So much has happened and because I have been away from speedy Internet the whole week, I feel like I am so far behind in my posting. Everything is going really well, and although I am already in Tha Wang Pha, I want to do a brief recap of my first week in Thailand, so this will be a fairly long post.
The Grand Palace
As part of our orientation we took a trip to The Grand Palace in Bangkok. While I am still not entirely sure of the history of it, I have gathered that it was built by one of the King Ramas and still gets used for various ceremonies and the King still visits from time to time. In fact, the day that we were there, the King was supposedly coming that afternoon, so there were many workers about sweeping and getting the area ready for the King’s visit. As usual it was a very hot and sweaty day, almost to the point of being unbearable. Making matters worse, it is a very touristy spot, so it was packed with various tourist groups. I couldn’t hear nor understand my tour guide so I pretty much just wandered around on my own and read the brochure.
Nonetheless, it was very beautiful, with everything covered in gold and very elaborate buildings, temples, and statues. We got to go in the temple where the Emerald Buddha is and see the beautiful murals and podium where the Buddha sits. The Buddha has three outfits that get switched out for the different seasons. From what I could gather the Emerald Buddha is actually made out of Jade, but when it was originally discovered underneath a layer of concrete, it was mistaken for Emerald.
Katchanaburi
Toward the end of the week they took us to Katchanaburi, which is a few hours outside of Bangkok and is where the Bridge Over River Kwai is. As a disclaimer, my history sucks, but it seems the bridge was built by POWs (including American POWs) during WWII using only very basic tools like rocks and sticks and was very labor intensive. Since it was part of an important supply route for the Japanese, it got bombed and destroyed a number of times by the Allied forces and they were just forced to rebuild it. Maybe check out the movie if you want to know more. Basically it is a bridge going over a river and they pretty much just let you walk up on top of it, so I assumed that it was no longer in use. So, there’s a ton of people just walking across it, when all of a sudden a train comes.
At this point we are about halfway over it, so all you can do is step out on these platforms and let the train pass inches away from you. It was a trip. Nothing like that would ever go down in the US, not without release forms and warning signs. I think it is awesome.
The other part of our Katchanaburi experience was the bamboo rafting and elephant trekking. We basically just floated down the river on rafts made out of bamboo, some people jumped in and swam, but I chose to sit that one out. It was nice, but kind of uneventful. Afterwards we got our turn at riding the elephants.
I kind felt sorry for the elephants but couldn’t quite figure out if they were miserable or not. They listened very well to their trainers and got bananas at the end so maybe they were happy. The last part of our day out in Katchanaburi was spent practicing teaching at an orphanage in the area. We presented our lessons to a small group and then played with them afterwards and drank milky corn juice, which was quite entertaining. The kids here really are so incredibly adorable.
The next day Kim and I got up early and got Thai massages at the resort we were staying at. We paid 900 Baht for a 90 minute massage which is only about $30. It was quite awesome. There were definitely a few moments when I thought the lady would break me in half, but right when I would decide to say something she would stop. I would highly recommend getting a Thai massage if you ever get the chance!
This has turned into a long enough post I think. There is still more to write to get all caught up, but maybe that will have to wait until tomorrow. If you are interested in seeing the rest of the pictures I have been able to upload so far, click here
