Final Few Hours Touristing in Bangkok

Well-lit night scene on Si Lom Road

I'm down to my final few hours to do tourist things in this tourist town in my capacity as a tourist in tourist season.  I'm touristed out and ready to go home.

One thing I did not do is this:

That is the King Power Mahanakhon.  It's 78 stories tall and there is a balcony at the top that sightseers go up -- it's a rather pricey ticket at about $30 U.S. -- which is 1000 baht -ish -- and the balcony at the top is clear plexiglass.  I'm not sure what I would do up there.  Except have a panic attack.  And I see no need to pay $30 U.S. for the pleasure of a panic attack.

Another view does not make me any less susceptible to a panic attack on the plexiglass balcony, drinking expensive drinks with the party tourist crowd

For supper, I went to Silom Edge mall right near my hotel.  There are a ton of Asian eateries in here, only a few of which are Thai.  There is more Japanese and Chinese than Thai.  And a smattering of Vietnamese and Korean.  And a KFC, which I guess counts as American cuisine.

I'm getting homesick -- homesick for the home cooking in Seoul -- so I went Korean.

A Korean chicken joint.  Not sure if they have these in Korea, but they do in Bangkok.  And I'm in Bangkok for another few hours.

I had the caramel chicken which, I could swear, is a Vietnamese dish.  I would say this might then be one of those "Asian fusion" cuisine restaurants, but, c'mon, does this look like a hipster fusion restaurant.  It's fast food.  Served fast.

Soon enough I'm walking down Silom Road.

To go the Patpong Night Market.  Open 6:00 p.m. to 12:00 midnight.

I wanted to buy an elephant print shirt for my tourist adventure:  Hawaii.  Elephant shirts will fit right in there.

Tourist in a Tourist Town Doing Locals Thing: Lumphini Park

Ducks on the pond in Lumphini Park

After a long walk through the National Museum Bangkok complex, it was time to cool down.  In the way the locals of Bangkok do!  Hang out in shady Lumphini Park.

You don't need to take a tuk-tuk.  That's the tourist way to travel.

Although that was the best way, on a hot mid-afternoon day, to get from the National Museum Bangkok complex to the nearest Metro station, which google-maps said was a 23-minute walk.

You don't need to interrupt the mid-traffic photo shoots.

Lumphini Park is a large park within the urban core of Bangkok.  And it's right near my hotel.

Fountain at the entrance.

Statue of this gentleman.

King Rama VI, for those of you keeping score at home.

Into the park where we meet a crane enjoying a little fast food.

Lots of runners in the park.  With shade being a rarity elsewhere in Bangkok, this has got to be runner's paradise.

This sign was a bit disconcerting.

Beware of the water monitor.  The bites could require medical attention.  But, really, in an urban park in the middle of a city of multiple millions, how likely is it that I will encounter a water monitor?

Literally seconds later.

Water monitor in the water.  Where they belong. 

Water monitor and the water fountain.  I much prefer the latter to the former.

Beware little crane.  There's a water monitor in the water, right nearby.

And, of course, here's a water monitor on the land, a few seconds later.

Using the zoom function on the camera because I didn't want to get too close.  I've been warned about water monitor bites.  I guess I should clarify what I mean by "zoom" to all you kids living in the 21st Century.  I was not holding a teleconference with the water monitor over the internet.  Although, given the danger of the water monitor bites -- they require medical care after all -- a zoom conference would be a safer way to interact with these poisonous lizard creatures.

And the crowd runs away from the water monitor.  Actually, this group of runners is running toward the water monitor.  Not away.

At this point, I hear classical music.  Well, not "rea;" classical music.  Pop show tune music done by an orchestra.  It sounded like "Be Our Guest" from "Beauty And The Beast."

The Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra is giving a free concert in the park.  I didn't know!  Vacation serendipity!

And it was "Be Our Guest," which sounded great coming from a small orchestra.  I knew for certain when the orchestra seemlessly segued into the best song from the Disney Renaissance era, also from "Beauty And The Beast":  "Beauty And The Beast," the title theme.

I listened for the remaining hour or so that the orchestra played.  I'm not sure how much of the program missed,

Apparently, from the announcement made before the last song of the show, this is an "every Sunday evening" thing.  At least during the tourist season.  Which is the dry season.  Listening to an orchestra in the park during the "rain and flood season" would be a much less pleasant way to spend a Sunday evening as the sun dips behind the skyscrapers of Bangkok.

The cat was not amused.

But the cat did sit there in front of me for a couple of songs, taking in the show.

All in all, a nice way to spend a Sunday evening, living life like a local in a tourist town, hanging out in the park, listening to the local symphony.

And the day concludes with the moon over King Rama VI.  I'm still not sure who the "Lumphini" is/was for whom the park was named.

Highlight of the National Museum? The Royal Funeral Chariots Building

They're huge, ornate, and spectacular. And for funereal use only.

The last building in the National Museum Bangkok complex.  It was tucked away in a corner and I almost missed it.  I am so glad I went back to find the building I almost missed:  the Building of Royal Funeral Chariots.

I never know, with absolute certainty, in advance, what on my vacation trips are going to be the things I enjoy the most.  This is one of those occasions.

I had no idea how awesome a building full of funeral carriages would be.  But look at them!

The photos do not do these "chariots" justice as you cannot appreciate just how huge some of them are.  And the detail.  And the gold color in the sunlight flickering through the windows of this building.

Because these "chariots" are packed so tightly into the museum space, it's tough to get the right camera angle to capture the whole thing for the biggest of these.  I might cut off a little of the top, or not be able to fit the entire length of the "chariot" in one photo frame.  This is a job for the "panoramic" setting on the camera/

I don't know which royal funerals got which "chariots."

