Thailand Trip Day 2: "Wat a Day"!

Back to recounting the long-ago Thailand adventure! My cousin, and avid reader of this blog, reminded me that I have neglected to write about getting my feet eaten by fish. How could I forget?! As we wandered the Khao San road, we passed shop after shop offering Thai massages or fish massages. The prices for both were pretty affordable, and after talking about how they have fish foot massages in Korea too, but neither of us had ever gotten one, we decided it was high time to pay to have our feet eaten by tiny brownish-grey fish. We chose a shop, and were led into the three-walled ground level. We paid for 15 minutes of… whatever this would be… before beginning. The fish tank was situated along the wall with some polished wooden benches build onto either side. An attendant toweled down our legs and feet, we put our feet in the tanks, and, oh my word, the tickling.

It was this crazy tingling sensation all over our feet! We were both giggling like crazy until we got used to the fish, which sounded a lot funnier coming from my cousin, in my opinion. Ha! The fish were more like glorified algae-eaters, who exfoliated the surface level more than anything. Calluses were still present afterwards. But it was really a weird, strange, and cool thing to try. The only time it remotely hurt was when the fish got a little too overeager between your toes; then it pinched a little. They didn’t seem to like me as much—maybe because I had applied sunscreen 6-8 hours before and it didn’t all get removed. Probably it’s best not to think of the hygiene of such a foot massage. I’m pretty sure they let us sit there longer than 15 minutes, but they didn’t charge us more, and we walked to the rest of our evening with fish-massaged feet.

Day two of tourism included visits to two wats: Wat Arun and Wat Pho. Wat Pho is the site of the massive, reclining Buddha statue, but I sort of enjoyed Wat Arun more. The weather was perfect, though a little on the warm side for me since I was still used to cold Korean springtime when I went to Thailand. That just meant that hydration was more important.

Scaling the steps at Wat Arun was quite a feat, especially since I have a little fear of heights (not full-out vertigo I don’t think, but I really don’t like being near the edge of things that are high-up). I used my then-recently-acquired mountain climbing knowledge for climbing back down the steep, narrow stone staircases, facing the steps rather than facing outwardly. We were able to climb to two different levels of the conical structure, and walk all the way around Wat Arun (that’s not an easy phrase to say aloud, actually). Climbing the edifice, I was able to see the intricacies of the inlaid porcelain and pottery up close. I commented to my cousin on the strangeness of seeing bits of actual china saucers, and fragments of ceramic teacups embedded in the tower. He told me that besides just adding color, it adds an incredible reflecting element to the structure when the sun starts to set and the lights of nighttime reflect off it. The whole wat sparkles as though it were lit up with thousands and thousands of Christmas lights, only, there’s not a single string of lights on the building. As you move along the river at night, past the wats, you can observe them glitter and shimmer with innumerable sparkles. I saw the effect later that evening and it was amazing indeed. Not something my camera could capture well though, unfortunately.

We passed several monks who were wandering around the wat on one side or another, but there weren’t actually a lot of people at the site that day. This came in handy when we climbed to the uppermost level of Wat Arun. The wat’s surface seemed to be undergoing a kind of restoration, so the top level was swathed in a plastic yellow sheet all the way around. Taking advantage of not having a lot of witnesses, my cousin and I signed our names on the sheet, joining hundreds of other visitors who had done so before us. I’m the one captured on digital film memory though… Hm.

While moving around the circumference of the upper levels, one can see for miles around the city. Towers, famous landmarks, the immediately nearby river, the Grand Palace, markets, pagoda-like roofed homes, and people moving all over can be seen from the heights. It was quite a view to take in, and my cousin pointed out a few specifics, including his university, and he traced the river route he used to take getting to work every day from his previous home. The wat had a picturesque gated garden by the base, which contained lots of broken pieces of sculptures and dishes, that seemed haphazardly strewn every which way, though not outright discarded among the complicated tree roots, leafy bushes, and vines. We got a few pictures of each other by statues, altars, and impressive looking buildings and noted that’s it’s so much easier to do these sorts of tourism things with a friend to help take your pictures rather than just traveling alone.

