Bangkok Highlights

Sam, my guide, met me at the hotel at 8am.  Sam is a Thai native and a really nice guy; it was like hanging out with an old friend.  I had a list of places to see and really appreciated having Sam not only to tell me about the places, country, culture, religion, but also to navigate the city!

We started out taking the sky train, an elevated train and part of the local transportation system.  We transferred once and ended up at the  river, where we then took a water taxi to Wat Phra Kaew and The Grand Place. A wat is a Buddhist temple.  I was blown away by the architecture and details of the wat. Every detail was symbolic and Sam explained so much to me; all in all it was overwhelming. The Grand Palace is where the kings lived.  There have been 9 kings in Thailand. The current royal family lives in another palace north of the city. The Grand Palace is only used for special celebrations.   

After touring these two places, we walked to the Wat with the Reclining emerald Buddha which is made of jade.  It is huge, 130 feet long I think...

I purchased an umbrella to try and keep the heat at bay but it did not do much. I was not prepared for the heat and humidity of Bangkok, the only thing I can compare it to is July in New Orleans on steroids!   

At this point Sam and I decided to skip the next wat on my list and go to Jim Thompson's house.  Jim was an American architect who served the US Army and after WWII he was sent to Bangkok as a military officer, fell in love with Thailand, and after leaving the service moved here permanently. 

He became intrigued with the hand weaving of silk and devoted himself to reviving the craft. He contributed substantially to the worldwide recognition of Thai silk.   

He constructed an amazing home by combining 6 teak buildings.  The place is beautiful and houses his large collection of art.  

In 1967 while visiting Malaysia, Jim disappeared and there are no clues as what happened to him.  His house is now a museum.  

The house and museum had a Thai restaurant and Sam and I enjoyed lunch before I took the tour.  After, I was pooped so we jumped the sky train back to the hotel and parted ways.

I truly enjoyed the day with Sam.  He is passionate about Buddhism  and it was interesting talking about it.  I really had an ah-ha moment when I asked what it was like growing up as a Buddhist and learning the concept of mindfulness at such a young age.  He laughed and said he just really started his Buddhist practice...he said his parents, as well as 95% of the Buddhists in Thailand, don't practice mindfulness and being in the present moment.  They only go to temple on holidays and don't understand the teachings of living in the present moment.  I was so surprised! In my western mind, all Buddhists were like the Dalai Lama, practicing mindfulness since childhood and therefore enlightened...boy was I wrong!