2007-01-04
2682
4
0
作者：自由鸟
一篇英文的，希望不会被骂..
Before coming to the city of angel, Bangkok to me was only a place for shopping and eating, and probably some more temples and lady boys. But after about 3 days in this much-larger-than-I-expected metropolitan, I realized it is not only a city but much more.
Dirty and dis-organized it might seem to be in certain ways, this place always resembles HongKong to me in many aspects, with a city-size market, segregation of the old and new town, and more importantly, the rich culture and endless vibrancy emitted from every corner of the city.
I’m not sure if it was because of my soaking in the backwardness of Cambodia in the past 5 days, the noise and pollution of big city, the heavy human and vehicle traffic along the streets actually turned me very high. Maybe I normally tend to prefer the quietness in a close-to-nature surrounding, I had never consider myself as a city person. But when I walk down the streets filled up with all kinds of stalls: food, clothes, artifacts, boutiques; hearing the roaring of the engines of different forms of vehicles: cars, buses, trains, motobikes and tuktuks, I feel all my senses are fully utilized and it just seems that there is never a boring moment.
Bangkok is not just a place for the cheap stuff. I usually associate such places with low class, and that was also why I didn’t had much good impression about this place before I came. But what I’ve seen for the past 2 days has entirely proved me wrong.
A royal city it is—numerous grand and golden shiny sites bring up the elegance.
A busy metropolitan it is, the white collared office people rushing into MRTs, skytrains and boats light up the city lights and live up the city lives.
A well-blended mix it is, the old and modern, the oriental and western, the quiet and noisy, the busy and relax, even the most contrastable dualism—men and women…you can find a good mix of everything here.
Maybe it was the food, maybe it was the people, or the music in the streets. This place urges me to say a lot of things about this city. Probably it’s better to adopt a more systematic way to elaborate why I fell so much for this city of angel.
Food
First, let’s start up with food in Thailand.
It is far much more than just tom yam and green curry as what I saw in Thai restaurants. I only had one proper Thai meal as breakfast in the 3 days. The rest of my stomach was all captivated by all kinds of snacks sold in the streets. Sorry for not being able to share the names, as I can name neither one of them. I felt so bad that I just didn’t have much space in my glutton stomach, or just not enough time in this food paradise. I can guarantee that I never repeat any food in the 3 days, and there are a lot more yet to be tested. The test results are also amazing—none of them had disappointed me, not even a bit.
And considering the price, it costs close to nothing by the western or Singapore standard. (Although I have to say China might win over this in some places) It is no wonder I seldom see any McDonalds or KFC in this big city, whereas 4 7-11 can be seen within 100m along the same street. With the same price as a cheapest McDonalds set meal, one can easily get full for the whole day, with much wider and wiser choices, healthier, more tasteful and more original.
Shopping
I usually hate shopping. Walking in shopping malls alone without any specific target of purchase in mind can be a disaster for me. I seldom buy anything on my own, for my own as well, apart from things to be eaten. But in Bangkok, I couldn’t resist the low price as well and bought myself some clothes. I bet if I could have a female company and some more baht, I will need another backpack for the other things I wanted to buy.
My point of view maybe biased. But from what I observe, the Thais prefer shopping in the markets more than the big air-coned shopping malls, even though the malls look equally nice and elegant as Paragon in Singapore.
The bargaining process can be enjoyable as well if you are in the right mood, and that’s my new discovery in Bangkok. Set a budget for the things you want, ask the vendor for the price, and then cut the quoted price to a quarter or lower. I start to understand the sense of satisfaction derived from obtaining what you want at a price lower than your budget. And the thing, say a pretty nice shirt, may cost just a normal school canteen meal in Singapore.
Buddha
The image of Buddha is not only seen in the hundreds of wats of various size in every corner of the city, it is more in every Thai people’s heart. It is an image most sacred, most unblasphemable, and an image with the highest status, even higher than the second-most respectable figure of the king.
The wats in Bangkok is like the basilicas in Roma, they are huge, they are nice and they are everywhere. I didn’t have much time for the wat tours, but out of the few that I have been to, the astonishment was not any less than that given by the St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican. The architect, the crafting and the pagodas... In here, I could feel I’m physically closer to the Buddha and the inner peace in me.
