After a quick three hour flight from Kathmandu, passing the majestic Chomolungma , Colie and I arrived in Bangkok to stifling humidity and the prospect of waiting for a taxi for an hour.
At 8.30 p.m. the circle was complete. The family had reunited.
The Songlines of the heart danced at dinner like dreaming tracks. Laughter and a tapestry of stories filled the night air. An old cliché rang true. Home is where the heart is.
The Chatrium, an international five star hotel on the banks of the Chao Phra River, a bargain for just over $100 / night, was a world away from Hotel Potala in Nepal.
Morning was filled with a sumptuous buffet breakfast followed by a ferry trip up the river. A local approached us in the street and organized a Tuk tuk to take us around the key landmarks of the city. The driver would wait for us at each landmark; all this for 40 Baht for five hours. Although near the end of the day he begged us to visit a shop so he would get a petrol voucher. We obliged.
In the course of the day we had a chat with a UN ambassador at a temple, a security guy who informed us that the royal family were to arrive at the Tibetan temple shortly after we did, a tailor who measured me up for four shirts (100 thread count Egyptian cotton); two trousers (cashmere) and two silk ties, all for around $250 (Peter would be proud of me!); the Golden Mountain; people at prayer; a patchwork of Buddhist monks in the city and a tour around other monuments. A full day.
That night Colie and Katie caught up with a couple of the Antipodean girls who were in town for a night of eating crickets ( yes Katie ate one); buckets of vodka and orange; foot massages by sucker fish; swensen ice cream and pad thai.
The next day was more oppressive (humidity) and less frenetic. A visit to the famous Royal Palace had the girls leave early for the Hotel pool. Before they did, I think Katie was suffering a little delirium as she tried to order a Pepsi from a stupa where they were doing puja, worship amidst the Buddhist offerings of eggs and garlands of flowers.
An enduring image that remains with me of this night is all four of us curled up in one king bed watching nondescript TV. We were embracing the moment and each other. Travel: Expensive. This Moment: Priceless!
There is a feng shui about Bangkok that mirrors their hospitality. The security guard-the Royal family- told me that because of their ‘high feng shui’ Thailand has never been colonized.
Bangkok will always have a place in our family folklore. In a short space of time the country has grown on me, so much so, that I would consider returning.
Now onto the graveyard midnight Lufthansa flight to Madrid via a 90 minute transit in Frankfurt.
Fortuitously a fortune cookie three hours before my flight read:
“The longer the night lasts
The more the dreams will be.”
Spain awaits.
Until next time,
Good tidings and God’s blessings
Janika
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