The Clampetts go to Bangkok – Feb. 21-23

As we planned our itinerary we knew we had to get to Bangkok to catch our flight to Bali.  Our Bali flight was early, so we could conceivably have flown in the night before and stayed overnight in an airport hotel.  We decided instead to spend a couple of nights and one full day seeing what we could see in a very short visit.  We also decided to take advantage of the downturn in Bangkok’s tourist industry, and the subsequent discounts in hotel prices, to experience the legendary luxury of an Asian 5-star hotel, the Bangkok Peninsula.

Despite the fact that we were paying 50% of the normal room rate, we were treated like rock stars from the time we walked out of the arrivals hall at the airport.  The hotel sent one of their fleet of Mercedes to meet us – I guess their Rolls Royce was busy.  When we arrived at the hotel, we were greeted at the car by an attractive, smartly-dressed young Thai woman who gave us a traditional flower greeting and asked us to follow her.  We marched right through the lobby and into the elevator and were jetted to the 20th floor.  (I’m not kidding.  It was one of the fastest elevators I’ve ever been in.)  Our suite was about the size of our Berkeley cottage.  The young lady completed all the check in formalities at the desk in our room, showed us how to turn on/off the lights and close the electrically-controlled blinds, and disappeared.  We looked at each other and just started laughing.

I don’t know which was the most over-the-top amenity:  the bedside console that controlled all the electric devices in the suite (tv, lights, curtains), the tv mounted over the bathtub with the waterproof controls installed in the wall, the extravagant breakfast buffet that was included in the room price, or the boat that was waiting at the dock to ferry us to the other side of the river.  I do know the amenity that I most enjoyed – the superb air conditioning.  We actually had to turn it up a couple of times; it was too cold.  (The built-in outdoor weather station next to the door informed us that the outside temperature was 86 degrees and there was 60% humidity.)

Ralph and I proceeded to transform the place.  We hadn’t had a chance to do laundry for a couple of days, so we strung our backpacker’s elastic clothesline across the room.  Then Ralph got into the bathtub with our dirty laundry and 6 inches of hot water and made like a person stomping grapes.  After his labor he went outside for a bit of a walkabout and came back with some beers from the local 7-11 (Yep, they’re here.  KFC, too.).  By the time we went to dinner, there were beer cans strewn about and laundry drying all over the bathroom.  It looked just like Ma and Pa Clampett had moved in.  I put the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door while we went to dinner.  I was afraid the housekeeping staff would come in and just faint dead away.

We had a little shopping we needed to do and the concierge suggested we go to MBK, a “shopping mall”, he called it, across the river.  Calling MBK a shopping mall is like calling St. Peter’s Cathedral a church.  There were 7 floors of every kind of shop you can possibly imagine.  One half of one floor was an enormous food court and we found a place to have a bowl of noodles while a live string quartet played old American standards like “Moon River”.

The next day we got down to serious tourist business – visiting the Chapel of the Emerald Buddha and Wat Pho, home of the Reclining Buddha.  Both were amazing, of course.  The wats in Thailand made us realize how long poor Laos has been poor.  The wats in Luang Prabang were beautiful, but a little shabby.  The courtyards between the buildings were dirt; the paint was peeling; and there were tiles missing from many of the mosaics.  There was nothing shabby about the wats in Bangkok.  All the gold tile, gold leaf, and ceramics were in perfect condition.  The courtyards were all paved and looked as though they had just been swept and washed, even though it was the afternoon and thousands of tourists had been tromping around all day.  I’m going to finish off this chapter in our adventure with a few pictures.  Pictures, however, especially small pictures such as these, can’t possibly give you an adequate idea of the size and beauty of these temples.  Once again, I think you have to see it for yourself.

I’m writing this on the airplane during our 4-hour flight from Bangkok to Bai, where Michael is waiting for us at the airport.  This ends phase I of our adventure, Southeast Asia, and begins Phase II, Bali.  I’m looking forward to settling down for a bit in one place and really getting to know it.