2008.10.23 Fly Me to Bangkok

come fly with me
stay a little while above the clouds
we'll fly into the dawn

when you open your eyes
we're there...
in Krung Thep
the city of angels.

Sawasdee!

Wat Phra Kaew

Ramakien figure outside the temple

The splendour of Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of Emerald Buddha) enchants the eyes of the beholders. The temple is so grand, yet the namesake of the place: the Emerald Buddha itself, is quite small. Despite its minute size, it is the most venerated icon in Thailand. The Buddha was dressed in a gilded monastery robe with headress since it was rainy season then. I was told that the Buddha will be dressed in golden shawl in winter, while in summer, he will be dressed with a crown and jewelry.

The reclining Buddha at Wat Pho

View across Chao Phraya from Wat Arun

After bringing us to Wat Pho and Wat Arun (it was his first time visiting these places although he was bornt and bred in Bangkok), MooH said: Since I have been to two temples this year, I don't have to go to temple next year. ~_~* (he has one-temple-a-year policy)

Besides the mandatory sightseeing, we had the essential Thai culinary experience in one of the local markets and in a shopping centre in Sukhumvit area. The food was great: papaya salad, sticky rice, roasted chicken, minced pork for lunch (this meal offered a mix sour, spicy, and sweet taste) and the best Japanese meal ever for dinner (well, Jap food is not really a Thai experience, but it proves the point that food in Thailand is fantastic!).
In addition, we tried all kinds of public transportation in the city: bus, BTS (skytrain), river express, cross-river ferry, tuk-tuk, and taxi.

Bangkok reminds us of Jakarta, only better and cleaner.

A rendezvous, a déjàvu.

The two people that make Bangkok so memorable (=

a friend told me once that he always thought that the best moments are when one is 80% happy.
i thought about it for a long time.

happiness is elusive. most of the time we sit in the midst of happiness and sadness, in the gap, where feelings are scarce and unmemorable. and then something comes along. so we live.

i sip my coffee every morning. it gives me a certain happiness. and then i got onto a packed mrt train, that nullifies the coffee effect. i went into office lobby, waiting for the lift. i saw the cute colleague, and my heart gives a little leap. work starts, and feelings are put to rest and mind is set to work.

in the long term, these little feelings in the morning hardly matters. it is unmemorable.

in contrast,
the first snow in life is unforgettable. i remember mine. if anything, i was probably at the moment of 80% happiness.

sitting outside a cafe in a small beach in italy, listening to street musician playing a tune so familiar, a song heard over the radio many years ago, is another happiness realized. at that moment, nothing else in the world matters.

these moments make my world goes round. but those unmemorable moments are the ones that make the world goes round.
my world is small, but the world is one big, big place.
and to be alive, has always been, will always be a grand thing in its own right.