Also near the base were a few incense-filled, open-air shrines, where devotees brought flower garlands, small food items, and other small offerings. Several vendors had also set up shops there, hoping to trap a few souvenir-hungry tourists (like me). We stopped for a coconut drink. By that, I mean the vendor pulled out a green coconut, hacked away at it with a massive knife, popped a couple of straws in it, and handed it to us to drink out of. He also provided a metal spoon for us to scoop out the moist, slippery, chewy fruit from the rind. Not too bad! It was an experience anyway.

With my cousin’s help, I tried my hand at bargaining. After I got what I thought was a good deal at one card for some carvings, and then was given a first offer at another cart that was lower than my negotiated amount previously at the other stand, I was sort of discouraged. But I was advised not to let it get to me too much; we were talking about the difference of dimes and quarters, and both parties had been satisfied with the first transaction. My cousin said those kinds of “bartering failures” really got to him at first, but he sort of came to put it into perspective later on. One lady at another stall definitely called my bluff when I lowered my offer on a bracelet I *really* wanted. She got all stern, shook her head “no” very curtly, and took back the bracelet I had been holding. …I was a little annoyed, but she won that round. I guess saving face has a little to do with bartering here too. If you’re going to get into the bartering game, you darn well better be going in with the intent to purchase, not just talk prices and then walk away. Such an interesting dynamic, and one I really think I barely even experienced in my short time in Thailand. I did accomplish a little shopping to my satisfaction though. Don’t want to talk too much about the items themselves since I haven’t been home to Tennessee yet. *wink*

Our next stop was Wat Pho on the other side of the river. We ended up taking a ferry rather than find a taxi and go around to a bridge and over. I bought a small bag of fish food for the koi that swam near the ferry dock in the river. It was more like biodegradable backing peanuts than any fish food I had seen. The fish had to get it all soggy before they could successfully swallow the pieces. The onlooking birds seemed disappointed that I had selected the colorful Styrofoam-like food instead of the bad of actual breadcrusts, though one or two birds did try to peck at a fluff ball I tossed their way as we waited for the ferry to arrive.

It was a smooth boat ride, considering how much traffic there was on the water. Boats on all sides, including long cargo barges that acted like river trains. Some of the boats seemed a little more touristy or maybe for private owners instead of practical public transportation. Before walking to the second wat, we stopped at an upscale restaurant on the riverside that my cousin said was good. We sampled two different Thai escargot dishes. The one was sort of a spinach alfredo meal, and the other was a spicy red sauce over pasta. We both agreed the spinach escargot had a better combination of flavor and texture, having ordered two separate dishes and splitting the meals half and half. Dessert was one of those amazing combination types—banana, caramel (or was it a sort of peanut sauce?), ice cream, peanuts, and maybe some cake too (?). That decadent treat was gone far too quickly. Lunch revived us and after passing by smelly fish stalls, crowded sidewalk vendors, and trying not to get annoyed by the maddeningly slow pace of the other pedestrians, we made our way to Wat Pho.

These structures do sort of blend together after seeing several of them in rapid succession, under extreme heat conditions, but the reclining Buddha certainly made this collection of buildings memorable. There were so many people inside the building! This was another “no shoes” scenario, but my cousin has the art of shoe storage shelves and subsequent retrieval down to a fine art. The walls of the inner building were covered with more of the intricately painted mythological and historical narratives. I’d have to look up exactly how large this Buddha is, but it’s the length of several cars, and around 2 stories high, even lying on its side. The soles of the feet (apparently the Buddha can point his feet at people) are covered with mother-of-pearl patterns and shapes and the whole statue itself is a golden bronze color. It’s almost impossible to get a picture that can capture the whole length, and of course foreshortening throws the proportions of the near and far sides completely out of whack.

