Changwat Samut Prakan

ไม่เป็นไร. "mai bpen rai" in Thai

A very common expression and a lovely one. The closest you get to this expression in English is: “Put it Behind You”, "It doesn't matter" "You're welcome", "Don't mention it", or "It's no big deal".

For many of us, when we think of Bangkok we think of the The King of Siam and his portrayal in the movie. SIAM was the name for Thailand for 800 years until 1939 when it became Bangkok and took on an entirely different image.

“One Night in Bangkok”- by Murray Head and ABBA - from the musical Chess (was banned in Thailand in 1985). BTW, the musical and the movie “The King and I” with Yul Brenner was also banned in Thailand. This tells you something. What is a "constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy" ... I guess the authority varies? Note: they have rewritten their Constitution 34 times since 1932. Having never been colonized by any of the European countries, there is no residual French, Portuguese, British or Spanish influence that we’ve seen elsewhere, so the south Asian culture abounds.

Last verse…
One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble
Not much between despair and ecstasy
One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble
Can't be too careful with your company
I can feel the devil walking next to me

So we had the opportunity to spend one night in Bangkok and had a fabulous tour of the many different faces of Bangkok, Thailand’s capital and known for its very ornate shrines and night life.

We were in Bangkok 4 years ago and saw some of the major sites (not to be missed): Chao Phaya river cruise (the busy activities that go on there all day - see separate posting on the river), the Royal Palace covering a square mile and the home of Kings for the past 150 years, the Wat Po Temple (the oldest Temple form the 17th Centrury with the reclining Buddha), Wat Phra- with the Emerald Buddha and Wat Arun (with its steep steps up to the khmer-style pointy spire). This time we did not focus on these key sites, although we saw them in passing.

Coming in on our smaller sized ship into Khlong Toei we were right near the city and the Pra Kanong canal. We were picked up by Tuk Tuks and had an exhilarating ride around the city during rush hour, surrounded by motorcycles, cars, and trucks of all sizes … no one seems to know what lines of traffic are or turn signals.

Which Buddhist Temples should we visit? There are 41,000 in Thailand and over 6,000 just in Bangkok! Our first stop was a tour of The Golden Mount built by King Rama I. This is the only hill in Bangkok, and is of great significance for all followers of The Lord Buddha with great views from the top of the Rattanakosin Island. It is an ancient temple of the Ayutthaya period. The Golden Mount chedi/stupa (top rounded/pointy part) began to be built during the reign of King Rama IV the Great bestowed the name Suwanbanphot and is 252’ tall. It enshrines the Buddha’s relics received from India. Every year, during the Loi Krathong Festival, there is a seven-day and seven-night celebration, which has become a tradition to worship the Buddha’s relics continued to the present time. During King Rama II 1809-1824, cholera spread here and since bodies were left in the Temple to be cremated but vultures covered the areas for many years and took the bodies. There is a tribute to these lives and statutes of the vultures on the property as a reminder of this sad time.

We climbed to the top, ringing bells and observing rituals as we went up the Temple stairs. At different points we saw dragons, snakes, monkeys (hear, see, speak no evil) and of course many Buddhas. There was beautiful flowers, plants and running water. Many of Thailand’s everyday gardens and fountains depict a woman with long hair. This is a representation of the deity, Phra Mae Thoranee, the Thai version of Mother Earth, who has her own special place in the story of the Buddha.

The Buddhas here were adorned in different colors based upon their birth-day of the week (I’m Red and Karen’s White). The views were amazing as our guide pointed out the different building old and new, monks homes, and other interesting parts of the city that have evolved over time to be a modern and still ancient city. Before we left, we filled out a wish on a golden heart and hung it on the Boudin tree at the foot of the Buddha (this is the tree known for where the Buddha would sit and meditate).Read more