Thursday 28-December 2017
The other half of Wat Pho

While Wat Arun is being guarded by two giant yak nature-spirits, Wat Pho is guarded by two of what looks to be wise men.

Not as fierce or aggressive-looking as the yaks, but they are there guarding the temple every day.

Wat Pho is most known as the temple of the Reclining Buddha. That is only one part of Wat Pho. Wat Pho is also significant in that it is the home or center of Thai Massage. Thai Massage is very different than a rubbing style massage, like Swedish massage. Thai Massage is done fully clothed, and it is almost as if the “masseuse” is putting you into yoga-like positions and doing the stretching for you. Walking around the Wat Pho campus, I noticed a number of smaller (about one meter high) statues of people doing what looked like yoga postures. I photographed a number, and here are some:

The small signs near these figures are all in Thai, so I could not read them. I am confident that this is related to Wat Pho’s position as the center of Thai Massage.

There is also a viharn (worship hall) with a rather tall standing Buddha, about 4 – 5 meters (13-16 feet) high.

I made my way out of Wat Pho, back to the ferry dock, and onto the ferry across the river to the dock at Wat Arun to continue downstream. While leaving the dock at Wat Arun, I got this photo of the majestic main tower at Wat Arun.

The Bangkok Flower Market

Downstream from Wat Arun was a stop for the flower market, said to be the largest flower market in all of the Bangkok area. I stopped there just to see it for the first time. I am not sure how to measure large for a flower market, but this is a large market. There is no shortage of flowers of all types.

Inside there were many places where packaged flowers were waiting to be shipped or made into various flower items. Here is a small area with yellow flowers.

And there are many piles of orchids – the national flower of Thailand:

Pumpkin is eaten by the Thai people in a few forms. But they are not the pumpkins we see in the U.S. Thai pumpkins are more squat, very knobby, and darker. I saw a few boxes of these pumpkins in the flower market:

Pumpkin is found more in the north than central and south Thailand. A favorite dish of mine is stir-fried pumpkin in red curry soup. Or stir-fried roasted pumpkin with a side of rice and morning glory stems stir-fried with garlic. And if you ever wonder about why Thai food is so spicy, it is because there are large selections of chilies in every market. Even the flower market where I saw a lady sorting small red chilies. This is a small selection; I’ll get a photo of more extensive selection of chilies for sale at a market in Chiang Mai.

After the flower market excursion, I headed back down the river, onto the Skytrain, and back to my hotel. It is always hot and humid in Bangkok, so I got a shower, rested for a short time, and then went out to make a short visit to the Jim Thompson House Museum.

Jim Thompson House Museum

Jim Thompson was an architect who was stationed in Thailand for the U.S. Army Intelligence in World War II. He returned to Bangkok after the war and is credited with revitalizing the almost abandoned silk industry in Thailand. He had a home made up of several traditional two-story Thai houses placed together with interconnecting walkways in a compound of sorts. He also collected much historical oriental art and artifacts. Today, the Jim Thompson Silk Company is thriving, and his home compound is a museum. I have visited many times, and always love going there. The houses he put together surround a garden of sorts (more an organized jungle). I took many pictures trying to make sense of the way he put the houses together, but I do not think the pictures do justice to his organization. I have taken the tour in the past, and pictures are not allowed from inside the houses, so all of my photos are from outside.

The garden and flowers are quite beautiful.

My full day in Bangkok was a very long day, but interesting, invigorating, and quite fulfilling. I found dinner in the food court of the Siam Parragon mall again, and made an attempt to catch up on adjusting to the time in Thailand. Adjusting 15 hours ahead is challenging, but I’ll get there soon.

Next: Chiang Mai and the New Year’s Celebration