Continental Breakfast- toast,cereal,fruits,eggs- poached, fried, boiled, meat-bacon,hot dogs, pies, cakes, muffins, jams, marmalade, cream, juice, milk. Ashwin could eat a horse and I could eat a lot. Achu had bits and pieces of everything and I topped him with baby-food.
Slowly, but steadily, the rest of the group trickled into the hotel lobby. Ashwin and me heard stories from them about how it had taken 4 more hours after we had left the airport (to Ramada) for the Visa formalities of the whole group to complete. We had not waited for the whole process to complete and had left for the hotel as soon as our Visas were stamped and now, that turned out to be a wise decision. It had helped Achu in fitting in to this new milieu. When the entire group had gathered, the tour coordinator made his grand debut. We had met him once at the airport - he had made a short guest appearance then and had later been drowned in the Visa stamping exercise. Here he surfaced again. Like a shepherd, he gathered his flock of wide eyed, star struck [pun intended - Indians have wider eyes than Thai and Hotel Ramada is rated 4 star] tourists and led us to the travel guide.
Somporn was the man's name - the travel guide. He was of small stature - not very tall, slim, typical south-east Asian features; was native Thai and made that explicitly clear many times through our journey. There is nothing wrong in being proud of one's lineage. I could see his pride bubbling up when he said "I am a native of Thailand, not a Chinese immigrant". Pure breed! Class apart! I respect that! And then he reminded us it was lunch time already and we better fill ourselves up before we embark. It had been only a couple of hours since breakfast. None objected though! Somporn recommended an Indian restaurant - Curry Pot- for lunch. He said it would be good to walk till there for 2 reasons - (one) apparently, it was at a walking distance (two) we all would get a chance to explore the alleys and by lanes.
And so we walked till Curry Pot. It was hot. Achu was in the pram and soon I realised Bangkok was not pram- friendly. I had expected it to be more Melbourne-ish where you could use prams almost everywhere - on the broad footpaths lining every road, in the malls, in the shops, at train, bus and tram stations, in driveways and car parks. Prams were a very common sight and the city was built keeping them in mind. Bangkok was different - it was more Trivandrum-ish. The traffic was a mess, alleys were not well kept, weather was oppressing and people were not used to seeing babies in prams. Achu sat comfortably though - shaded from the sun and I managed to bring him safely to the restaurant. Curry pot was like one of those typical restaurants you find on any road in India. The strong stench of garam masala and its over use was enough to turn me off. I tried not to inhale and cut off my olfactory sense! I stepped in to find a real menagerie. Over crowded and unclean - it was a far cry from what Hotel Ramada had offered. I picked at the food, Ashwin got a Poori as takeaway for Achu, I prayed and hoped the deep frying process would have made the Poori germ-free and was glad to get out real soon. Ashwin hardly complains about anything, and never about food. This time, he too was dissatisfied.
Buses were waiting for us which was a welcome sight as it brought some respite to the heat. And off we went to see golden Buddha. Somporn did his job well. He kept us well informed about the history and geography of Thailand - told us how corrupt the government is and how people still respected the king, how long the full name of Thailand is, how the Chinese and other Asian immigrants sailed across the seas to reach Thailand for cultivation, how intertwined the cultures are and many other things. He made sure there was never a dull moment during the journey and took our minds away from the traffic and heat. The streets were all decorated - dragons and balloons - mostly in red hanging in front of every door and on every lamp post. Somporn pointed at them and said "The Chinese new year is 2 days away".
Bangkok is a city of temples - Buddhist temples. The more temples built, more good fortune arrives - so people say. Every king has built a new temple during his reign. The Golden Buddha proved to be an astounding sight - built of gold. It was massive, enormous yet, was not intimidating in the least bit. There seemed to be an aura around the statue showering serenity. I wished to remain in the temple for a very long time and could feel myself basking in a strange glow- the glow of all things pure. Ironical how something so seemingly extravagant could be the epitome of tranquility. How the cool marble floor in the shrine and the fragrance of incense contradicted the weather outside! The holy chamber offered silence - nothing more, nothing less!. Golden Buddha sat in there looking out at the world - ardently praying devotees - some silent, some sobbing out their fears and insecurities; tourists, photographers, vendors and all.
We walked out - took some snaps, complained about how hot the weather was while Achu played with a giant bell outside the shrine. Then we walked around, commented on the sights, took some more snaps, bought some curios and knick knacks ( I realised that bargaining works really well in Bangkok). I also got a Buddhist monk to pose for a photo with us. Then we got onto the bus and moved to our next destination - the reclining Buddha. Yes, another temple. Ashwin was not too keen about these temple visits. I preferred to move with the group though. But then life is not meant to be easy dearies! Our bus broke down - in the midst of the traffic, on a market street. Not new to us I know- we being Indians! The driver made a most sincere effort to fix whatever was wrong. But the buggy would not budge. And so, we had to wait for a considerable amount of time, till the next pick up came along. Thankfully, the next destination was close by and we did not have much of a ride left. When patience wore out, we - our group- decided to get off the bus and slowly move to see the reclining Buddha. That was when we spotted the insect stand! Bugs, worms, crickets, cockroaches - all roasted or deep fried! - Chinese delicacy. I redefined food with Somporn's help -"The Chinese eat anything other than the table".
