Once upon a travelogue...: Bustling Bangkok...

Bangkok, Thailand

il 26-31 ottobre

A mingling of people of different races and cultures, a blending of the old and the new, the exotic and the ordinary, Bangkok started out as a harbor town at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River about 400 years ago and became the country’s capital in 1782 when the current royal dynasty was recognized. (The present king took over at the age of 19 and, at 88, is the world’s longest reigning monarch and greatly beloved by the Thai people.) My introduction to the city was the bumper-to-bumper traffic and the high-rise buildings; a sense of a rushed urban lifestyle in an untidy sprawl, although, in fairness, this was before I discovered the parks, museums, public buildings, and Buddhist temples, and had the opportunity to appreciate Bangkok's rich religious, historical, and cultural past.

A morning cruise on the Chao Phraya River took us through neighborhoods where the homes are built on stilts in the water’s canals. Years ago, when the river was a major passageway, the houses faced out and people could buy what they needed from the floating markets that are still out there trying to sell items to the tourists. There are over 20,000 temples in Thailand and 465 of them are in Bangkok and, as families also have their own personal shrines to the Buddha, many of these are outside their homes facing the canal and readily visible.

Visits to the Temple of Dawn (Wat Arun), magnificently decorated with millions of pieces of Chinese porcelain and one of the river's oldest landmarks; the Jim Thompson House (he brought the thriving silk industry to Thailand); the Vimanmet Palace, built in 1900 as a residence for the royal family and, with 100 rooms, the largest golden teak building in the world; the Grand Palace, Bangkok's most famous site; the flower market, Chinatown, a sunset boat ride and evening city tour, a two hour Thai massage in my room and buying Tiger Balm... and it was time to leave for Myanmar.

Wat Arun