Thailand
An article about my visit to Thailand, land of the revered Buddha.
Being an avid traveler and having seen West and the Middle East in some sort of detail, I was eager to go east this time and see something different, selecting Thailand as my next destination. Human mind is like a mirror that reflects back giving us perception, thinking, judgment and memory; Hollywood movies ‘The King and I’ and ‘Bridge on the River Kwai’, both shot at locations in Thailand, were the first to introduce me to this South Asian kingdom of yore. The world famous conjoined Siamese Twins also worked as goodwill ambassadors to introduce the little known monarchy to the outside world, not to mention a freak cover story in a renowned US weekly about a country wide clandestine ‘industry’ in the kingdom that brought international recognition and hefty revenues to Thailand albeit with lot of infamy. Bangkok was labeled as the ‘sin city’.
Located in Indo-China peninsula in South East Asia, Thailand is a constitutional monarchy. Kings, in fact, were forced to relinquish their divine right to rule in 1932 but the monarchy still remains a central pillar to Thai culture and politics. The majority of Thais revere King Bhumbol Adulyadej who, at 86, is the world’s longest ruling monarch and Thais seek solace in him as a steadying force in turbulent times. Predominantly a Buddhist country, Muslims form the largest minority in Thailand. I saw about six mosques on the 21 km stretch from Bangkok International Airport to our hotel in the posh Sukhumvit area. Seventy five percent of the population is ethnically Thai while Chinese make fourteen percent of the bulk. Thailand means ‘land of the free’, as it is the only country in South East Asia that was never ruled by the colonial powers, staying as a buffer state between the British and French colonies. With Mahayana branch of Buddhism as its official religion Thailand is heavily influenced by Indian culture that spread eastwards along with Buddhist religion after its origin in India.
Having heard a lot about the atmospheric stink in the Thai capital and the dreaded water borne ‘Bangkok Bug’ effecting the stomachs, by those who had visited the place earlier, I was apprehensive and concerned about the anticipated unhygienic conditions and health risks we were liable to be exposed to in the Thai capital but to our utter delight and a very pleasant surprise everything was as normal as one would have wished; neat, clean and fresh. The imposing Suvarnabhumi airport at Bangkok, though very expansive, was jam packed with long queues of tourists making bee lines at the immigration counters. On the contrary hiring a taxi on this busy air terminal was very systematic, well organized and impressive; no haggling and no undue wait. My daughter and her family who flew in from the UK joined us at the baggage collection point at the airport and thereafter we were together through out our fortnight’s sojourn to the east. The drive from the airport to our hotel gave us a good idea about the fantastic road network, with multiple flyovers and fast and fluent traffic. The coming events were casting their shadows in an impressive way.
The city gave a true metropolitan feel with an enviable road network and intra city rail system comprising of sky train and the underground. Tuk tuk, an all sides open local version of three wheelers and motor cycle taxis carrying single passengers are very popular with the locals for their economic feasibility. The traffic was fast but disciplined. We got stuck up in a crippling traffic jam one day but to our surprise no one tried to change the lane to overtake the stranded vehicles. Lane discipline was maintained religiously. There was a noticeable patience exhibited by the motorists. We traveled by road to distant places well outside the metropolis but the cityscape never changed to slums even in the suburbs. The buildings, the roads and other features of an urbanized area were the hallmark of the place. Traveling as far as 150 km to the Damneon Saduak floating market in the north or 175 km to Pattaya beach resort down south we never came across shanty mud houses or other structures that signify countryside in the developing countries. There is a fair bit of industrialization and a sign post marked ‘New Detroit’, on way to the beach city of Pattaya, directed to the large motor vehicle manufacturing estate. Thailand is the second largest economy in Southeast Asia with tourism contributing over 6% to the GDP.
