A Day in Dusit

Yesterday my roommates and I put our tourists hats back on and visited the neighborhood of Dusit. Dusit is the area of Bangkok where the royal family currently lives. The area is also home to some other important government buildings, such as the National Assembly. Naturally, all these buildings that are currently in use are off-limits to tourists. They never let us see the good stuff.


After getting off the skytrain at Victory Monument we hailed a cab to Dusit Zoo, which is located right in the heart of the royal neighborhood. We bypassed the Zoo in favor of exploring some of the old royal buildings. I've heard that the zoo is only so-so, but I'll probably go back some time later in the year. We sort of stumbled upon our first stop: Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall. I highly recommend that you click on that link so you can see the stunning interior of the building. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside. When looking at this throne hall you can't help but think that it was plucked up from somewhere in Italy and deposited in the middle of Bangkok. It appears as though King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) had a passion for European architecture, as the vast majority of the buildings that we visited were distinctly European in style. The throne hall was a remarkable example of this. The ceilings of the building are covered with friezes painted by Italian artists (Galileo Chini and Carlo Riguli) depicting scenes from Thai history... though the people in them seemed more European looking than Thai to me. Inside the throne hall is an impressive exhibition of artifacts made by the Queen's SUPPORT Foundation. The SUPPORT Foundation was set up to help protect the legacy of Thai folk arts. Queen Sirikit has connected Thai people with training, funding, and and finding markets for folk arts in order to allow them to continue to thrive. The exhibition that we went to showed the cream of the crop-- incredible carved wood panels and ornate gold work abounded. Also, a lot of Thai art is decorated with beetle wings. Yes, insect wings. The wings have this incredible shiny blue luster to them that makes it seem as though they are a precious stone rather than part of a bug. I was most impressed by an ornate chandelier that was more or less covered with them. Think how time consuming that would be!


Next we headed next door to visit the Vimanmek Mansion which is billed as the World's Largest Teakwood Mansion. Vimanmek Mansion was built in 1900 for the same King Rama V that built the neighboring throne hall (actually, there are several neighboring throne halls...). Rama and his family lived in the Mansion from 1901-1906 and then Rama VI's Queen Consort Indharasaksaji lived there for a short time in the 1920s as well. It is a shame that this mansion was only lived in for such a short period of time. It is utterly beautiful and seems to me to be one of the most livable palaces I've ever been in. The rooms are smaller and cosier than in most palaces. Really, it seems like a beautiful European style summer-home filled with many windows and octagonal shaped rooms. I can imagine how breezy the long hallways that run along the outside of the mansion must have been. Once again, no interior photos were allowed but you can go here and take a peek inside if you are interested. The mansion is located in a tree filled park that is dotted with other residences for lower members of the royal family. Now, those smaller buildings are home to exhibitions of random things such as the King's photography of the irrigation systems of Thailand and old clocks. We didn't spend much time in these other buildings but were sure to peak inside the old Elephant barns that are now the Royal Elephant National Museum.



Yesterday was a fantastic day to go to Dusit, as it was overcast and a bit windy. I was about to say that it was cool out, but really, my idea of cold and hot are incredibly skewed right now. I'm sure it was in the upper 80s, but the heat and humidity didn't seem as oppressive as they can be. I only drank one water bottle full of water-- which means I must be adjusting somewhat to the weather here, as I normally drain two or three on a day trip like this.

(Sitting on the steps of the Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall)

Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall

Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, originally uploaded by AnnaRae.

Indonesia? Why not!

I just bought tickets to Bali for a weekend in February. It was a spur of the moment purchase, brought about by some fantastic Air Asia sales. I've been keeping my eyes peeled for sweet deals and I certainly found one-- $107 round trip. Granted, I'll only be there for a short period of time (I get in Friday a little before noon and leave Sunday at around the same time) but I'm still giddy about the prospect of heading south of the equator.

I Know What It Is!

The Little Bear and I, originally uploaded by AnnaRae.

It's a Binturong. Or a Bearcat. That was driving me nuts.

Flying through the Trees

On Friday morning I woke up, grabbed a coconut, and went back into bed to check my email. I changed my gchat status to "in bed with a coconut." My mother IMed me: "Are you sick?!" No, of course not, why? "Because your status says you are in bed." It was seven thirty in the morning, being in bed is not unusual at that time. Though at the time I felt right as rain, my mom must have some crazy international psychic capabilities. By noon, I was feeling under the weather. By two, my head hurt, I had the chills, and my body was all achy. I managed to make my way through work and my pre-scheduled foot massage (a post in itself) but as soon as I got home I holed up in my bedroom with season one of Arrested Development and went to sleep before ten.

