it’s amazing how much i’ve been procrastinating recently. it’s been so many days since i’ve returned from the short trip and here are the photos to share.i find it weird my photos belong to neither the touristy kind nor the arty-farty kind. they’re just plain pictures that tell no stories. i guess it’s because when i’m behind the lenses (it’s all taken with my nokia this time), i don’t think of anything else other than capturing memories. it’s all that simple to me.

here goes:

everyone knows about the new bangkok airport. it’s huge, with plenty of space and airport helpers to assist lost tourists, and despite all that, it was absolutely chaotic at the arrival halls. customs for arrivals was a joke - they didn’t check any luggage at all. i walked through the area, stepping into the arrivals hall while expecting to be hauled back for a examination and interrogation on why i didn’t stop for customs.

we spent a fair bit of our trip visiting temples instead of shopping and i didn’t mind it. in fact, we spent waaay less than half an afternoon at the weekend market, chatuchak. it was just too hot, noisy, crowded and chaotic. i only managed to buy a few pairs of earrings, which i have to share with my sister. sounds ridiculous eh?

anyway, the hours spent at the temples were better spent, cos every temple was a pure work of art. everything inside these temples were handcrafted - from the buddha statues, to the walls painted with intricate motifs, to the trademark stupas.

1. the back of the reclining buddha statue. the gold pillows had such beautiful carvings on them.
2. the mentioned painted pillars, which provided a great colour and texture contrast to the smooth gold statue .
3. a wall of tiles carved from mother-of-pearl, which forms the soles of the buddha statue.
4. close-up of one of the mother-of-pearl tiles.
5. the stupas on the left and the right, dedicated to the late kings of thailand. each was built with broken pieces of coloured porcelain. a stupa-like structure with a bell in the centre.

and it’s no joke that they have temples everywhere, they really do. along the chao phraya river trip we took, we saw temples every five minutes or so. and each of them were as beautiful.

my father, the joker. who patted the stone pig located in one of the temple grounds and said, “good pig, good pig.” and my mother went,” that’s a dog!” now we all know why i’m strange. i took this picture cos i remember a picture of my late grandmother sitting on a stone (or wood) tiger. now we shall start a family tradition.

the floating market, which every tourist has to visit. this particular one seems quite erm, developed. in the sense that they had neat concrete banks, raised market platforms for tourists to eat their meals, etc. etc. they sold lots of touristy stuff as well.

1. some of the boats selling non-tourist items.
2. more of the boats, with my mum’s pointing finger marring the picture. damn, and it has pretty rays of sunshine in it too.
3. traditional puppets which i thought were very pretty. handmade, of course. just like every other thing in the country.

the street scene, the famous tuk-tuk and the hot pink cabs. photos taken while i was inside a van going to the temples. going on tours with my family does not allow extra time for walking along the streets, soaking in the local culture or taking street photos.

i liked the way pedestrians and vehicles mingled on the roads and yet, gave in to each other. it’s part and parcel of their life. over here, if you cross the road when there’s a car coming, you get honked at like you’re committing some heinous crime. over there, if you cross while a car is approaching, they slow down and let you pass.

something which i really didn’t like was the way some jewellery or handicraft items manufacturers in the city had this arrangement with the tuk-tuk drivers, cab drivers, and even tourist guides, to bring in tourists for a “five to ten minute trip” where they would supposedly show us the manufacturing process, etc. etc. the carrot would be transport fares that were drastically lower. all these ended up in pesky salespeople encouraging you to purchase their products.

before i arrived, my family was actually thrown off a tuk-tuk as they had refused to enter the jewel manufacturer’s place. the tour guide later brought us to the same place, where my brother and i spent the time staring at the fishes in this big-ass tank.

the ubiquitous uncle ronald, who seemed to have a particularly large posterior.

 

 

 

 

over there in bangkok, i spent a huge part of my time in the hotel room. cos the weather outside was too hot, though the air was clear and haze-free.

my family went to catch the popular thai-girls show and the transvestite show which i had no interest in, so i indulged myself in yet another round of foot massage. that was heavenly and time well spent, especially with the neck and shoulder massage they threw in as a package. for someone trapped in the office and bound to the office computer, these massaging ladies were angels in disguise.

so that was all to my short bangkok trip and it leaves me wanting to go back again, so that i can explore the streets, the grand palace and the other historical sites.

till then!