Port 21 Bangkok, Thailand
Swasdi! (Greetings in Thai!)
It’s April 18th, 2024, and when we wake up we are sailing up the Chao Phraya River to the Thai city of Bangkok! The sky is blue, but a little hazy.
On our way up the river we see some beautiful buildings, such as this charming temple, the Wat Mahawong Buddhist temple!
As Insignia navigates the Chao Phraya River, we see the Bhumibol Bridge. The river snakes back and forth throughout the city, and there are multiple bridges connecting the sides.
After a long ride up the Chao Phraya River, Insignia finally sidles up against the dock. We will spend the night at this port!
Joy and I have a tour today! We’re going to see the Royal Canals & Barges which includes a visit to the Temple of the Reclining Buddha.
We board our tour bus and meet our guide, Anny!
I see this opportunity to capture two bridges and a unique building all at once! The air continues to be hazy – humidity is high!
This is one of the most interesting office buildings I have ever seen!
This building is equally interesting! I call it the Crooked Stack building just because there isn’t any logical rationale for how the floors shift.
We pass by the Bangkok Train Station. I found it interesting to realize I knew this was the train station simply by its shape, long before I researched the building!
We stop at the temple of the Reclining Buddha. We are asked to not take any photos, so to remember what we saw, I pulled the next two photos from the Temple’s website https://www.watpho.com. They get the credit for the next two images.
This is the Temple of the Reclining Buddha! It is a beautiful soaring building!
Here is the Reclining Buddha. This Buddha is huge and has very stylized straight lines. You can see the feet are very geometric, with ten equal-length toes, and imagery on the soles.
OK, back to my photos!
On our way to the boat for our tour on the Canal, we walk through River City – a mall! I love this bear sitting in front of this sign!
On the other side of the Art store I find another curious bear that grabs my heart! This is a classic Pooh stance!
We come out on the river side. We see an example of the type of boat we will be riding in!
While we wait for our ride Anny tells us the Long Boats we see are fondly called “James Bond boats”! These boats sport huge engines tied to long shafts with propellers! The horsepower is far greater than the James Bond boats in the movie!
We pass this beautiful enclave called the “Chee Chin Khor Moral Up-Lifting for Benefiction Foundation.” Whew, that’s a mouthful!
This stunning mural appeared between two buildings!
We pass the entry to the Princess Mother Memorial Park. This is unusually festive for a park entrance!
Next is the Masjid Kuwet Islam Mosque!
The Bangkok Military Recruiting Office sits proudly on the Chao Phraya River. The Wat Prayurawongsawas Worawihan Buddhist Temple peeks out from behind (the tall spire on the left)!
This unknown, clearly abandoned house caught my attention. The design and panels must have been stunning in its day! But I also like the brilliant red bicycle on the walkway!
We see another Buddhist temple, but the main hall of the Wat Kanlayanamit Woramahawihan Buddhist Temple is under restoration.
We see the Wichit Prasai Fort! This was built centuries ago to provide the Royal Palace protection from naval attacks on the Chao Phraya River. It is now controlled by the Royal Thai Navy and is used to perform formal ceremonial gun salutes!
We round the corner and this magnificent structure comes into sight! This is Wat Arun Temple! Let’s get closer!
We encounter a temple guard ensuring we are here for peaceful purposes!
The detail in the construction of this temple is amazing! The Yaksha, shown below, are temple guardians. Their fierce countenance is designed to ward off evil spirits.
The steps lead up to the central tower representing Mount Meru, the celestial center of the cosmos in a blended Hindu-Buddhist universe! In the window above is a Deva (god) riding three elephants, the elephant trunks extending out the window!
Here is another view of the incredible detail in this temple! On the right is the stairway I just showed you. You can see the elephant trunks hanging out of another window on the left. There are rows of Yakshas and Gandharvas (Heavenly Musicians) and other beings supporting sections of the temple. Stunning work!
In the quad below the tower, I spot these women dressed in fine attire and all carrying paper parasols! I watched them for a few minutes – they never smiled! I guess they weren’t having much fun.
I consider it a bonus to have captured a monk in the background!
This little lady was posing for her mom. (Her mom gave me permission to take pictures.) The shoes are perfect!