Getting sick could not have worse timing, as I had been planning on spending the next day ziplining with a couple I had met playing ultimate frisbee and a Thai friend of theirs. I was determined to wake up feeling completely normal-- and, when I woke up at six this morning, I did! Whatever fever I may have had seemed to have broken, which was quite a relief because I had been looking forward to ziplining for the past two weeks.


We reached Chonburi and the Khao Kheow Open Zoo at around 9:30, ample time to explore a bit before our 10:30 reservation with Flight of the Gibbon. The ziplining company had their offices in the zoo (which we were allowed to visit for free) and it was only a short 15 minute ride up into the mountains to the trailhead for the ziplining excursion. We were put in a group of 9 people-- which included an awesome 6-year-old Maldivian-Australian who was completely fearless, always wanting to go first or faster and who loved the attention we lavished upon her. The trip starts off with a fairly low and short zipline. I believe this is so that you can test it out... you can only turn back after the little one. If you are petrified up at the top it doesn't matter. You are stuck there. After that first one, we climbed up a spiral staircase high up into the trees to attempt a larger, faster zipline. For the next three-odd hours we sailed through the jungle. Really, the jungle is the star of the show here. I was in awe of the beautiful trees and stunning views. I saw some dazzling butterflies, but no other wildlife aside from some awesome hornbills. I suppose the screaming and laughter in the trees keeps them away. I had a great time flying around... until my achiness came back mid-adventure. Despite the fact that I probably should have been resting at home, I stand by my decision to go. I had a blast, and, thanks to our Thai friend, got a huge discount on the tour. It was only 1,500 THB (around $47) rather than 2,500 THB ($80).

Following a lunch provided by the Flight of the Gibbon, we spent the next hour or so exploring the zoo. I was feeling a lot better thanks to a few helpings of fruit and some medicine from a fellow zipliner so I was able to enjoy myself. I have never been so close to zoo animals before. A rhino was five inches from me, separated by some wooden guardrails. We could just as easily reach out and touch the giraffes. Also, visitors were encouraged to purchase vegetables at stands to feed to the animals. The hippos were pros at opening their mouths wide for cucumbers (but not so good at closing quickly to catch them). At one point, a zookeeper plopped a racoon-sized creature into my friends arms. When I was holding him we asked what it was. "Little bear." Oh. He certainly was snuggly. The zoo also had what was probably the best variety of big cats that I've ever seen. It was great fun to watch them feed tigers via a giant fishing pole.



I'm planning on spending tomorrow taking it easy... the last thing I need is to be under the weather during the work week. I'm just happy that it doesn't seem at all digestion related. Some of my friends have had nasty issues from eating food that wasn't clean. I know it seems from my blog posts that I never work and only play, but believe me, I do work! This week has been particularly exciting as I have been able to meet the six 2.5 year olds that I'll be working with this year. I've also been able to refine some of my teaching techniques through teaching short English blocks to the students in our Thai preschool. It's great to feel like we are really heading out of summer and gearing up for the new school year. I even have my classroom (mostly) set up! I won't have students until September 1st, so there is still a bit more time to fully prepare.

Of course, I posted all my pics from my trip today on flickr. Please go check them out!

Paradise Found: Koh Samet

On Thursday I set off along with my roommates in search of a relaxing beach. We had researched a bit more than last time and chose a small island fairly close to Bangkok that came highly recommended by our coworkers. After a three hour bus ride and a 40 minute ferry ride we arrived on Koh Samet.

Koh Samet is a national park and it appeared to me that about half of it is still jungle. It was illegal to stay overnight on Koh Samet until the early 1980s. Once the laws were changed guesthouses sprung up along the eastern coast of the island and it became a popular weekend destination for Bangkok residents. Normally there is a 200 baht entrance fee to the park, but thanks to the Queen's birthday we got in free! We had decided to hedge our bets and not book a hotel in advance. After being disappointed in Pattaya it just seemed like a better idea to scope the place out before making any commitments. We wandered (with great difficulty, as the dirt road was extremely muddy and potholed) down away from the first and most popular beach to the second beach, Hat Sai Kaeo. Since most rooms were already booked due to the holiday weekend we did end up spending more than expected... but it was still less than $20 a person. Our room was an adorable bungalow with air conditioning situated on a hill just opposite the beach.


Once settled into our bungalow, we headed straight for the beach. As soon as I settled down into my chair, a Chicago Ultimate disc was thrust into my face. Josh (a friend that I played frisbee with in Chicago) and his wife Jeanne were there! I had known that the two were on Koh Samet but had thought that they were leaving as I was arriving. I spent the rest of the day lying on the beach catching up with them, chatting with my roommates, reading Anne Bronte, and playing in the warm waves.


