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Postcards from:
Big Bear Lake California Angkor Wat Cambodia Aranyaprathet border Angkor Wat First Day Angkor Wat Second Day Angkor Wat Third Day Bangkok Thailand Big Bear Lake California
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January 2007: 10AMHello from Bangkok, and Pattaya Thailand.
As CNN has been giving
saturation coverage to the cluster of bombings here in Bangkok yesterday,
I thought some of you might wonder about my presence in the city. Last
night at 18:30 Thailand time, several bombs were detonated close to crowds
of people gathered for noisy midnight celebrations in downtown Bangkok.
Upwards of a dozen people were injured, several critically with two deaths
so far. Foreign tourists did not appear to be the targets. Shortly after
the first wave of explosions the government ordered the scheduled musical
performances in several locations and planned fireworks displays canceled.
Crowds were dispersed and roadblocks set up by the military.
During the fifteen
minutes when most of the detonations occurred I sat at a cyber cafe
terminal unaware of the commotion a couple miles away. Shortly thereafter
I returned to my hotel to watch television and prepare for early
retirement as midnight and the new year approached. CNN breaking news
caught my attention. Seven bombs had been detonated in the city.
Responsibility has not been established, though government spokesmen
speculate anti-coup forces might be involved... or international
terrorists. A newspaper report this morning speculates the ruling military
junta might have staged the events themselves to consolidate their hold on
power. No one has linked the Muslim separatists in the southern provinces
of Thailand to the
attacks here,
though they have been responsible for a thousand similar events down there
during the past couple years. The
story is still developing and
reports are beginning to appear on the Internet.
I am again reminded
that things like this have limited impact on ordinary people. It is 10AM
New Years Day and traffic is light, but many businesses are open and a few
tourists are again wandering the sidewalks. Vendors and touts are selling
their souvenirs, deformed beggars are rattling their cups. What has become
a major international news event hardly registers on the lives of most
residents of Bangkok. I will not alter my plans to roam a new section of
the waterfront today. Life goes on.
Peace Fred L Bellomy
13 January 2007
New Year greetings from Bangkok Thailand, Boisterous, beefy
Britain towers over his young petite Thai girlfriend, behaving like a
drunk in a bar. So tall he must duck to get out of the elevator. Might
be an ex military guy as his gray hair is cut like a new military
recruit. Shouting at the top of his voice to a captive audience of hotel
staff he orates: "I bought her a big house north of Bangkok. paid over
two million Bhat for it. We're divorced now... always argued about
money. She has a 51% interest in the land according to Thailand's law,
so I will get some of my money back if she ever sells the place,
otherwise the property is in her name and I'm out of luck." Totally
unconcerned about the feelings of his current girlfriend, I found him
more than annoying.
Yesterday everything
went wrong and I gave serious thought to heading back to "boring"
California! But, a good nights sleep and a bright sunny morning with
gourmet food on the sidewalk patio of the lavish Landmark Hotel has been
revitalizing. It is amazing what a big glass of freshly squeezed orange
juice can do for ones spirits. The problems started with blisters so bad
they were bleeding and painful. Next, I lost my really fancy
SMC Networks VoIP WiFi Skype phone purchased the day before for a
whopping $180! My Buddhist education is still coping with the illusion
of that loss. Later that same day someone replaced my hotel room TV
remote with a broken one and I assumed the housekeeping people were out
to get me... who is paranoid? But today is a new day and I will forget
yesterday, run over to the Pantip electronics super mall here in Bangkok
and buy another one... or wait until I get back and order a replacement
for $152 from
Amperor Direct. But as I said, the sun is brightly shining today and
all is well with the world.
Thailand is amazing.
Every block in downtown Bangkok has a shrine honoring one of the
thousands of
bodhisattvas. People regularly stop and assume the attitude of
prayer, clapping occasionally to get the attention of unseen spirits as
is the Buddhist custom in Southeast Asia. All sorts of offices have
shrines visible from the entrances. In fact, across the hall from this
cyber cafe I can see a young woman kneeling in prayer, not an uncommon
sight in this part of the world. People regularly leave offerings of
food and flowers. I worry the gods must be unhealthy from all the junk
food offerings left. The collections usually include open bottles of
pop, complete with straws accompanied by dishes of white rice or
noodles. One would think the numerous beggars could have a feast on what
the gods don't eat, but neither gods nor beggars EVER touch anything
left as offerings! The leftovers are just tossed out every night ready
for a new assembly of offerings from supplicants the next day.
Pattaya
Thailand
9 January 2007: Since my last note about the bombs in Bangkok I have been down to Pattaya, Thailand's sin city. What an experience that turned out to be. Pattaya reminds me of Paris of the 1930's; not that I know from first hand experience... being born in 1934. Pattaya is the wild sex capital of the world... or one of the top contenders. The place is wall to wall go-go bars, interspersed with massage parlors and sleazy cheap hotels. Still, the overwhelming impression is one of non-stop partying. Younger macho guys in tank-tops showing their amply tattooed muscles, chasing pretty young things intermingle with desperate male senior citizens grasping for one last fling with their paid escorts everywhere around town. It is an amazing place, but I quickly got disgusted with all the macho guys in tank tops, head to toe tattoos, chain smoking, beer drinking, go-go girl propositions and generally seedy impressions of the wall to wall bars down the side streets. The best part of the beach area for those of us who would rather walk than swim are the whimsical green sculptures of children along the promenade. I took a lot of photos of these... as well as a few representative pictures of the go-go-girl bars for comparison. There also are many
upscale resort hotels and delightfully charming beaches. I especially
enjoyed the seaside promenade with a series of whimsical sculptures
along the way. A few "normal" tourists wander the beach areas here and
there.
Peace Fred L Bellomy
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postcards and photos for other Bangkok visits:::
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