We explored some of the smaller towers and shrines around the main structure as well. There were some strange looking human statues that we made sure to capture on camera. The strangeness came from the statues having stone-carved top hats! This just didn’t seem fitting on mythical Asian statues. Beautiful colors, textures, designs on the buildings, and the gardens were lovely as well. I did do a little more shopping, and found a small jade elephant to add to my slowly growing collection. I got a green stone elephant in Kenya years ago, then my brother brought me back a large elephant bead (smaller than a marble, but with a hole through it from top to bottom), so I wanted another one from Thailand on my visit. This bartering deal I found *quite* satisfactory. It wasn’t a busy day and I think the lady was a little desperate for a sale.

We had several other stops the second day, including a return to the tailor shop for my second fitting. They hadn’t gotten everything quite perfect, but they made the adjusted marks and measurements quickly and assured me that I would love the final products. Actually, I was pretty amazed with how quickly they had been able to put together the initial form into something almost wearable (layers and all) just overnight. I love the fabric! I don’t quite believe them that it’s great for hot weather, and I don’t want to risk wearing it through Korean humidity and summer mud until I find a good dry-cleaner in the area, but I did end up pleased with the purchase.

Since my family highly enjoys going to museums, and my cousin and I especially enjoy learning about history and culture, he took me to a fabulous museum on the history of the country and people of Thailand. They were supposed to charge me full price (As I recall, about 300 baht, or around $10), while my cousin got the university ID price of 100 baht. I hesitated a little before paying for my admission, the clerk took a good long look at me, and told me to just pay 100 baht and sign in under the same school as my cousin. I didn’t argue. :) I didn’t realize at that point that the museum would be completely worth it. It’s difficult to classify what exactly “Thai” means since borders have moved so often and trade routes have brought so many nationalities into the country over the centuries. I have never seen a museum like this one. It was an audio-visual-tactile masterpiece of interactive learning. While certainly geared to a level that could be appreciated by students visiting it, it wasn’t so juvenile that adults couldn’t get engaged in the experience at the same time.

There was a beginning presentation and then the museum sort of branched out into a multi-level, self-guided tour. The presentation introduced us to videos of several museum characters: present-day Thai people who were magically transformed into people from many eras of Thailand’s past—the lives these people could have lived in the past. At each new museum module or station, one of these virtual tour guides would tell a small story about that era of the country and you could explore the museum displays. There were metal drums that you beat with sticks to advance a movie story, educational video games, tiny war dioramas, authentic documents, jewelry, and clothing on display, wooden toys and tools, interactive maps and animated legends, and a host of other amazing exhibits that one really does have to experience to appreciate fully. I loved it, and will compare most history/cultural museums after it to this one.

Fun note: this museum did have a flat penny machine, but since it’s a crime to mutilate the king’s face by intentionally smashing it on a coin, the machine drops a little aluminum token into the roller press instead of the “penny,” and that’s what you get from the machine. I wasn’t overly impressed by the gift shop, so it was great getting to save money there.

I couldn’t believe how quickly the time was moving, but it was time to leave and find some dinner. Since it was a Saturday, not a Sunday like when my brother was visiting Thailand, my cousin was able to take me to his favorite restaurant. We had planned on taking the long way around, but ended up deciding to get the ferry back in the direction of the restaurant. I enjoyed the boat before, so I didn’t think it was a problem really. This is also when I got to see the full effect of the sparkling palaces and wats as we passed them on the river. A phenomenal sight! The food at the restaurant lived up to the hype. I let my cousin select the meal for me, but it turned out well. The restaurant was just a tiny, homey little shop, but I was impressed by the food. We added some amazing homemade ice cream afterwards in the restaurant as well. I don’t think I licked the bowl clean, but I was sorely tempted to do so!

There wasn’t much time left for anything but packing up and getting onto the air tram to the other side of the city to see my brother’s then-girlfriend (now fiancée) for the rest of the trip. I got repacked, said my farewells, and got whisked away to the station by the taxi. All too short, but filled with plenty of memorable events. The rest of the trip’ll come, but later.