I WISH I WAS IN BANGKOK - PART 3
Dave Snowdon is a published writer from Yorkshire. He is also my older brother and biggest critic. Here he talks about his first brief trip to Thailand in the final instalment of a brief trilogy of tales. Enjoy his eyes-wide-open account and discover how Thailand, Bangkok and the Thai people all left an indelible impression in his mind that guaranteed he would be back for more.
On the way to Ayutthaya the following day, we stopped off at Bang Pa-In Palace. A Royal Palace with a history dating back to the 17th century, most of the buildings standing today were constructed between 1872 and 1889. They include the impressive Royal Floating House. Once again you will need to remove your shoes before entering these buildings, which are spread over a large area. Golf Buggies are available to hire for the less energetic.
Next we continued on to Ayutthaya, where we first stopped at Wat Yai Chaya Mongkol (The Great Temple of Auspicious Victory), admission 20 baht. With the establishment of Ayutthaya as the capital city in 1350, King U-thong proclaimed this temple the “Royal Temple”. The Great Temple of Auspicious Victory derived its name from the chedi, built to commemorate the renowned victory of King Naresuan the Great over the massive Burmese invasion in 1593. It is distinguishable by lots of interesting and colourful architecture with a large statue dominating the surroundings.
And so back to Bangkok. On the next day we again hired the same mini-bus and driver to take us to the famous Floating Market at Damnoen Saduak. In and around Bangkok there seems to be an on-going desire to build more and more new roads, mainly expressways. On our way to the Floating Market I noticed yet another one of these Expressways under construction. This one was quite advanced but still had no road surface, just flattened earth on the carriageway.
To my amazement, our driver turned onto this would-be Expressway and proceeded to drive along it. With no road surface and no lane markings he just drove approximately where the centre lane should be. This all seemed a little odd to me, especially as we were soon joined on this orange dirt track by many more motorists. Occasionally you would see cars ahead breaking and steering to one side. The reason for this soon became clear; there were still open manholes on this incomplete carriageway! As Paul would say, “Only in Thailand.”
The Floating Market is in the centre of a large Canal Network. My ‘vision’ was of a gentle cruise along the canal to reach the Floating Market. Like Cambridge or Venice, a slow lazy drift on a canal boat along the waterway. Not in Thailand!
We did indeed climb into a long canal boat and gently pulled away from the moorings. And then… FULL THROTTLE! We were flying, the boat was skimming across the water like a race-tuned powerboat. Occasionally we would slow down a little to take a bend, but as soon as possible, the driver was back to top speed. And this went on for miles, no time to take photos – couldn’t point my camera fast enough before the subject was passed. And there were many long straights for the driver to test the rev limits of his Honda engine with sometimes two or three canal boats along side, trying to overtake. I’m pleased to report that none of them managed it! This really was a thrilling experience and I was sorry when we eventually had to slow down and stop.
The approach to the Floating Market was along older, narrower waterways. And these were completely log-jammed by many more canal boats. Traffic jam, as it were, on a canal! Eventually we managed to find a place to moor up and enjoyed a good hour or so hunting for bargains and souvenirs.
From a bridge crossing the canal we were able to look down at the scene. All the time more and more boats were arriving, with boats already here trying to leave. It was total chaos, but quite amazing to watch.
With a few nudges and some skilful manoeuvring, our driver threaded his way out of this section and back on to the main waterway. Then another high-speed ride taking a different route, back to the start. Absolutely, not to be missed.
Back in the mini-bus we headed towards Bangkok and the Grand Palace. The Grand Palace complex was established in 1782 and houses not only the Royal Residence and Throne Halls, but also a number of Government offices as well as the renowned Temple of The Emerald Buddha. This complex covers over 200,000 square meters and is surrounded by four walls, 1900 metres in length.
You do need to allow a lot of time to explore this amazing complex, and once again, you will have to remove your shoes before entering many of the buildings. The architecture is superb, the Golden spires and colourful columns together with dazzling white walls are truly amazing. It is a wonderful example of the culture and skills of Thailand’s craftsmen.
This was our last destination on this visit to Bangkok. We saw a lot, but there is so much more still to be discovered. Seven days is nowhere near enough time to explore this wonderful city. But it was long enough for this city and its people to find a place in my heart. I love this place; I don’t want to leave. I have just got to come back.
Dave Snowdon
Related article – I Wish I Was in Bangkok (part 1)
Related article – I Wish I Was in Bangkok (part 2)
Check out Dave’s e-bay link http://stores.ebay.co.uk/wolfdavessuperstore
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