15 years ago
My daughter just turned five when she moved to Singapore. Torn between her new environment and the life she left behind, she was struggling to settle in.
We were supposed to go home two months after she came, so I got our tickets while Tiger Air was on promotion. I didn't anticipate that my boss would be negotiating the dates of my planned leave. Nevertheless, I didn’t want to forfeit our tickets so I rebooked them for a trip to Bangkok in the hope that it could be a good diversion to a child’s discomfort in her new life.
First House Hotel
We barely had enough for the trip that our expenditures were calculated up to the last cent. Looking for an affordable accommodation, my friend Francis recommended the place his family lodged in during their visit.
First House Hotel Bangkok was not the cosiest place but it was convenient. Not that I intentionally searched for an accommodation that would represent the occasion, but it was indeed my daughter’s first hotel stay. She hardly remembered the breakfast spread but she had a liking to the sausages served. She didn't get tired nor dissatisfied of eating the same fare 3 days in a row.
The Sassy Lassie
It was probably the heat or the crowd or both really, but the little girl was kind of uncooperative that I couldn't get good snaps. Or I had to blame my amateurish photography more like.
The Grand Palace
We purchased traditional umbrellas we found at the shops by the entrance. They weren't just beautifully unique props for our photoshoot within the palace walls, but they sheltered us from the scorching heat of the sun, but not the torrential downpour that befell us that day. The umbrella scaffold was made from bamboo sticks and the surface from oil-paper so we couldn't bear to use them to hold down the rain. Besides, that'd be disrespectful to the artist who meticulously painted on them.
The Grand Palace is the most iconic tourist attraction in Bangkok, for the same rationale that it was the first on our itinerary. It's composed of multiple structures, erected one after the other by each reigning monarch over its 200 years of history. Was Phra Kaew is the royal chapel which houses the Emerald Buddha revered as the country's palladium and set apart by its salient golden bell-shaped stupa. The most prominent set of throne halls in the palace complex is the Phra Maha Monthien group of buildings which had been the residential and sleeping quarters of the then reigning kings. Although it's no longer the official residence of the crown, the Grand Palace is still used for official events, royal ceremonies and state functions even now. It's only partially open to the public as a museum because several royal offices are still situated inside; and these areas are off limits.
In spite having captured only half of the building, it's apparent that Phra Thinang Chakri Maha Prasat is a combination of a European-style structure and the Thai-style green and orange tiled prasat-ornated roofs. But this East-Meets-West innovation was more than just an artistic coincidence – it's the epitome of the internal struggle between the ideas of westernisation led by King Rama V and those of the traditional political party. And if I may share my two cents worth, the edifice is a subtle reminder that no matter how much globalisation has taken over, one should never lose his cultural identity.
Wat Pho
Directly south of the Grand Palace and at a walking distance is the Temple of Reclining Buddha. Wat Pho is on the top of the list of six first-class royal temples in Thailand and has the largest collection of Buddha images in the country, including a 46-meter long reclining Buddha. We went in to have a peek of the golden reclining statue, something we hadn't seen before this trip.
We spent more time mingling with my friend Aries and his family, whom we met before proceeding to this temple, whilst taking photos in every angle we could with the intricately embellished structures. My godson, AJ, and my daughter Jan had met for the first time, but thankfully they got along instantly and had a blast doing playful poses like they were professional child models evoking a sense of youthfulness to the anachronistic backdrop.
Beach Trip
With a hired van, my friends picked us up from the hotel and took us to a popular weekend getaway. It was a 3-hour ride to our destination, well, I meant the port to get to our destination – the beautiful island of Koh Samet.
We got back dead tired from the long trip but had a sound sleep ready for the next day's activity. Before we went our separate ways, they enquired about our itinerary but even expats like them were not familiar of where we planned to go next.
Dusit Palace
When King Rama V felt the Grand Palace was overcrowded and unhealthy for him, he appropriated land for the construction of a royal garden. He preferred to stay in this area that permanent sets of royal residences were constructed. The compound was then renamed to which it's now known as Dusit Palace.
The Vimanmek Mansion was the first permanent residence that graced the garden – it was dismantled from where it was originally built and reassembled on the palace grounds. But pardon the inadequacy of this novice traveller; I wasn't able to take a picture of Vimanmek Mansion when it was this structure that steered us to the area. We were fortunate to have joined a guided tour of the mansion during our visit before it had been permanently closed due to its deteriorating wood and metal pilings.
There were two other edifices we're able to get in. The Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall (before it was permanently closed to visitors), built in Italian Renaissance and neoclassical style; and the Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall, made of interweaving wood in Moorish architecture style. Both were reception halls during the high point of the Dusit Palace, although the latter was more of a banquet facility used exclusively for state occasions.
Both halls would have been glad to receive this young ambassadress-of-tourism-in-the-making, but they had already been renovated and recommissioned to display art and crafts and the collectables of Queen Sirikit.
Dusit Zoo
As we walked to the area adjacent to the palace, we reached Dusit Zoo, dubbed as the oldest zoo in Thailand. We lingered, recharged our energy on a bench as we witnessed the "star" preparing for its public appearance. But after the elephant show, she had never been enthused to see any animal show ever again. She felt sorry for them being used for entertainment like that. In quietude I concurred with the phrase popularised in lates 90s, "kids say the darnedest!"
Jim Thompson House
Designed and owned by Jim Thompson, this open museum is the quintessence of his architectural endeavour to reassemble six Thai dwellings on his estate to showcase his private collection of art and silk garments. He imbued bright jewel tones and dramatic colour combinations that imprinted his brand in the Thai Silk industry. The merchandise on his boutique onsite was worth a king's ransom, but the disgruntled look on the tourist's face was not ascribable to that. Undeniably, we didn't have a few thousand baht to spare for a luxurious piece of garment, but now that my daughter has started a small scarf collection, there'd probably be a motivation to pay Jim Thompson House a visit the next time we go to Bangkok.
Shopping
My daughter was intrigued by the local transportation similar to the tricycle back home and was all the more stoked to ride a bigger, differently-shaped but all the same humble open-air vehicle. She was excited to get her first Tuktuk Experience as we headed out for cheap buys after our realisation that the branded Thai silk was out of our league.
My friend Chelle, who previously worked in Bangkok for a couple of years, suggested the Chatuchak Weekend Market but it was out of our way especially when we're about to fly out, so Pratunam Market was the nearest alternative. However, it's a well-known shopping area for those involved in buy and sell because goods are sold in bulk, so I was kind of forced to buy the minimum number of pieces to adhere to the business policy. There's a fast food stall in the middle of the market place so we had a quick meal before finally leaving the city to the airport.
As we found our way to the boarding gate, she was happily posing for pictures, more engaging and interested. I knew something had sprouted...
An Eye Opener
We had a 4-day packed of sightseeing but I fell short of listing all the Must-Visit Highlights and conjoining them with Tasting the Magic of Bangkok, although that would warrant another tour in the future. But if there was one thing I had achieved during this trip was sowing global awareness and impartiality to her burgeoning mindfulness.
My daughter had started to realise how little her "world" was and that there were more outside her bubble. She had shown readiness in expanding her horizon and embracing the global city she was imposed to migrate in. She had fostered an unprejudiced coexistence with her multi-racial neighbourhood and started making new friends irrespective of race, color or religion.
Taken from his book entitled Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch, this famous Henry Miller quote resonated with me:
“One’s destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things.”
With this rationale that we embarked on a trip whenever we could afford, both time and money; and everything else was archived in the memoirs of The Wandering Wanderlust.
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