Week 28 · July 22, 2014 · Bangkok, Thailand
Week 28 —
First family Junta — everything was calm and no signs of martial law. Wat Phrakaew at the Grand Palace comparable to any European cathedral, tuk-tuk rides on Annelise’s bucket list, lost ATM cards, borrowed $2 from a random American couple for admission, and Annelise calling “coup” at the fireworks.
Sharon, Alexandra, and Annelise arrived after scoring an upgrade on the way over from DC. It was Alexandra’s first visit to Korea and we got her immediately acclimated with cheap Korean BBQ. The three girls took a trip to the DMZ (the real tour — I did the DMZ lite tour) and actually went into North Korea — where they looked at North Koreans on a tour looking south — we met up at the end of the day for more Korean BBQ. They brought some stuff from home and I had my shipment delivered so I was able to get 100% moved in and immediately left Seoul to Bangkok for our family vacation. It was our first Junta as a family (actually — everything was calm and no signs of martial law).
We had 2 full days in Bangkok — we focused on visiting the historical sites and touring on the river. A “Wat” is a Buddhist temple — there are many of them throughout the city — we visited 4, including Wat Phrakaew at the Grand Palace. This Wat was comparable to any European palace or cathedral we had seen…and somehow it is tied in with the Royal family so every time someone dies, a new section is built. We also had several tuk tuk rides — it was on Annelise’s bucket list — and one led us right to a tailor and we did relent and Sharon and I both got clothes. One lesson learned is that they don’t take credit cards in 90% of the places — we didn’t have a lot of cash and Sharon and I both lost our ATM cards, so that created a bit of a challenge — fortunately we found another American couple to “loan” us $2 as we were short to buy the admission tickets to a Wat. Hopefully we will get this figured out…
Bangkok contains over 400 Buddhist temples (Wats). Wat Phrakaew within the Grand Palace grounds houses the Emerald Buddha, Thailand’s most sacred religious object and a symbol of royal authority. The Grand Palace complex was built in 1782 when Bangkok became the capital. The “Junta” referenced throughout this post was the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), which seized power from the elected government on May 22, 2014 — about two months before this visit. The military government’s “Making Thailand Smile Again” campaign was a real public messaging initiative. Despite the coup, Bangkok remained open for tourism and the atmosphere described — calm with no visible signs of martial law — was consistent with reports from visitors during that period.
One lesson learned is that they don’t take credit cards in 90% of the places — we didn’t have a lot of cash and Sharon and I both lost our ATM cards, so that created a bit of a challenge — fortunately we found another American couple to “loan” us $2 as we were short to buy the admission tickets to a Wat. Two adults with combined professional experience measured in decades, in Bangkok with $2 to their name, borrowing from strangers to get into a temple. Hopefully we will get this figured out.