That night, my roommates and I had a delicious dinner on the beach and then headed to a different bar on the beach for drinks. Walking up and down the beach at night was pretty cool as most of the shoreline was filled with beachfront restaurants or shops that were open at night. Many of these restaurants had beautiful lanterns and lights swinging from the trees. Additionally, fire dancers of all sorts could be found performing up and down the beach-- including this awesome fire limbo pictured below. And yes, he made it under.

The one negative was that it began to storm at night (thanks rainy season) and the electricity went on and off several times-- staying off for at least a half hour each time and plunging the island into complete darkness. Annoying while out at a bar but much more annoying when trying to sleep. We payed good money for that air con! And to not even have the fan running... got toasty.

The next morning was more of the same. We left the beach around three in the afternoon and made it back to Bangkok around eight. Somehow it seemed as though the bus and boat rides were much longer on the way home. I'm sure we'll go back to Ko Samet in the future-- the great mix of nightlife and relatively quiet white sand beaches makes it a perfect getaway. Another positive of this trip was that we were back in Bangkok on Friday night and still had an entire weekend ahead of us!

More pictures on flickr.

I Finally Found a Decent Beach

Morning at the Beach, originally uploaded by AnnaRae.

Taken this morning on the white sandy beaches of Koh Samet.

Lizards!

While my typical Saturday morning usually involves me sleeping in, one of my roommates makes a weekly early morning trip to Lumpini Park. After three weeks of inviting us, all four women living in my apartment forced ourselves up at out the door by 6:15 am. You may be familiar with Lumpini Park, which is sort of like the Central Park of Bangkok. If you have heard of it, it's likely because Lumpini Park was the encampment area for Red Shirts during the unrest from this past April. For the record, I did not understand why it was necessary that we get to the park by 6:30 in the morning. We were only planning on walking around and checking the place out, not running, so why bother to beat the heat? Upon arrival, I quickly realized that this is the place to work out in the early mornings. Bangkok has a very small number of parks for its enormous population. Thus, the parks it does have are often really crowded. When I visited, Lumpini was hopping! Not only were there aerobics classes, but tai chi, sword dancing, fan dancing, yoga... there were also Venice Beach-esque outdoor gym setups, restaurants, community centers, a pool, and many other attractions. From what I could tell, all were in use!


Though the people watching was pretty spectacular, it was the reptiles that really stole the show. Lumpini has a lake and some waterways that are home to many monitor lizards. At the beginning of our visit we thought we'd have to put in some effort in order to find one... wrong. They are everywhere! They can mostly be seen swimming in the water and slowly climbing up onto the banks. I was pretty impressed by how unconcerned both the humans and monitor lizards were of each others presence. As far as I could see, we were the only people gawking at them.


Going to Lumpini so early had one great plus: we made it to Chatuchak market by 8am. When people had told me about Chatuchak, they had also mentioned that it is the hottest and most chaotic place in Bangkok. Going early meant that we beat some of the rush and some of the heat (the operative word here is "some). Chatuchak is Bangkok's main outdoor market and it seemed to be about ten times the size of the medina in Tunis. For this trip, I mostly wandered and took in the sights. Now I know what they offer, so I'll come back another time and actually buy something. For the record, they sell absolutely everything: kitchenware, clothes, food, baskets, furniture, pets, art... you name it, you can find it at Chatuchak. The pets were particularly adorable.



I'm starting to sample some of the street food in Bangkok and find out what my favorites are. While at Chatuchak I bought some pineapple from a fruit cart. For 20 baht you can choose between 4-5 different fruits which the vendor slices up expertly and tops with a delicious mix of salt, sugar, and chili. I'm particularly fond of the pineapple-- I love the taste with the topping!

Another sweet treat I've enjoyed a few times now is roti (the banana pancakes I mentioned I ate in Pattaya). The closest thing I can compare roti to is a crepe... but it isn't a crepe. When you buy roti from a vendor he pulls a small ball of dough out of a container and splats it onto his counter. He continues throwing it down onto the counter until it spreads out into a thin disc-- very similar to the way you would stretch out pizza dough. The dough is placed on a well oiled grill and filled with your choice of toppings- I've only tried it with egg and banana. He folds the dough over the toppings and fries it up. It's topped with sugar and condensed milk and you eat little squares of it with a toothpick. I can't imagine that it is healthy but it is certainly delectable.


This week is a short work week for us due to Mother's Day/ the Queen's Birthday. If all goes according to plan, I'll be heading to Ko Samet on Thursday. And as always, I have new pics on my flickr.