Another temple in the corner of the quad hosts this stylized Buddha.
Back on the river we see the Grand Palace popping above the river and trees! Sadly, we won’t be visiting there!
This somber statue is seated near the River. This is the Somdet To Memorial, a memorial to a highly revered Buddhist monk, Somdet Phra Buddhacarya.
We continue up the Chao Phraya River, and make a left turn onto the Bangkok Noi canal. Soon we get our first glimpse of the Royal Barge Museum hangar!
We continue past the Royal Barge Museum and approach the dock for a school called Wat Suwannaram where we see a man and a boy feeding fish. Above the man are these sculptures – a dragon on the right and a naga (7-headed snake) on the left! Foreshadowing – we’ll see more of Mr. Naga at the Royal Barge Museum, and even more in Cambodia!
We arrive at the Royal Barge National Museum. We are given free rein to wander through the hangar. There are eight barges on display, each with its own unique design and history!
Since 1782 there have been ten Kings over Thailand! They are simply called Rama I through Rama X. Rama I started building barges to conduct parades on the Chao Phraya River! Later Kings built more barges or restored older barges. These are the barges we will see! Rama X is the current King, having taken office in 2016.
The first barge is the Royal Barge Asura-Vayuphak (half giant, half bird). It was built by Rama I in the late 1700s. It was rebuilt in 1965 during Rama IX’s regime. The barge required 40 oarsmen.
Remember the Naga? The second barge is the Royal Barge Anantanakaraj, the 7-headed Naga (spelled “Naka” on the signage). It was built by Rama VI in 1914. It takes 54 oarsmen to propel this beast!
Barge 3 is the Royal Barge Anekchart Phuchong (Variety of Serpents). It was built by Rama V in the late 1800s. It needs 61 oarsmen to operate!
The 4th barge is the Garuda Hern Het Barge (Flying Garuda – do you remember Garuda ). It was originally built by Rama I in the late 1700s, and was rebuilt in 1968 by Rama IX. Only 34 oarsmen are required for this barge.
Barge 5 is the Royal Barge Suphannahong, started by Rama V, but completed in 1911 by Rama VI. This barge requires 50 oarsmen!
Barge 6 is the Narai Song Subun (Lord Rama on the back of Garuda). This was built for Rama IX’s 50th anniversary celebration in 1996! This requires 50 oarsmen.
Krabi Prap Muang Man Barge is the 7th in the lineup. This is Hanuman on the prow, and the barge was built for Rama I in the late 1700s and rebuilt in 1967 by Rama IX. Being one of the older barges, this only requires 36 oarsmen.
The 8th and final barge is the Ekkachai Hoen Hao Barge representing the great victory of flying in the sky. This is another barge built for Rama I, rebuilt in 1965, and uses 38 oarsmen.
This view gives us a better appreciation of how large these barges really are! This is one of the smaller barges.
Here’s a view of the beautifully graceful stern treatments!
This diorama shows us how the barges parade up the Chao Phraya River during the royal celebrations.
We take the boat back to the starting point and reboard the bus back to the ship.
Back in town, this wiring job amazed me! It has hundreds of lines, but appears to be precisely routed, unlike the rats’ nests we have seem in previous countries!
We again pass by the Grand Palace, this time from the land side.
A few blocks from the Grand Palace is a roundabout with the Democracy Monument in the center.
Once we’re back at the ship we decide to go back into town to do some shopping. The ship is staying overnight at dock, and a shuttle bus runs to the local train station. We see this sign in the train station – the King gets a railroad for his “6th Cycle Birthday” – that’s his 72nd birthday!
The silk store we attempted to visit was already closed when we arrived, so we walked around until it was time to ride the shuttle back to the ship. This is when we came across this McDonalds! The “M” is upside down as a nod to Japanese anime in which McDonalds is spelled like this!
We return to the ship to finalize our packing. Tomorrow we leave the ship for a few days to head into Cambodia to witness the “Killing Fields” and the ancient temples of Angkor Wat! So, we’ll say “la kxn” (goodbye) to Bangkok here.
Next post – our Land Tour called “Khmer Rouge Kaleidoscope and Angkor Wat!”