Thailand is a hub of true Buddhist culture and that is what attracts hordes of tourists to this country. Culture reveals to ourselves and others what we are and a lot is revealed as we visit the historical monuments in Bangkok. The Grand Palace, seat of the Thai Kings from 1872 to 1925, showcases Thai and Buddhist culture in their true flavours. Grand Palace is the second ‘palace-turned-museum’ after the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul that I have visited. Spread on a vast area on the east bank of River Chao Phraya, this complex contains residential and official quarters of the royalty displaying beautiful architecture with intricate details of creativity and craftsmanship. The Grand Palace complex is divided in to four main courts according to their diverse utility; the outer court contains public buildings while the middle and the inner courts are used by the royalty as offices and ‘harem’ etc. Another must see place in the Grand Palace is the Silk Museum showing the evolution of the famous Thai silk through ages, display of the Royal dresses and pictures of the incumbent queen playing her role in promoting the Thai silk at various forums. The queen has been conferred the popular title of ‘Mother of Thai silk’ for her instrumental role in its revival. Art is basically a medium of human communication and there is no dearth of art in Grand Palace.
There are many temples in and around the Grand Palace containing statues of Buddha in different shapes and sizes, the largest being that of the Reclining Buddha; a 46m long colossal sculpture covered in gold leaf with mother of pearl inlays at its soles. While the temple of the Reclining Buddha is just outside the palace complex, the Temple of Emerald Buddha is located inside the palace walls containing a highly revered Buddha image carved out of a single block of jade in meditating position. This Chapel Royal, situated in the inner court, was basically earmarked for the royal female worshipers. Temple of the Golden Buddha, close to China Town, has a five and a half ton solid gold towering Buddha statue reaching five meters in height. A row of shaven headed monks dressed in saffron coloured robes walking towards the temple were a treat to watch. The historical Temple of Dawn and a modern Marble Temple are other famous places of worship. Besides these well known places of religious significance one will come across small statues of Buddha sitting comfortably in ‘mini temples’ perched on waist high pedestals on the city streets with regular daily offerings of food and flowers served by the devotees; Buddhist culture seems perennial in Thailand.
Other places to see in Bangkok include China Town, Gem Gallery and National museum. China Town is a popular tourist attraction and a food haven for the local gourmands. This 1.0 km long strip lined by street side restaurants, innumerable gold shops and large fabric stores and encroached by market stalls is crowded by hordes of shoppers and tourists. Settled in the 1780’s by the Chinese merchants and populated by the large ethnic Chinese community, China Town is very popular with the foreigners but we some how did not like this place. It was quite hot out there in the middle with irritating noise pollution, unbearable rush and nauseating smell of crabs and other sea food being roasted at the open food stalls and as a result we skipped a visit to the China Town in Kuala Lumpur when we visited Malaysia.
Gem gallery was an interesting place to visit. The craftsmen there were working on diamonds and gem stones in front of the visitors, who ended up shopping at the enormous outlet, buying precious and semi precious stones embedded in gold and other precious metals. The factory management gave the tourists a free pick and drop service to their hotels and other historical sites. We visited a diamond factory in Amsterdam a few years back and saw the process of gem cutting but their retail shop was too small to attract many buyers.
Sukhumvit area, where our hotel was located, is known as shoppers’ paradise with big shopping malls like Terminal 21 and The Emporium. These malls have all the well known brand name stores and international food chain outlets. A large number of pavement vendors is also encroaching the side streets (Soi) of the area. A big fresh water reservoir, Lake Rajada, with a lovely park and cycling and jogging tracks was a block away across our hotel. It was also visible from our hotel room and presented a lovely view. A visit to the lake in the afternoon was so refreshing in the hot weather.
All in all Bangkok is a place worth visiting but there are a few negatives that must be pointed out. Halal food was as hard to find as English speaking Thais. Mercifully KFC and Peri Peri, a clumsy copy of Nandos served halal food and it was possible to survive for a few days on monotonous diet in the land known for its fiery cuisine. The inability of the locals in general and the sale staff, cab drivers and historical sites ticket clerks in particular, to communicate in English was a real bane for the tourists. I am sure, though, that with the ever increasing number of tourists to this South East Asian country they will eventually learn to communicate in English. Those who know Thailand better than I do may correct me if I say that I have seen very few Thais smiling to the foreigners, they do not misbehave though. May be they are an unhappy nation due to bad times they had experienced in the recent past and their attitude is likely to change with changing conditions?
The writer is a dental surgeon and can be reached at: dsq006@gmail.com
Written by Dr. Shahid Qayyum
Published by Alisha Khuram