And given my unfamiliarity with Thai royalty, that probably wouldn't help.

Some are not as huge as the others.  The one above is more human scale.  Doesn't make it any less spectacular.

And here's the shot taking in as many of the "chariots" as possible,

Who knew a museum building full of funeral carriages could be so awesomely spectacular.

A Beautiful Day for a Tourist To Do Tourist Things in a Tourist Town During Tourist Season: National Museum Edition

The Buddhaisawan Chapel on the grounds of the National Museum Bangkok

Whenever I find myself in a nation not my own, one of my favorite things to do is visit that nation's national museum.  Having woken up this morning in a nation not my own, and with no prepaid, designated itinerary for the day, today was the day for the National Museum Bangkok, Thailand's national museum.

Like Bangkok, the National Museum Bangkok is large and sprawling.  But, in a change of pace from the tourist sites to which this tourist visited yesterday, the museum was thankfully somewhat uncrowded.

Could be because this is Super Bowl Sunday.  I mean -- don't sue me for copyright infringement -- the Day of the Big Game Which Shall Not Be Called "Super" Unless You've Paid Millions.  (I know.  International Date Line.  It might be Sunday afternoon here, but the Bowl of Super won't happen here until Monday morning.)

This is the Long Song Pavilion in front of the Buddhaisawan Chapel.  "Long Song" -- as in "'American Pie' is a really long song."

Building 1 is the first building on the tour.  It holds special exhibits.  Prepare yourself for somethings special:

Yes, a water pot shaped like buffalo.

And that!

But even more special, are these:

And, of course, it woudn't be a special exhibit without an elephant:

Or a tourist doing the selfie-thing in front of the elephant.

A lion on a turquoise-colored pedestal:

And, while I don't really understand this next one, I don't need to:

It's a fish in front of a wall of eastern imagery.  There is a series of four fishes along this wall.  One has its gills and pectoral fins moving.

Shall we move on to the Buddhaisawan Chapel?

First, before going inside, I feel the need for another selfie:

The light was better outside.

Guard chickens:

Guarding the shoes of those inside the temples.  Got to remove your shoes if you want to go inside the Buddhist temple because that's the rules.

Buddha up close:

Moving on to Samranmukkhamat Pavilion.

That is, technically, not a selfie.  I took a picture of six Chinese tourists who kept having one step out of the photo to take the picture of the other five and one of the members of grouped thanked me by taking my picture in front of the Samranmukkhamat Pavilion.  That is one difficult to spell pavilion name.

Side view.  Without tourist(s).

We now move on to the Maha Surasinghanat Building, housing Thai archaeological artifacts from prehistory up through the 13th Century.

There's no point in me commenting since I don't recall the time period of these objects of from where in Thailand these objects were unearthed.

Although I will comment to add that Northern Thailand has a much greater concentration of archaeological sites.  The far south, that dangling participle of Southern Thailand that goes to Malaysia, basically has nothing of interest from an archaeological standpoint.

I found this one intriguing:

It's an elephant.  I always find elephants intriguing.

A buddha in marble.  On the right.  The two objects to the left most definitely are not marble.

Nor buddhas.

Stupa replicas.

I found out the other day what is the purpose of a stupa, those tall towers you see at temple sights.  They hold icons and relics of the Buddha.  Basically, a stupa is a buddhist reliquary.  To put it in Catholic terminology.

This one genuinely fascinated me:

Look closely at her upraised hand.

She's making the "OK" sign.

Pieces of people sculptures.

Pieces of people is a common motif in archaeological museums with Greek and Roman artifacts, since almost nothing survives a couple thousand years intact.

I think I saw this scene in a music video once.

This one makes a reference to a captive being given punishment.

I guess being decapitated and having a stick shoved down your throat would count as "punishment."

Moving on to the next room is a display of wheel-like objects, each of which is called:

The Wheel of the Law.

I understand the concept of the law being like a wheel you spin and randomly comes the prize, sort of like Pat Sajak and Vanna White meting out justice on "Wheel of Fortune."  But why the deer in the foreground in front of not only this particular Wheel of the Law, but in front of several of them?

This one is called "Buddha Preaching":

What's interesting is that the Buddha's fingers are gesturing "scare quotes,"  Makes one question the validity of what is being preached there.

Another Wheel of the Law.  Sans deer.  But with Buddha.

Tall and thin:

More than one set of arms, to me, and I think:  Hindu.

In some ways, again using Christianity with which I am much more familiar, the relationship of Hinduism to Buddhism seems to be similar -- not an exact parallel -- but similar -- to that of Judaism to Christianity and, especially, Roman Catholic Christianity.

I guess I should've asked the monk.

But I didn't want to interrupt.

At this point on the tour, I am starting to get Buddha-ed out.  There are only so many Buddha icons that I can take.  Sorry if that's not being respectful.

But I will never tire of elephant statuary.

I learned the other day that when you see a Fat Buddha, it usually means:  Chinese.  Chinese Buddhsim enjoyed imagery (or iconography) (not sure which is the better word) of the Fat Buddha.  In Chinese culture, fat means wealth.  So that is one wealthy elephant up there.

Tusk!

Another monk among the archaeology.

This one also brought to mind a song.

Girl group vibe, no?

And, in light of all this disrespect I am showing to the historical artifacts:

Just stop it.  Stop.

Only a few buildings left.  Next up is the Issaret Rachanuson Building.

The former residence of King Pinklao.

Royal beds.  And a monk in the living room.

One more building to go.

But, first, a statue of a man battling a demon.  I'm guessing it's a demon, since it has the body of a man but a dragon's tail.  The last building in the museum complex was so awesome I'm breaking it out into its own post.