Hello from Hong Kong!
I am now in Hong Kong - the last leg of my journey. I'm happy to be out of communist controlled Viet Nam where they block access to FB as well as other sites.
I am so thankful for the freedom we have in Canada!
Not many days left in my ever so exciting Asian Adventure! SIGH!!
As I write, I am in Kowloon and looking over the Victoria Harbour from the 21st floor my hotel. It is dark and the view is stunning! (Pics in a later post.)
But, now I must backtrack to Bangkok. It's a busy, vibrant city. The traffic is crazy but not as bad as Saigon and Hanoi where the bulk of the traffic is motor scooters. And, don't even ask about the pollution!
Bangkok has many very important temples (Wats). I visited five but will write about three which each house a statue of a Buddha. I visited all of them in the stifling heat along with with hundreds/thousands of other tourists. I had the foresight to hire a government licensed guide. The cost was negligible. She was delightful and knowledgeable. The price included a private air conditioned car/driver who drove us from temple to temple and met us after every stop with cold towels and bottles of chilled water.
The first stop was at Wat Traimet to see the solid gold Buddha which is three metres tall and weighs 12,000 pounds. It was discovered encased in a mud/stucco substance. When it was moved in 1975, a crack appeared and voila - a solid gold Buddha!
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| Close up |
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| How many bracelets can I make from this Buddha ?? |
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The Buddha's clothing is changed three times a year by the King. This is the winter season and the Buddha is covered in a cloak of solid gold mesh studded with diamonds and other precious jewels, as is his headdress.
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| Close up
Next we visited Wat Pho which is home to the reclining Buddha. This one is massive 46 metres long and and 15 metres high. It is covered in gold leaf. The Buddha is lying on his left side which indicates that he has died and has passed into Nirvana. If a Buddha is reclining on his right side, he is merely resting.
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| Mother of pearl inlay on one of the reclining Buddha's feet. |
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| Demons guarding temple |
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| This is light mid-day traffic. Don't even think of taking a taxi after 3:30 p.m. Take the very efficient "Sky Train" instead! |
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| Bangkok traffic
The Chao Phraya River runs through Bangkok. On another day, I took the "regular water taxi" for miles up the river and then back again. (I could have gone much further but I thought that two and a half hours was enough.) It was wonderful to just "observe". These boats run about every 20 minutes and transport everyone going about their daily routine.
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| Waiting for the water taxi |
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| Coming home from school |
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| "Long tail boats"
These are small narrow boats that carry 6 to 8 people. They have very powerful engines which you can see in the photo. The "long tail" refers to the long rod that extends from the engine to the propeller which sits just below the waterline to avoid being entangled in the water hyacinths that grow like weeds the river.
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| One of the many small "local" temples along the river. And yes, Bangkok is filled with construction cranes! |
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| Living on the river |
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| Yes, everyone travels on these water taxis.
Well, time to close out the chapter on Bankok. There is so much more to tell about my wonderful adventure but that will have to wait.
There is Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh City) and the "Killing Fields". Our wonderful Vietnamese guide's parents were both killed in the "Killing Fields" just outside of Saigon. His story is just too sad. So, that will have to stay silent for now. It is best told personally. I cried when I heard about the plight of an eight year old boy all on his own.
Next post will be Hanoi, Halong Bay and Hong Kong ... |
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