Bangkok 2

We began our day today with a boat ride up the river and a canal. We passed The Temple of Dawn which is the national landmark of Thailand, a magnificent pagoda. We passed the Grand Palace which we visited later. We passed other homes which looked like their first floor was underwater - the water was pretty high, interesting and beautiful buildings, Buddhist temples, etc. One really cool place was the Royal Barge Museum. We took a picture of the barges. Think "King and I". Amazing. We also say garbage barges picking up the debris in the canal, a floating bank that goes door-to-door, a hospital boat/ambulance. We didn't see one, but they have mail boats, too. We stopped by a small Buddhist temple where we were give bread to feed the catfish. They were huge, fighting each other, wow. Apparently they are safe from fishermen within the radius of the temples - guess where they stay!



We then walked through a many-blocks -long flower/vegetable/fruit market. It was incredible. So many of the flowers and really other things are geared toward the Buddhist religion. The flowers are used for offerings. There were tons of yellow flowers which the color for the gods taken from the Hindu tradition which has been mixed with their Buddhist beliefs.



We the rode in a Tuk Tuk which is a souped up golf-cart with a driver who weaves in an out of traffic with utter abandon. Our driver didn't take lane lines, trucks, or anything else into account. It was exhilirating!?!



We safely arrived at the Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha Temple. Again, think of "The King and I" - lots of gold and colored glass. It is really breath-taking. The Emerald Buddha, which is actually made of jade, is not that large, but it is at the top of an intricate throne-type tower.



On our way to our next stop, which was the Jim Thompson house, we learned alot from our guide about the Buddhism that is practiced in Thailand. There are two kinds of Buddhism - the smaller vehicle and the larger vehicle. Thais generally adhere to the smaller vehicle which is stricted than the larger, which is more flexible. At 20, young men are encouraged by their families to become monks for a period of time - usually at least 3 months, but it can be shorter or longer. They have to be able to read the rules which are written in Bali. There are 274 forbidden rules for monks. They can eat two meals a day, but the last in between 12-1:00. They believe in reincarnation. That after death, the good and the bad sides of a person are judged. The soul then suffers in hell for the bad and then goes to heaven after which he/she is born again. The goal is to reach Nirvana, a state of rest and peace, after which there is no rebirth. Lord Buddha taught that to be born is to have sorrow, and the goal is escape that. I asked Lu how you reached that point, and she said that only the individual knows for himself, but you have to reach a point or enlightenment where there is no passion, jealousy, or anger - total peace.



There are young boys that you also see in the orange suits of the monks. They are novices and have 10 forbidden rules to live by. The nuns, who have to pay respect to any monk even the novices (I read an editorial in the paper that indicated that the life of a nun isn't so great), have 8 forbidden rules, and regular people have 5 forbidden ruled to live by. They are no killing, lying, stealing, drinking alcohol or using drugs, and being honest to your family (fidelity) - sound good and somehow familiar. Monks and nuns can come and go in their service - whenever they feel a need in their lives they can "reup".



Another interesting item has to do with their compulsory military service. All men at 21 are required to serve with some exceptions - health, family, etc., however, the military doesn't really have room for every one. If a man passed the physical he then picks a card out of a box. If the card is black, he is excused from service. If it is red, then the service date is listed. Interesting.



So--the Jim Thompson house...he came to Thailand near the end of World War II with the Army as part of a force that was chagted with helping restore Thailand's full freedom and independence. He decided to stay and was impressed with the hand-weaving of silk that was really just a cottage industry at the time. He took it worldwide and made Thai silk famous and sought after. They really admire him.



Last night, we went to a very nice Thai restaurant where we ate Thai food and saw a traditional Thai program of dance and music. Dad ate pretty much everything - and alot of it was very spicy. You would have been amazed, impressed and proud! The costumes were beautiful. One interesting aspect of the performers was that the way they hold their hands. It looks like they are double jointed because they keep their fingers bent way back all of the time - looks quite painful, but everyone is trained to do that from their youth in school, our guide explained.



One last thing for today that I forgot to write yesterday--- Thailand used to be called Siam. At that time it encompassed a number of other Southeast Asian countries. The name was changed for this nation because Thailand means free land, symbolizing that this country has never belonged to any other power. They are very proud of that. One of the members of our group asked about the origin of the Thai people. The guide said that it has been thought that they were a distinct group of people that were pushed out of Southern China, but then said that there has been research that showed their ancestors had been around as long as any in China. They are very proud of their heritage.