But the Buddhism in Thailand is far more than just merely visiting the wats. People believe in Buddha and they show their highest respect to them. There are places reserved only for monks in public places instead of for women and the handicapped like everywhere else. People will always pray reverently in front of the Buddha figures, even when they are just walking pass by. I was amazed to see the staff working on the boat actually pray with his hands and eyes closed when the boat pass by every major temple along the river. I’m sure his prays can be heard and answered considering how many times how many times he will pass by them everyday.
Royal
Like many other kingdoms I’ve been to, the Kings are virtually everywhere—on the money notes in your wallet, on the postcards in souvenir shops, and on every streets and buildings. The same goes for Bangkok, only that I feel the influence of the Thai King is more invasive then anyone else.
Might be because of the Asian value, the King is larger than everything. (well, except for the Buddha in Thailand). The Royal Thai buildings are just grand. This even applies to those in other places of the world, like Thai embassies, Thai Air representatives…you always see golden pillars, palace-like buildings, dignified and overwhelming. Here in Bangkok, you see more.
Sometimes, I feel it’s hard to distinguish a Royal building from a Buddhist one. To me, they have similar style, equally nice and impressive. Like the famous Wat Phra Kaeo, where the Emerald Buddha is consecrated, is together with the Grand Palace. Sadly the experience was not that sacred to me due to large groups of Chinese tourists hovering around. But that place is nevertheless breathtakingly grand.
I personally prefer the Dusit Park where the Vimanmek Mansion, Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall and many other royal buildings are located. This huge park, built after Rama V’s European tour, is a combination of Thai and European style, with soft music playing on the big grass plaza, little canal flowing through, and elegant European architectures. It feels great in here, relaxed and amused. I only planned about 3 hours here, since it’s admission is included in the Grand Palace ticket, I thought it was only some extra out of place sites. But I ended up spending the whole day wondering in this big park, subduing to the power of His Majesty.
People
I devote the last section to the friendly, disciplined and patriotic Thai people.
The Thais are well known with their hospitality smiles. The smile is different from the rustic and simple-hearted smile given by the Khmers, the Thai smiles are more warm and gentle, even to strangers in the streets. Especially when you close your palms and greet a Thai with Sawasdee Krup, the other party will usually stop whatever they are doing, standup and greet you back with great sincerity. I did that a few times, and later even feel a bit embarrassed to do so as sometimes it takes them so much trouble to greet me back.
I was shocked when I was waiting for the skytrain in Siam Station, one of the busiest modern shopping districts in Bangkok. While there are huge crowd waiting for the train as one can expect in any of the large cities in the world, the Bangkokers automatically form many queues of single or double file on the platform, following the signs on the ground, leaving clear gaps in between queues for passengers to get off the trains. I’m used to see people scattering randomly near the train gates in Singapore MRT stations, but I’ve never seen such clearly formed queues in any other cities.
My respect also goes for the Thais with their patriotism. I went for a concert by an Australian rock band in Bangkok, and before the concert started, the whole thousands of audience suddenly all stood up solemnly with a piece of music started. I followed suit reflexively without knowing what was happening. Few seconds later I realized it was the national anthem. And I also remembered someone telling me that the Thais will also stop whatever they are doing in the public when the national anthem is played when the national flag is raised and lowered everyday. I was really surprised to see how respectful and serious the people were during the national anthem, and their immediate automatic action of standing up without any prior notice.
Another shocking phenomenon was given by a yellow polo T-shirt. I could easily see almost half of the population at any place wearing the “same same but different” T-shirt. At first I thought it was some organization or club shirt, but later I realized if an organization with such diversified members and such population, it could only be as large as a nation. Yes, the Thais, old or young, man or woman, many are wearing the same T-shirt with the national symbol on their chest pocket, at their heart. I’ve seen national T-shirts sold in many countries as souvenirs to foreign visitors, but I’ve never seen any with such popularity with the locals.
Maybe it could be just a cheap, comfortable and casual piece of clothing for the people, but the golden color everywhere, together with the Royal and Buddhism buildings, delicious food and pleasant shopping experience form up my first impression about this city of angel.
It is truly a city that one shouldn’t miss out and definitely a place to be missed after you leave there.
Bangkok, I’ll be back…
