Bangkok Pleasures
Bangkok, Thailand is, in many respects, typical of an "old world" metropolis. It has evolved over several centuries to become an enormously complex and eclectic city. The contrasts are as stark as they are spectacular, particular to tourists of western European descent.
Tourist venues are countless and duly promoted by a myriad of publications and tour operators. I have attempted to focus here, on three, often over-looked venues that are true to Thai culture and an educational experience. Each is a relaxing venue...easily accessed and modestly priced.
NOTE:
Bangkok ‘world’s best city’ again
05 Jul 2013 : Bangkok will be honored for the fourth year in a row as the "World's Best City" by Travel & Leisure magazine with the award formally presented to the governor on July 18 in New York City. This quoted from the Bangkok Post's on-line edition 6 July 2013.
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| Royal Palace - Viewed from Loy Nava during a night dinner cruise |
Loy Nava Dinner Cruise
The culminating event of any trip to Bangkok, be it a couple days or an extended stay, should be Loy Nava's dinner cruise. You can visit Loy Nava's very informative web site here to book your party or to explore the entire experience vicariously.
I have had the privilege of visiting Bangkok on several occasions with different friends, and always I have saved this for the last evening on our itinerary. It is much, much more than a culinary delight!
The leisurely Chao Phraya shoreline cruise reinforces the images of venues visited during our sojourn through the complex and eclectic metropolis that is Bangkok.
The spectacular lighting of architectural masterpieces that span
several centuries is a dazzling display of the history and evolution of Bangkok's storied and exotic history.
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| Loy Nava - Underway |
The rice barge Tahsaneeya Nava (Courtesy of the Loy Nava Web Site)
Almost forty years ago, an American engineer, Botter Reeves, working at IBM in Bangkok, was asked to arrange dinner on the river for some visiting executives. He hired an old rice barge, placed some planks of wood across the boat and brought some food on board.
The executives had such a good time that Botter started to think about the possibilities of a business based around the concept. He bought a 30 year-old rice barge, made of exceptionally high quality solid teak wood, and totally converted it, constructing two decks of teak, adding various teak carvings and adornments, which he commissioned, and a seven layer roof made of traditionally woven split bamboo skins (over 100,000 in number). Two powerful engines and generators were added to provide failsafe propulsion although the boat was designed to be able to be run on a single engine, if necessary. Thus, the first dinner cruise barge commenced business on the Chao Phraya River.
Over the years numerous refinements have been made during the annual two-week dry dock overhaul that takes place in the low season. It is estimated that 700,000 persons have dined on-board the vessel, including numerous heads of state, royalty and international celebrities. It remains the only authentic antique rice barge operating on the river.
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| Loy Nava's departure pier on the Chao Phraya River ( Si Phraya Express Boat Landing). |
The cruise parallels both shorelines of the Chao Phraya passing famous venues such as Wat Arun, the Royal Palace, Bhumibol Bridge (The King's Bridge) and many other structures of historic importance in Thailand's cultural and economic evolution.
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Approaching Wat Arun (Temple of The Dawn) circa 1656–1688
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| Bhumibol Bridge (King Rama VIII) by day |
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| Bhumibol Bridge (King Rama VIII) by night |
The hospitality, cuisine and entertainment provided by the culinary artisans, crew, the Siamese dancers and the Host's narration are a truly memorable experience!
Erawan Museum - The Three-Headed Elephant Statue
An often over-looked tourist site, the Erawan Museum, houses portions of a vast collection of Asian antiquities. The antiquities were the property of the late Lek Veriyapant, a Thai business tycoon and serial philanthropist.
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| The statue |
A writer for Bangkok.com
explains,
"His aim was to create a space for his vast collection of
Asian
antiquities, to preserve them for Thai people and their admiration. What
was to be a conventional museum took on symbolic traits
when a friend suggested it be shaped
like an apple, the classic Western
motif of human destiny.
Khun Lek thought Eastern cosmology more apt, and
decided an image of the Hindu elephant, otherwise known as Erawan,
to serve as the inspiration for his unique museum.
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| The pedestal |
It's a splendid, towering beast: 250 tons in
weight, 29 metres high, 39 metres long, and cast in a pure green-hued
copper. From conception to completion it took almost ten years to
construct.
The antiquities themselves, are housed in the huge, three-headed elephant statue standing upon an equally gargantuan
pedestal. The elephant is the first, and last, thing you see when visiting Samut
Prakan's Erawan Museum."
The majority of artifacts are housed in a circular, subterranean display area beneath the pedestal. Mounting the pedestal stairs, visitors enter a foyer whose marble and exotic Asian wood staircase begins the ascent which terminates in a meditation chamber housed within the three elephant heads of the Erawan statue.
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| Descending staircase |
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| Back-lit Ceiling mid-way |
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| Meditation Chamber |
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| Meditation Chamber Statuary |
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| Staircase Artistry |
Mueang Boran - Ancient Siam
Ancient Siam (formerly known as Ancient City) is a park constructed under the patronage of Khun Lek Viriyaphant and encompassing in excess of 200 acres (0.81 km2) it's perimeter the shape of a miniature Thailand.
You will recognize this patron as the same who constructed the Erawan Museum of Antiquities.
The founder's original idea was to create a golf course with miniatures of Thailand's historically significant structures spread around the course. During his research he found most structures being severely damaged over time and decided instead of creating new miniatures to save the original structures when possible or re-creating them full size or scaled down.