Buddha Battle

Since my weekend in Ayutthaya/Pattaya was so incredibly exhausting, it seemed like a good idea to stick closer to home this weekend. Bangkok is enormous, so, even though I'm feeling more and more comfortable in my home territory (the area between Prom Pong and Ekkamai BTS stops), most of the city is still a mystery to me. I'm going to try and tackle it bit by bit, going to one touristy must-see per weekend. This weekend's adventure was to the Grand Palace. While the Thai royals no longer live in the residence, the palace walls still enclose some operating government offices and a beautiful wat known as Wat Phra Kew.


Our trip (I went with a coworker who just arrived in Bangkok on Friday) began like so many others in Bangkok do: a skytrain trip to the central pier. Bangkok started as a city of canals, centered around the Chao Phraya river and radiating outwards. Although recent rapid expansion has decentralized the city (seriously, there is no city center, this place sprawls like you wouldn't believe) many of the older monuments and buildings are found near to the river. The ferry was super crowded-- with both tourists and locals-- this past Saturday. My biggest complaint about the express boats is that it is a bit difficult to figure them out. The docks have many posters, signs, and eager representatives to tell you about the tourist boats-- but nothing for the normal express boats. Also, they do not announce stops and the docks are very poorly marked. If you are on the left side of the boat going up river you better be counting the stops as you go, otherwise, there is little chance you'll see your stop. You must anticipate getting off the boat as well. They don't wait for people and apparently it is fairly common for someone to fall in the river as the boat pulls away. Anyway, many, many tourists disembark at the Grand Palace, so we just got off with the crowd and jostled our way onto land.

Once we got off the boats we weaved our way through a windy market and out to the street. It is impossible to miss the Grand Palace as it is surrounded by an enormous white wall. Of course, it is not quite as easy to actually get inside said wall. Many conmen crowd the path to the entrance, telling you that the Palace is actually closed for several hours-- but not to worry, they will take you shopping until it opens! After maneuvering around them, we finally found ourselves inside the palace.

The very first thing we saw was the crown jewel of Wat Phra Kew: The Emerald Buddha. They don't let you take pictures of the inside of that particular monastery so I've stolen a picture from Google images to show you what it looks like:


After hearing about how the Emerald Buddha is the most sacred object in Thailand and how the Temple of the Emerald Buddha is more or less Thailand's Sistine Chapel... I must say I was a bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong, the place was gorgeous... it was just that the Buddha was so small! He looked especially tiny sitting on an enormous mountain of gold. The story behind the Emerald Buddha is fascinating. It is carved out of a block of green jade (not emerald!) and was discovered in Chiang Rai, Thailand in 1439. When it was discovered it was covered in plaster and seemed to be just an ordinary Buddha. When a bit of plaster flaked off, the green showed through, revealing the jade beneath. The Buddha ended up in Laos for several hundred years until King Rama I captured the capital of Laos, Vientiane, and brought the Buddha back to Thailand. Later on in our trip we perused a museum of coins and royal artifacts. In the museum we also saw that the Emerald Buddha has three different outfits made out of gold. The Buddha was currently wearing the outfit for the rainy season but also has outfits for the cold season and hot season. At the beginning of each season the king himself changes the Buddha's garments.

After looking at the Emerald Buddha we wandered about the Wat and the Palace grounds. Here is a picture of the front of the palace... which they wouldn't let us into.

It's pretty impossible to describe how ornate and beautiful the buildings in the complex were. Rather than try, here are a few more pictures. I strongly suggest you go by my flickr and look at the rest.


I my favorite thing about Wat Phraw Kew would have to be the ornate illustrations of the Ramakien (the Thai version of the Indian Ramayana epic) that are painted on its walls:


Although it was midday and boiling hot, we made one last stop before getting on a boat back home: Wat Pho. Wat Pho is just a block south of the Grand Palace and is the home of Thai massage. Apparently the technique is perfected at this wat and masseuses can take classes and get licensed at the wat. And, like all wats, Wat Pho has a Buddha. And not just any Buddha: a 150 foot long, 50 foot tall reclining Buddha. It was impossible to take a picture that included the entire Buddha but here are my best efforts:

I found this Buddha to be more impressive than the tiny Emerald Buddha. To each his own!

Other than that, life is going well. At work I'm mostly observing classrooms and working on revamping our standards. I'm trying to gradually fill up my schedule outside of work with activities in the hopes of meeting people. To this end, I played ultimate for the first time on Sunday. Despite nearly dying in the heat I plan on returning next week. If I'm going to live here, I'm going to need to be able to run in the humidity!

Wat Phra Kaew

Wat Phra Kaew, originally uploaded by AnnaRae.

I'll post about my weekend trip to the Grand Palace of Bangkok tomorrow. For now, click on the image above to see pictures.