Buddha

You are here

After returning home from our holiday I had time to write one blog. My next adventure was an emergency appendectomy on Easter Sunday evening. Unusual for a person my age to have appendicitis – but that did not make it any less painful! I recovered well and came home the next day (Easter Monday). After that, procrastination set in and this is the first time I’ve had the inspiration to sit down and blog. Plenty has been happening here including our smash-proof screen door locking itself and not letting us in or out. We’re waiting for the locksmith even as I write.

Of course, the holiday is a dim memory now but I’ll turn to my trusty Moleskine and see what I can find.

We enjoyed Bangkok and Pattaya in Thailand. The traffic was horrendous, kilometre after kilometre of container trucks – mainly running on gas, we could see the gas bottles stacked up behind the drivers’ cabs. Even the tuk-tuks run on gas. The trip from the where the ship was docked (Leam Chabang) into Bangkok took upwards of two hours and gave us a chance to see some of the countryside although mainly built up. A little bit like Bali on steroids.

In Bangkok we visited a number of temples including the huge Reclining Buddha at Wat Po. I was fascinated to see the back of his head in tight little (gold) curls. Overheard in the crush of tourists, “Looks like a gold submarine”.

Wat Ratchanadda and Loha Prasat with 36 surrounding spires is a wonderful place. The spiral staircase winds up and up to a spire from which we could view the surrounding city. All along the corridors on each level are Buddhist adages in English and Thai. Lots of seated Buddhas all along the outside wall and signs to say, “You Are Here”.