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| A glimpse into the past - Ancient Siam |
Some of the
buildings are life-size replicas of existing or former sites, while
others are scaled down. The replicas were constructed with the assistance of experts from the National Museum to ensure historical accuracy. Outstanding works include the former
Grand Palace of Ayutthaya (destroyed in the Burmese invasion of 1767), Phimai Sanctuary in Nakhon Ratchasima, and Wat Khao Phra Viharn on the Cambodian border.
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| Entry portal to the Artisans Village |
This unpretentious entry belies the artistry, craftsmanship and displays of antiquities that lie beyond the entry portal. Bicycles are provided to ease the journey along the landscaped walkways, boulevards and pathways traversing natural landscape that has been left intact, restored or enhanced.
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| Master Wood Carver |
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| Seamstress |
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| Weaver |
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| 18th Century antique silk loom still operates flawlessly |
Ancient
Sian employs dozens of artisans, potters, weavers, woodcarvers and
metal-smiths, furniture makers, carpenters, seamstress' and
gardeners...all are happy and eager to engage visitors.
Many or the artisans display (and are happy to sell) their masterpieces, or, are prepared to discuss the artifacts and antiquities that are displayed in reproductions of their original setting(s).
The antique displays include every day household implements as varied as scales to weigh medicinal herbs, to hand-crafted metal containers for storage of grains and dried vegetables.
The furniture and cabinetry is eclectic and meticulously crafted, displayed in reproductions of the household or shop-house setting it once occupied.
Examples of antique furniture on display
Ancient Siam - Temples and miscellaneous structures
There are a number of the most historically significant Wats (Buddhist temples) that have been meticulously reproduced. The temples are adorned with antique artifacts preserved for, in some cases, centuries, and acquired by Khun Lek Viriyaphant's Ancient City trust.
Below are examples of Thailand's most gifted artisans dedicated to preservation and perpetuation of the Kingdom's cultural heritage. Lek's gift to his beloved Kingdom and countrymen is, for most contemporary mortals, beyond comprehension.
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| Reproduction of a Wat (Temple) amidst reconstructed ruins imported to the Ancient Siam site |
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| The Wat is a scaled down version of the original |
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| Intricate & masterfully crafted kanoke on temple facade |
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| Tenderly manicured gardens frame the grounds surrounding architectural exhibits |
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| Priceless art adorns the temples and period structures |
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| Every attempt is made to restore and enhance the natural habitat wherever practical |
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| Antique and contemporary icons of Theravada Buddhism |
Ancient Siam - Micro Villages
A visit to tour the Ancient City is worth dedicating a full day. For visitors to Thailand and citizens of the Kingdom unable to traverse the length and breadth of Thailand, this outdoor museum is sufficient in detail, composition and well-trained personnel, to provide a glimpse into the cultural evolution of Ancient Siam...Thailand...The Golden Land!
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| Authentic Lanna Kingdom village architecture |
The designers of Ancient Siam anticipated that any substantive tour would make for a physically challenging day. To alleviate the need for rest and repose (think sabai sabai) along the way, micro-villages provide for refreshment, relaxation and comfort.
Not the least of these, is the "water village" which provides several refreshment opportunities and dining facilities.
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| The "water village" |
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| Water Village taxi |
The "water village" is approximately at one geographical border of the micro-Kingdom...the half-way point in a relaxed walking tour of the grounds. The restaurants provide diverse and artistically prepared, traditional Thai cuisine from every region of the Kingdom.
The prices are very modest in keeping with the original intent to encourage engagement of the local Thai citizenry.
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| An example of preservation and restoration of natural habitat |
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| Huge tree struck by lightening and downed by monsoon winds |
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| Back-side of the downed tree - transformed by creative carvers |
Ancient Siam - Exhibits
During the course of one's tour, it is possible to encounter in excess of fifty (50) historically accurate reproductions of structures, nineteen (19) reconstructed original structures and more than forty (40) creative designs of features diverse as stupas, salas, gardens, statuary, water crossings (foot bridges) and Buddhas in various poses.
Here is a photo montage representing a small portion of the exhibits.
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| Rose-colored stone prevalent in northern Thai architecture |
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| One of many footbridges adorned with kanoke and other carvings |
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| A 10 metre Buddha perched among reconstructed ruins imported to the Ancient Siam site |
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| Reconstructed ruins of a stupa |
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| Statuary commemorating the defeat of Burmese invaders and repossession of the northern Lanna Kingdom |
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| Amazing sala architecture amid manicured garden |
For those who would wish a more relaxed (sabai sabai) approach to the tour of Ancient Siam, there are lovely guesthouses that may be rented for over-night or longer duration stays. They are beautifully constructed and reside in a quiet enclave adjacent to a "senior citizen" condominium and the classroom/training facility that is also part of the over-all complex.
Epilogue
These are just three of many, many often over-looked tourism sites which grace the greater Bangkok metropolitan area. There are numerous web-sites that cater to tourists and provide detailed information on venues of historic and/or cultural interest. Many focus on entertainment (shopping, cuisine, festivals) and others emphasize Thailand's diverse and spectacular natural sites.
Many of these web-sites are designed to prey on unsuspecting tourists, so always, I encourage you to access the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) web-site to authenticate the license of any purported booking agency or tour provider. You can access the TAT web-site here.
SIDE NOTE: I strongly suggest referencing the photography of Bangkok and other SE Asian destinations of uncommon significance and interest (by Mick Shippen) here.
If you are interested in sampling Thai "street food" and small, obscure eating and drinking establishments, the next blog post will feature a handful of my favorites before moving from Bangkok to other venues with which I have found favor.
