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| This elephant participated in a cultural show |
It wasn't until 2018 that I got the opportunity to visit that fascinating country and my first surprise was seeing how many big companies still retained the old name Siam.
My greatest anticipation as I prepared for the trip, was to ride an elephant, something I had often seen in movies and which looked so sexy.
Well I am on cloud nine, as not only did I ride an elephant, as uncomfortable as it turned out to be, but also I fed one and even hugged the trunk of another after seeing the very enjoyable and professional (must see) cultural show "Siam Niramit." It was to the delight of all of us that as we left the theater, we were met by and engaged with the entire cast, including the elephants which had performed.
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| Riding elephants through the bushes and through a river |
However, I was able to do something else in Thailand which I would never have dreamed of in my craziest moments, that was was to interact with real live beautiful big cats........ five tigers no less.
This was so absolutely enthralling that I dedicated an entire blog to the experience at; https://joanmyviews.blogspot.com/2018/10/beyond-my-wildest-dreams.html
However, I still have to share some photos below!
Many of the other things I saw and experienced in Thailand were certainly exciting and educational, but clearly, in only a week, I saw too little.
My first outing was to take a tour on the majestic Chao Phraya River, which runs along a large section of the banks of the extremely well developed and modern city of Bangkok.
What immediately struck me on that trip, was the great efforts made by the authorities to promote the idea that the King, Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodinradebayavarangkun is held in high esteem, by flooding the city with his portraits.
However those of us who follow international news, cannot be fooled, for it is really the army which runs that country and this even caused the present king's retroactive ascension to the throne in 2016, to provide much amusement worldwide!
This present king is the only son of King Bhumibol Adulyadej who was highly beloved and revered. He ruled that beautiful country for 70 years.
However, by the time he died, his son and heir was twice divorced and had already become a notorious playboy, living mostly in Germany. Thus, the generals did not think he had the type of character acceptable to become king. He was therefore not allowed to be sworn in for months as he had to be rehabilitated!
Also, as he no longer has a wife, the photos of the young, beautiful royal matriarch that you see all over the place, are actually those of his mother, who is now 87 years old!
Despite the fabulous palace, and the opulence I saw at his country home plus all the trappings of wealth and power of the monarch, the real power remains firmly controlled by the army, something I was reminded of on reading an English version of the "Bangkok Post." In an article in that publication in early October, it was reported that demonstrators were detained by the military for "Attitude Adjustment." This when opposition activists tried to petition the king to move the National Council for Peace and Order!
The politics of that country therefore belies its liberal appearance but since I was a mere tourist, I will move on!
As we toured the harbor, I was struck by how much sections of some buildings along the banks seem to be suffering a similar fate as many in Venice, where rising waters are creating a real danger.
A week is much too short to determine how religious the Thai people really are,
but the proliferation of beautiful personal shrines which adorn almost every street and the exotically adorned, gold plated gates you see at many entrances of many communities and buildings, gives the city such an attractive look.
And the food you know is out of this world. I did get one shock though when I bought what I thought was a boiled egg in the street, only to find a baby chicken inside. I hear it is a popular food there but it turned me off of eggs for two whole weeks!
Apart from the food, fauna animals, as one who revels in history, my other real thrill was visiting the former kingdom of Ayutthaya, a UNESCO heritage site which lies less than 100 kms from Bangkok.
To get there, we traveled in a minibus organized by a tour company, so shared space with other tourists from South East Asia, mainly the Philippines, China and Korea. That is when I was fascinated to learn that the lingua franca in the region is really English. I had previously assumed that persons in the region knew and communicated in each other's language as happens in Europe. For, after all, their written word looks very similar to my untrained eye!
Ayutthaya has a proud and fascinating history and it is amazing how so many of the "ruins" remain in such sturdy condition, considering that kingdom was established from the mid-1300's.
This had been one of the main kingdoms in ancient Thailand and it remained powerful, influential and wealthy in the entire region until 1767 when it was destroyed in a war with Burma.
The kings of Ayutthaya operated as absolute monarchs, deriving their authority from Hinduism and Buddhism, so evidence of the dominance of these two world religions are everywhere.
For me personally, the education in Buddhism was very important from the perspective that there is no one image of Buddha as I had preciously thought, but several including the black Buddha and a reclining Buddha exist.
SOME IMAGES FROM AYUTTHAYA
Many of the other things I saw and experienced in Thailand were certainly exciting and educational, but clearly, in only a week, I saw too little.
My first outing was to take a tour on the majestic Chao Phraya River, which runs along a large section of the banks of the extremely well developed and modern city of Bangkok.
What immediately struck me on that trip, was the great efforts made by the authorities to promote the idea that the King, Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodinradebayavarangkun is held in high esteem, by flooding the city with his portraits.
This present king is the only son of King Bhumibol Adulyadej who was highly beloved and revered. He ruled that beautiful country for 70 years.
However, by the time he died, his son and heir was twice divorced and had already become a notorious playboy, living mostly in Germany. Thus, the generals did not think he had the type of character acceptable to become king. He was therefore not allowed to be sworn in for months as he had to be rehabilitated!
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| The royal palace can be seen from the harbor |
Also, as he no longer has a wife, the photos of the young, beautiful royal matriarch that you see all over the place, are actually those of his mother, who is now 87 years old!
Despite the fabulous palace, and the opulence I saw at his country home plus all the trappings of wealth and power of the monarch, the real power remains firmly controlled by the army, something I was reminded of on reading an English version of the "Bangkok Post." In an article in that publication in early October, it was reported that demonstrators were detained by the military for "Attitude Adjustment." This when opposition activists tried to petition the king to move the National Council for Peace and Order!
The politics of that country therefore belies its liberal appearance but since I was a mere tourist, I will move on!
but the proliferation of beautiful personal shrines which adorn almost every street and the exotically adorned, gold plated gates you see at many entrances of many communities and buildings, gives the city such an attractive look.
And the food you know is out of this world. I did get one shock though when I bought what I thought was a boiled egg in the street, only to find a baby chicken inside. I hear it is a popular food there but it turned me off of eggs for two whole weeks!
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| Private shrines similar to this are all over |
Apart from the food, fauna animals, as one who revels in history, my other real thrill was visiting the former kingdom of Ayutthaya, a UNESCO heritage site which lies less than 100 kms from Bangkok.
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Ayutthaya has a proud and fascinating history and it is amazing how so many of the "ruins" remain in such sturdy condition, considering that kingdom was established from the mid-1300's.
This had been one of the main kingdoms in ancient Thailand and it remained powerful, influential and wealthy in the entire region until 1767 when it was destroyed in a war with Burma.
The kings of Ayutthaya operated as absolute monarchs, deriving their authority from Hinduism and Buddhism, so evidence of the dominance of these two world religions are everywhere.
For me personally, the education in Buddhism was very important from the perspective that there is no one image of Buddha as I had preciously thought, but several including the black Buddha and a reclining Buddha exist.
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| The Thai alphabet is definitely influenced by Sanskrit |
SOME IMAGES FROM AYUTTHAYA
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| The black Buddha in the back is highly revered |
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| The reclining Buddha |
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The ancient palace is undergoing renovation
Thailand is a country which has in excess of forty rivers, so it is not strange that a great deal of commerce is conducted on water, called floating markets. The largest and most famous is at Damnoen where I was pleasantly surprised to see a nice portrait of our own Bob Marley on sale.
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Awesome !! Such An Great Informative Article thanx for Sharing :)
ReplyDeleteThnaks
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