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Asia 2005 Journey
Day Eighteen
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Bangkok, Thailand
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May 21, 2005: Early morning showers followed by sunshine.
Another cultural cuvee - blending strong
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religious Asian influence with a unique warmness and pride. The smiles
of the Thai people could go on
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forever. Again, another city with ease of communication due to the
required English language being
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taught in schools.
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A new elevated "Sky Train" provides some light rail service.
A good option is to use the Silom Line
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to the final stop at Saphan Taksin. After arriving, a quick walk down
a few meters is all that is needed
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to reach the river Chao express boat. The river route provides a more
scenic approach to the Grand
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Palace and Wat Pho. These are two key tourist sites with extensive
Thai architecture, materials, and
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colors. The river is a life onto itself - boats for selling wares and
face paced "dragon boats" taxis
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(imagine streamline gondola boats with an exposed large V-8 engine with a
eight foot long prop shaft).
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Serendipity was part of today's adventure. The Royal burial grounds
and inner temple grounds
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have been restored to 90% complete. The extensive use of gold, jewels,
pearl, and glazed color
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tiles are now back to it's original luster. In the first time in 150
years, outsiders were allowed in
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the inner circle grounds. We were the first American couple following
a French couple. The
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official Architect to the King (a.k.a. "The Big Boss") was
inspecting the grounds. Again, the Thai
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pride became apparent
as we enjoyed the afternoon sitting at a marble table set under flower
trees
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listening to his stories first hand of the restoration and Thailand in
general. Not only did the Royal couple
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complete their temple marriage vows here, the other tragic side or life was clear
when the Royal grandson's
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ashes were placed here after losing his life in the Tsunami.
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Many of the monks were in town for an annual festival at the various Wats
(Temples). Interesting
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to see the monks clad in dark yellow gold garments traveling on modern
transportation as everyday
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tourists. As we traveled from site to site, the infamous question
"Do You Have a Map?" was asked
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by attendants. Their eager helpfulness made us unsure at first;
however, we began to understand
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their pride in city and country.
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Of all the countries visited, the purchasing power was very strong
here. $4000 Thai Baht was
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equivalent to $100 USD. Thus, an all day River Boat pass (with bottled
water and guide book) was
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only $2.50 USD. And an all day Sky Train pass was only 80 cents USD.
We visited the Royal
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Lapidary that provides jewels from Thailand for the wholesale trade and
happened to be open
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due to slower economic business.
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However, a chasm between wealth and sparse income continues. On the
main river Chao, a
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large and luxurious hotel could be next to a small shanty. His Majesty
The King has instilled in the
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people to be self sufficient and the drive is very apparent in the majority.
The King has provided
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or set aside land on the Royal Residence grounds to research various agricultural
improvements.
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The country's diplomacy has resulted in a land with limited war conflicts and ability
to work with other
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countries.
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After a heat filled day, it was time for a refreshing cool shower and an
early Asian dinner.
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Travel specs: BTS Sky Train, Chao Phraya Tourist Boat
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Return to Asia 2005
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