Soon, the other bus arrived. That is where we met our next travel guide. I cant recollect her name - it was not an easy one. I remember she was 57 and her wedding ring had rubies and diamonds on it. She was a pleasant lady with southeast Asian looks- short, straight hair and little eyes! And she took us to see the next temple. Reclining Buddha was huge - possibly bigger than the Golden Buddha. The temple was more lavishly decorated than the previous one. Chinese paintings / calligraphy adorned the walls throughout. This was a photographer's dream.
We took some snaps (I found it overwhelming and Achu was being cranky in there) and walked out on to the courtyard surrounding the main shrine. The courtyard was huge and looked as though a whole township was built upon it. There were ancient buildings everywhere, of typical Chinese architecture - complete with the curvy,pointed, slanting roofs and all.
Achu's patience was at the lowest lows and we had to constantly bribe him with toffees! And so I was happy when we finally wrapped up the day's sight seeing. It was getting dark and on the way back to the hotel, Achu fell asleep again. I sat in the bus looking out. Bangkok was beautiful at night. The streets were all marked by flower and fruit stalls (Fruits and flowers were abundant here - thanks to the tropical climate. ). The flower market was buzzing as the next day was Valentine's day. Girls and boys hurriedly picking up bunches and bouquets of red roses - the scene bought a big smile on my lips. Love makes the world go around!
I was amazed by the amount of fruits Thai people consume. Surely, we Indians do not intake even half as much. Thai girls skip dinner and have only fruits at night. The girls are extremely weight conscious as a slim-trim figure is a must to gain a suitable beau. Also, the Thai do not eat 4 sumptuous meals like us in India. Instead, they have 6- 7 small meals. As Somporn said "The Thai are always eating". That explained why there seemed to be an overdose of eateries of all sorts allover. Now we know the diet secrets of South east Asians and how they maintain themselves! Somporn had a great sense of humor. He warned our group not to look for prospective brides in Bangkok and the reason being- the girls in Bangkok do not know to cook. "Buying from outside and take aways" were the mantras. They all leave for work in the morning and have breakfast on the way, have a working lunch and buy dinner on their way back home! Not a very healthy practice for sure! Also, there was another reason why so many Thai men are still unmarried - so said Somporn. In Thailand, the groom has to pay the bride dowry. He needs to provide a huge, expensive wedding ring and other materialistic pleasures to the bride. No wonder many Thai men being poor were left out of the pleasures and pressures of wedlock! I found this reverse dowry quite sensible. It sounded far more logical than the social evil among majority of India. Let us not dwell upon that now. The great Indian culture is overburdened with the great Indian hypocrisy as far as I am concerned. Period.
And so we reached our hotel - the travel guides said "ta, till we meet the next day" and announced we could go shopping if we wished. Bangkok was a shoppers paradise, a lady's dream - as per them. We were totally drained out and tired with a capital T. Yet I could not resist the temptation to indulge. So we went up to the room, had quick showers, waited for Achu to wake up and gave him a shower after that. Ashwin and me did not take much time in ruling out Curry pot for dinner. Instead, we tried one of the plush restaurants that Ramada offered. That was one great experience - though we had trouble of keeping our toddler from breaking the cutlery. The food and the drinks were all too good. Achu had a great meal with Chicken and Chips and a whole big glass of chilled water melon juice. The mother in me froze at the sight of ice cubes in the glass and I worried about his tonsils. Ashwin on the other hand was teaching Achu to use a straw. A mom can never be a dad and a dad can never be a mom. Achu found it more amusing to blow bubbles into the juice through the straw than sip it up. Thankfully, nothing went wrong.
And then, we went for a look around and do some shopping. We walked around a bit, bagged a few good bargains and got back to our room. Achu made a scene and tried not to sleep for a while. After a round of scolding, wailing, reassuring and pacifying, he finally gave in when Ashwin took him down to the lobby again and had a father-son chat session. I did not sleep too well that night either - that has been happening to me lately- when I am too tired, even sleep keeps shying away. It was better than the previous night though and I did sleep soundly for 4 hours or so. And so we woke up the next morning for the rest of the sight seeing - all of us- fresh as a daisy. Its incredible how a couple of hours in slumberland can take away tonnes of fatigue. I was feeling quite happy and looked forward to the day!
