Of Kings, Culture, Temples, Buddha (etc., etc., etc.)

“Our king has served longer than Queen Elizabeth of England,” said Sarah, our guide for the time we spent in Bangkok, — “Sixty-eight years.” The King of Thailand is Rama 9 — number nine in the longest running monarchy in the world. You probably know of Rama 4. He is the one who brought Anna to Siam from England to teach his children, inspiring the book Anna and the King of Siam which led to the musical, The King and I. More on that from Lisa below.

The forward-thinking nature of these monarchs meant that Siam was never subjuct to colonization by France or England. It remained free. The word Thai means free, which inspired Rama 5 to change the name of the country to Thailand — land of the free — in 1939.

Bangkok, on the Chao Phraya river, is home to 12 million residents. It has a canal system that runs throughout the city, leading some to call it the Venice of Southeast Asia. Despite this fact, there are over 8 million cars and countless motorcycles in Bangkok with too few roads to hold them. So getting around can be time consuming. Many residents have long commutes from the suburbs to work each day.

Nevertheless, we ventured out by riverboat, van, and tuk tuk to see the sights of this beautiful metropolis. Since 95% of Thais are Buddhist, there are many temples to see. And, the deep-seated monarchy meant many palaces to view as well. From the 150-foot reclining Buddha plated in gold to the former residences of Kings Rama 4 and 5, we went on a whirlwind tour to take them all in during our short 48-hour stay.

The Reclining Buddha is 150 feet long by 30 feet tall. It is made of stucco and plated in 24-karat gold.

Wat Pho Temple grounds.

Temples on the Grand Palace grounds

Siem Reap Cambodia used to be part of Siam, so the King had a replica of Angkor Wat built as a reminder.

King Rama 4 went to school in England. Note the British architecture combined with the Thai roofline.

The Grand Palace grounds seen from the Chao Phraya river at night.

But, as usual when visiting a new land, it is the people and the culture that provide the most interesting and educational experiences for Lisa and me. The Thai people are friendly, respectful, and proud of their country. Over 99% of Thais are employed, but, wages today remain low (Sarah says about $10 per day), so all must work to sustain themselves. It is customary for extended families to live under one roof, and it isn’t unusual for three or four generations to live together. The kids never move out and often you’re destined to live with your mother-in-law the rest of your life! When the girls marry, they generally go live with the husband’s family. So, Lisa and I would still end up empty-nesters in Thailand.

There are three seasons in Thailand — the rainy season, summer, and winter. But, Bangkok is on the southern end of the country. So, Sarah tells us their three season are hot, hotter, and hottest. We visited between hotter and hottest. Whew!

The Thai language has 46 letters with 24 vowels. The nuance in pronunciation is so subtle that our American ears were unable to discern the difference in many of the words. For example, Sarah says her nickname is Jim. I said, “Jim?” She said, “No, Jim.” “You see,” she said, “There are five ways to say Jim — Jim, Jim, Jim, Jim, and Jim.” Now, I have to say, they all sounded the same to me. The conversation from there got very funny as I kept saying, “Jim” and she’d say, “No, Jim.” I finally got it right once and quit right there as I couldn’t tell why the last time was right and the others weren’t.

Speaking of Jim, there is a famous American named Jim Thompson who had quite an impact on Thailand. He was an Army officer, some say a CIA agent, an architect and a, yes, a fashion designer. Jim Thompson seemingly single-handedly revived the silk industry in Thailand. He provided the silk costumes used in the filming of The King and I. We visited his home, called reverently, by the locals, the Jim Thompson house (what else?). Mr. Thompson took several small 100-year-old homes from the countryside and relocated them to Bangkok, then assembled them together into one large home. It is fascinating in that it retains the traditional Thai archetecture, and contains Jim’s collection of artifacts that qualify the place as a museum.

Lisa, of course, supported the Thai economy by picking up several of Mr. Thompson’s wares. I’ll report that she looks quite good in those silk shirts.

Finally, given the perfect growing climate, flowers are plentiful in Thailand. The Thai people bring home fresh flowers daily. Sarah took us to the flower market, which is several blocks long. Flower vendors sold flowers of every type. We found vendors that sell beautiful orchids. So, I offered to get some for Lisa since I know she loves orchids. We found a large bunch that comprised about 50 stems of orchids and paid the princely sum for them of 50 baht. Uh, that translates to $1.40. Sarah told me that when a boy in Thailand gives a girl orchids she turns up her nose. Too cheap. Well, I tried.

Our visit to Thailand was far too short. It was only meant as a staging area to kick off our visit to the Himalayas. I am certain we will return to spend more time seeing the country some day. We’re now off with our new companions — seven other couples — to see Bhutan. More on that visit soon.

SHALL WE DANCE? by Lisa

I have always been fascinated with the country of Thailand and the story of Anna and the King. I think it all started when I was eight years old and got the chance to play one of the King’s children in summer stock theater at the Wagon Wheel playhouse in Winona Lake, IN in their production of the King and I. I read every book I could about Anna and the King when I was growing up, learned all of the music on the piano, and saw countless productions of the musical. In fact, we just saw the play on Broadway in September. Naturally, I wanted to know all about this king and the “facts” surrounding the show. I imagined there would be “King and I” tours and all kinds of memorabilia surrounding the book and movies. Boy, was I wrong! The government has banned all versions of the “King and I” including any books, plays, or movies about the subject. A public viewing of the play is seen as a treasonous offense and can include jail time. Although Hollywood tried to appease the government by changing parts of the script, they still didn’t feel that they paid the proper respect to the monarchy and King Rama 4.

Hollywood filmed The King and I and the 90’s movie Anna and the King in nearby Indonesia because the government refused to let them film in Thailand. Our guide also burst my bubble by letting us know that the famous “Shall We Dance” scene would never have happened between the King and a commoner. He would have never danced with Anna much less let her look him in the eyes or even stand at his level during the time of his reign. We did get to see the grounds where Anna lived and taught the King’s children and found out it was because of her that the King’s son went on to Oxford in England to study and further advance the Thai people in their efforts to educate and modernize the country. History and Hollywood once again don’t always agree with one another but I like the “Rogers and Hammerstein” version better than reality so I’ll go back to “Whistling My Happy Tune” and believing in “Something Wonderful” . . . etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

Our Tuk Tuk adventure.