We arrived in Bankok and settled into our hotel - in the evening E, C and R arrived from London and joined us in the hotel. Next day E was keen to show me some of Bangkok – which she had been to before. So off on the aerial train line (the Sky Train) down to the River, (Chao Phraya) and on a ferry to Wat Pho. Specifically to show me the Temple of the Reclining Buddha.
What an amazing sight this is. It’s the largest reclining Buddha in the world – covered in gold. It’s 15 metres high and 43 metres long. There are some things in the world that just take your breath away – like the Taj Mahal, and this is one of them. It’s impossible to describe it adequately. So a picture (0r two) will have to do!
The next day. E had asked me if I wanted to go to Jim Thompson’s house. I thought Jim Thompson must have been a friend of hers living in Bangkok, and I wasn’t keen as I thought I’d be in the way. In my ignorance I hadn’t realized that Jim Thompson was an American who settled in Bangkok after WW2. He was an architect by profession and he bought traditional Thai buildings and put them together on his land where he lived. The buildings have concessions to western life, so they integrate that into the Thai influence. They are quite beautiful – dark timber and carvings combined with Buddhas , antiques and ceramics. Jim Thompson then developed the Thai silk industry, so he was really the “father” of the industry. He disappeared in Malaysia in 1967 and was presumed dead, but the mystery remains. The grounds have beautiful ponds and big ceramic containers of tropical plants and is beautifully peaceful. (Oh, and a shop to buy Thai silk) I could have stayed there all day.
Back at the hotel we received a phone call from K They were booking for dinner at the hotel, which included a Thai dancing show. Was I interested? Of course I Was – and the dancing was wonderful (and food lovely too). Amazingly K paid for it all. What an amazing experience this has all been.
P.S. FOR INFORMATION’S SAKE: The water goes down the plughole (and toilet) anti-clockwise. – Northern Hemisphere.
