So, as of today I have been in Thailand for a calendar month and since I had the day off due to the election (for election link see yesterdays blog entry) I took myself out. I had been wanting to see Wat Pho and the Reclining Buddha and so I did.
I got some transportation advice from Sunantha (one of the Thai Baha'is here) and things went really well for me to get to Wat Pho. The bus ride there from Nonthaburi is a really long ride and I'm finding that every time I have a long bus ride to a destination that I have never visited before I start to get nervous that I have missed my stop and I feel like I want to flee every time the bus stops. So today I kept on asking the bus attendant when I would be getting off so that I wouldn't jump the gun and be stranded in the middle of nowhere. She was very helpful and patient with me and made sure I got off at the right place. So yay! No transportation issues getting to Wat Pho.
I really liked Wat Pho. I saw the Reclining Buddha (which is the largest reclining Buddha in Thailand). It was one big Buddha! Very beautiful. I learned that the reclining Buddha is the pose that shows the Buddha's trip to Nirvana (the death of the Buddha). The whole visit was fascinating. You walk in by the head in the front and then walk the length of the Buddha and all the time you're walking you hear this clinking going on behind the Buddha. When you get to the foot of the Buddha you see the bottoms of the feet which are very intricate and show pictures of the characteristics of the Buddha, all done in mother of pearl. You then walk behind the Buddha and can get a little bowl full of 112 coins and there are 112 little black pots and you put a coin in each pot (which are supposed to be lucky). I put a coin in for pretty much all of the people that I know. The temple that the Buddha is in isn't very big, since the Buddha is so huge it really just houses the Buddha but there are many other temples in Wat Pho and so I saw a few other temples as well. Wat Pho is quite large and has the largest collection of Buddhas in Thailand and so I saw many many Buddhas today. Wat Pho is also credited as the first university in Thailand and it is where one of the Kings is buried. There was a lot to see here and I spent a lot of time going in and out of the temples as well as walking the grounds. I think I will go back to the area some other time because it looks like the neighborhood is interesting and the school run by Wat Pho is still operating just a little ways off of the temple grounds and I heard its one of the best places to get a real traditional Thai massage. Oh but if anyone is going and using a guide book my book said it was 20baht for admission but now it is 50baht, just so you know. Getting home from Wat Pho wasn't as easy as getting there because everyone thought they knew best how I should get home when I just wanted to know where to catch the 32 bus to get home. Sadly no one would tell me where to get the 32 bus so I had to take the water taxi to Nonthaburi pier. I do like the water taxi as I find boats very relaxing, but I ran into the problem that Jenny and I had when returning from the Royal Palace, I couldn't figure out how to get home from Nonthaburi Thani (Thani = Town). I live in the province of Nonthaburi in the Chaengwattana area but the Thani is actually quite far away on the other end of the province (practically) and it was so hard to find someone to help me find a bus or a van to Chaengwattana. Eventually because I had had too much sun from wandering around the temple and then wandering around Nonthaburi Thani I caved and got a taxi. I got home and went for a swim with Lynne and then we did more Ruhi.
I have been here a month now and:
- I think I have learned a bit about transportation, or at least I've learned that I shouldn't be surprised if I get lost and not to panic about it.
- I've eaten a lot of really excellent food, especially fruits.
- I'm starting to adapt to the heat and it's less oppressive, though I'm still all gross and sweaty.
- I think that the best way to deal with my mishaps is to find them funny, because really most of them are (ie: walking into the lamp post when meeting someone new, shutting myself in the elevator doors, and ending up at Victory monument when I only mean to travel 12 blocks the list goes on and on Jenny and I laughed about everything!).
- I'm not a fan of Asian toilets and I should remember to carry toilet paper everywhere I go
- If you're a curvy girl it'll probably be difficult to find clothing here but if you are small the clothing is plentiful and cheap
- Ants will rule the world and there is very little I can do about it
- It's true what they say about there being a million stray and mangy looking dogs in Bangkok and Nonthaburi
- I love the jungle
- The people here are very helpful and sweet
- If you're a girl bring a lot of tampons because they don't sell them at all here
- There are a lot of interesting people to meet in the world and it's awesome to make friends overseas with other travelers
- The kids here are really cute
- The markets are where it's at (at least I like them) and you can get everything you can imagine in Thailand markets
- I can write an awful lot if I feel like it
- I have a lot of good supportive friends and family members
- I don't know how to spell and I shouldn't just trust my spell checker to fix everything because it will be pointed out to me later
- There is no end to things to see in Thailand
- The monkeys are so cute (but maybe I knew that already)
- And did I mention the food?
- Everyday is an adventure
I have heard that people have been enjoying my blog, thanks for reading the past month there will be more to come. Thanks also to Mom and Kirsten for adding some lovely comments to the shout box. Now if you feel like leaving a comment its easy because you don't have to be a member of blogger to say "yo" in the shout box.
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