet cafe - I go by them, longingly, in vans. Those who know my other domain can find my first batch of pictures at /trip1/index.html. I may be able to put more up tomorrow night in Bangkok.
We spent last weekend in Bangkok in a palatial apartment belonging to Ted and Alice, Hank and Peggy's friends. They - especially she - are living the good expat life. Peggy asked Alice if she had nail polish remover, and Alice looked blank for a moment, until Ted piped up, "Yeah, she lives on Soi [Street] 44!" "Oh, I'm so spoiled now, all these little luxuries," said Alice, snapping back into consciousness. "Manicures, pedicures. I don't even know how to wash my own hair anymore."
Bangkok was just startling in the beauty of its temples and palaces. Everything literally glitters: gold leaf, mirrored tiles, even actual glitter seems to be everywhere. Thailand is 95% Buddhist, but there is an occasional mosque and fantastically multicolored Hindu temple in addition to the beautiful wats. We saw the world's largest gold Buddha (lots of superlatives on this trip), not that big in terms of Buddha figures we've been seeing, but it's 12 feet high and solid gold. It had been covered with concrete for a few years to protect it from being stolen by an invading army - there are lots of stories like that, like the Iraq museum treasures that were hidden before the war.
On Monday we flew Bangkok air to Chiang Mai, the largest city in the north, and went directly to a mountaintop wat. I'll have to write more about this later, as we have to go catch a plane to Sukkhothai, the original thai capital.
We spent last weekend in Bangkok in a palatial apartment belonging to Ted and Alice, Hank and Peggy's friends. They - especially she - are living the good expat life. Peggy asked Alice if she had nail polish remover, and Alice looked blank for a moment, until Ted piped up, "Yeah, she lives on Soi [Street] 44!" "Oh, I'm so spoiled now, all these little luxuries," said Alice, snapping back into consciousness. "Manicures, pedicures. I don't even know how to wash my own hair anymore."
Bangkok was just startling in the beauty of its temples and palaces. Everything literally glitters: gold leaf, mirrored tiles, even actual glitter seems to be everywhere. Thailand is 95% Buddhist, but there is an occasional mosque and fantastically multicolored Hindu temple in addition to the beautiful wats. We saw the world's largest gold Buddha (lots of superlatives on this trip), not that big in terms of Buddha figures we've been seeing, but it's 12 feet high and solid gold. It had been covered with concrete for a few years to protect it from being stolen by an invading army - there are lots of stories like that, like the Iraq museum treasures that were hidden before the war.
On Monday we flew Bangkok air to Chiang Mai, the largest city in the north, and went directly to a mountaintop wat. I'll have to write more about this later, as we have to go catch a plane to Sukkhothai, the original thai capital.
posted by Bint al-Gharb at 1:20 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home