Read part three.
Where were we?
Central Pier by the Chao Phraya in Bangkok, remember (tag)?
I was particularly excited to experience Chao Phraya. One reason I kept suggesting to my friend that we should go down to the river is because I’ve been familiar with the name Chao Phraya since childhood. You see, when I was in my early teenage, I had always been fascinated by history and geography. Every time I read history or geography, a feeling of “I-want-to-be-there” overwhelmed me; even now as an adult. That has enabled me, even as an elementary student, to name places my then peers and even adults had never even heard before. So, when I had the chance to personally be at the historic and important Chao Phraya, I grabbed it, just like how I had the chance to see the mighty Mississippi River some years ago. Now that I’ve grown up, you could say that traveling is my way of realizing my childhood dream. In fact, it’s also one of the reasons why I spend excessive amount of time at Wikipedia but I’m not here at this moment to talk about Wikipedia, am I?
Anyway, at the river, we planned our next step – a boat ride to Tha Tien we waited for 15 minutes for the boat to depart from the pier. I was quietly ecstatic but it didn’t last long before I – we – realized that we got on the wrong boat. Instead of moving upstream, we were crossing the river. Curses!
Once the boat got on the other side, everybody got off except the two of us and an European (I think). The three of us exchanged glances and shrugged our shoulders. We later approached the conductor, trying to confirm what we had already known. But the conductor couldn’t converse in English, so it was useless though somehow, he (or she, I’m not quite sure of the conductor’s gender…) could rely to us that we need to pay 60 baht (approximately MYR 0.60; roughly USD 0.17) for the to and fro service, even if it was an accident.
I don’t mind that 60 baht but what made this experience regretful was the time wasted. Already we wasted 15 minutes getting on the wrong boat and now, we had to wait for another 15 minutes to get on the right side of the river. This was on top the fact that we made the mistake of starting our little adventure late in the morning. So, by the time we got to where we started, more than 30 minutes were wasted.
Now, we were up for a re-try and this time, we asked around. Accepting the fact that typical Thais on the street speak blasphemous English, we looked for white tourists to help us out. How messed up was that?
We, coming from a fellow ASEAN country, had to ask other tourists for direction! Embarrassing!
Embarrassing indeed but it was practical. Especially practical when we approached two girls. One of them smiled when I made a remark “thank god somebody speaks England”. From their accent, they were probably from the US. So, taking direction from them was easy. This particular part of the journey was made easier because they were going to Tha Tien – our destination. So we happily tagged along.
On the boat ride, we started to tweak our so-called plan and decided from Tha Tien, we would take the boat back to Central Pier once we done with Tha Tien and its surrounding and then two trains all the way to Ratchadapisek to end the day. Things were not as simple as our simplistic plan as we would find out later in the day.
The river itself is large and lively. Though we are living in the 21st century, apparently, the river plays its role as a mode of transportation. It isn’t just tourists that are utilizing the boats but also by the locals. It seems that the river itself is an expressway.
Bangkok’s skyline is observable from the middle of the river. It’s flat but that doesn’t make it any less impressive. By the river, hotel buildings are arranged in such a way that reminds me of Miami, without the turquoise sea of course.
As we moving farther up north, the city somehow moved back into the past. Modern buildings vanished and replaced by more traditional structures influenced by Thai culture. One of the more important structures are Wat Arun:
We wanted to visit it but time was not so forgiving to us. Less than a kilometer from Wat Arun upriver is Tha Tien. When the two chicks got off the boat, we followed suit.
At first glance, Tha Tien doesn’t look too special. It’s a rundown pier with wooden shacks selling perhaps overpriced souvenirs. Just out of the piers are two rows of shophouse of colonial design with cobblestone road separating the two. It doesn’t look British like those omnipresent in Peninsular Malaysian and Singapore. Considering Thai history, I’d think its French but I have no way to confirm it.
Beyond the two rows stands Wat Pho in all its glory. As we entered the complex, which its four sides are walled by the way, a huge structure that houses one of the largest reclining Buddha in Thailand. It’s ornamented with beautiful motives:
Everything here was touched by artisans’ hands. Even the ceiling didn’t escape the designer’s attention:
Time however is not kind to Wat Pho. Any keen visitor would be able to spot damages the complex is suffering. Take a look at the ceiling in the following picture:
Despite that, it’s comforting to know that preservation efforts are underway to protect the complex from further excessive damages. In the previous photo, you could see that some sort of protective shields have been installed the facade. Its doors are also protected by some sort of plastic glass:
And yeah, that’s one of the few times that I have posted my one picture here.
I’m not sure how much time I spent at Wat Pho but I’m convinced that we managed see about everything except for one huge temple in the middle which was closed to the public. And so, it was time to move on.
p/s – a good read by Deva Mohd Ridzam, former Malaysian ambassador to several countries, in conjuction of tomorrow’s Annual Ministerial Meeting (AMM) of Asean foreign ministers and the ASEAN Regional Forum the day after:
Of the dozen or so documents to be issued, two are seen as truly ground-breaking. They are the framework document on “Asean-US Enhanced Partnership” and the instrument of accession by France to the Treaty of Amity and Co-operation in Southeast Asia (TAC).
The moves by the US and France are expected to breathe new life, as it were, not only into their relations with Asean but also to the wider South Asian and East Asian regions. Taken together, they hold some promise of a gradual transition of Asia based on rule of force to one based on the rule of law. This is what TAC is all about.
Welcome to all fellow Aseanists!
pp/s – should ASEAN kick Myanmar out of the equation? Bangkok Post writes:
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has finally decided it has had enough of its rogue family member. Starting this week at the meeting of foreign ministers in Kuala Lumpur, Asean will stop trying to defend and make excuses for Burma. It is fitting that this action to kick the Rangoon junta out of the family nest and into the undoubtedly cold world is being led by Malaysia, the chairman of the meeting. Malaysia has long been one of the dependable protectors of Burma, leading the argument that everyone must have patience with this hard-line military dictatorship, in order to encourage good behaviour. That policy is being set aside.
I’d prefer to keep Myanmar in as I feel engagement is better than isolation. Moreover, I’d like to see a strong ASEAN influence within the country and in effect, a stronger grouping. If ASEAN calls it a quit, the People’s Republic of China and perhaps even India would have a free hand to exercise excessive influence in Southeast Asia. Even currently, the two regional powers are asserting their interests in Myanmar.
Despite that, I do agree that ASEAN should move forward, regardless of Myanmar’s situation. It’s unfair to chain nine other state members to the ground just because Myanmar refuses to cooperate.