Thailand
We arrived in Bangkok, Thailand on March 10, 1970 at 1100 hours.
We had to skip Laos and Cambodia because of the ongoing war in that region. We could hear radio messages on board ship from Vietnam and they were scary. Thailand used to be call Siam. Thailand means free land. It’s about the size of France. Thailand has never been dominated by another country, and they’re proud of that!!! No foreign power has ever been in charge. At the time of my visit to Thailand, the Vietnam war was going on. Thailand supported our war effort and had agreed to send 10,000 Thai troops to assist us. The Thai people were gentle, patient and law abiding. The museums in 1970 were never guarded. No one would even THINK of taking something from a museum. They loved festivals. The favorite sport was kite flying. Fish fighting with fish kites was a popular spectator sport as was sumo wrestling. Their religion was Buddhism. The money was called a “baht”. At that time, 20 bahts were equal to $1.00. The per capital income was $120 per year. They were a very easy going people. The favorite saying was “my pen rye” which means, “it doesn’t matter.” The climate when we were there was very humid and warm. It seldom gets below 59 F. nor above 90 F. but the humidity is VERY HIGH.
What looks like gold IS gold!!! This is the Gold Palace!
Did you know that Thai people are supposed to be the most religious in the world and every boy when he is in his teens must spend three months in the temples, shave his hair and wear the gold robes of the monks? Remember, this was in 1970. Thai people do not like to be touched a lot, especially on the head. Touching the head of a child is extremely bad because a child’s head is considered sacred.
The floating market was where everything could be bought. You didn’t GO to a grocery store – the store came to you via boats on the river. Unfortunately, we were told the water was quite contaminated and so we were NOT to drag out feet in it for fear of acquiring a parasite.
This is the guardian to the Emerald Buddha. It’s at Wat Phra Keo in the old palace. It’s a great example of old Thai sculptures. There are some Buddhist monasteries which have examples of Thai frescos and sculptures.
In Bangkok, there were sight seeing boats that took you around to see everything. So much of Bangkok is situated by the river, this made sense then.
This man is replacing the gold leaf on a pillar. When you see gold on temples and buildings – IT IS GOLD!!!
The smaller structures are Spirit Houses. They are built BEFORE the construction of anything. Our guide was telling us that he owns a ranch and his farmer’s kids got sick and after being sick for about 2 months, the farmers got together and told him that the kids were sick because he didn’t have a spirit house. He said that he didn’t believe in spirits, but that if the spirits would make the kids better the next day, he would build a spirit house for them. The doctors couldn’t figure out what was the matter with the kids either, Anyway, the next day all the kids were well, so he had to build a spirit house. His story!!! 😊
The harbor has ships and houses on both sides.
The reclining Buddha Wat Po. He’s 180 feet long and 40 feet high and COVERED IN GOLD!
It’s in the Temple of the Reclining Buddha in Bangkok.
Fisherman with butterfly nets. I was fascinated by this coming from Minnesota where you fish with a fishing rod and reel. I’d never seen anything like this!
Georgia and I at King’s Palace in Bangkok. We thought it was pretty spectacular.
We’re gathering on the deck waiting so we can clear the ship to dock. We came in on the river. Tugs clear your path and bring the mail to the ship, check out the papers, etc. before you are given clearance to dock. That doesn’t mean we can’t check out everything we can possibly see first. Bangkok is frequently called the City of Angels and sprawls on both banks of the Chao Phraya River. It was founded on the site of an old fort. It became the capital of Thailand in 1782.
There are many, many floating homes on he Chao Phraya River.
The city in 1970 was inter-linked by canals, called klongs.
The river is used for swimming, cleaning and drinking in 1970. WE didn’t want to swim in it or drink from it!!!
A shrine in Thailand. Note the tips on the edges of the roofs. They are to keep evil spirits out.
A closer look at a spirit house.
The architecture is spectacular - always with tipped up edges to keep out the evil spirits.
This Buddha is solid gold and about 18 inches high. Though the Thai are predominately Buddhist, they are very tolerant of other religious beliefs.
What do you need for dinner tonight from the floating markets? Folks rarely go to a store on the land in 1970.
Get a load of the roofline of King’s Palace!! NO evil spirits can ever get in here. It is one of the most spectacularly beautiful and colorful man-make structures in the world, and all you see inside and outside that is gold – it is real gold!!
The king at the time was Bhumibol Aduladej. Try and say that!!! He was just a figurehead, and the governing power was in the prime minister and his cabinet. He was very popular. EACH king gets a new throne because it is considered bad luck to sit on the throne of an old dead king. The thrones are covered with precious stones and mother of pearl. Also, in the throne area, the rooms have wallpaper that is hand painted. You can’t imagine how beautiful! Most of it is gold leaf. Gold is cheap here and they have huge gold shops where gold can be bought by the pound. There are many different colors and things to choose from if you are buying gold.
The story of the King and I was actually true, though not the details. The King was Rama IV and his son was Rama V for the story. All kings are called Rama to show the family is power. The king that was in power in 1970 was born in Boston, Massachusetts and educated at Oxford University. How about that????? Each king builds a new temple; however, this one spent his money on building some roads and a hospital. I think I’d like him.
I finally got the stones to make a ring for my mom – a pearl and rubies. I won’t have them set because the duty at customs is far less for unset stones than a ring. We were going to see some Thai boxing, but I didn’t have the money nor the time. They can use their feet, elbows, and everything. I’m not into bloody sports.
I bought kites for my little brothers and sisters. They are magnificent. We watched for over an hour as they fought with kites in the sky. I tried to fly one but was a total disaster! I couldn’t manage the super long tails.
We were only in Bangkok for 2 days. It’s a beautiful country and beautiful people. I was getting tired of looking at the temples, shrines, and historical artifacts. I much preferred chatting with the people. I found folks selling things along the road. We could talk and I got to know them better as people – what they aspired to do, what they enjoyed, etc. One of the vendors was selling teak carved items. I bought a teak base, with teak flower stems and a variety of teak flowers which can be arranged. Money was of no value to him. He wanted to TRADE. I traded my jeans that I was wearing for the wooden flower arrangement. They gave me some cotton pants to wear and I gave them my jeans. American jeans, I learned, were worth more than money. He was a neat man and I love my wooden flowers. I do to this day!!!
We departed Thailand on March 12, 1970 at 1700 hours.