Royal palace
Boot trips, Landscapes, Ruins, Tribes, Monks, Temples, Statues, Elephants, Fish harbor, Summer palace, Floating market
Bangkok isn't the first capital of Thailand. In the past the country was called Siam and flow of mysteriousness and impenetrable was hanging around. The country is never occupied by any Western power. Although the size of the country vary through centuries, it was almost all the time an independent kingdom. Parts of Burma, Laos, Cambodia and China make part of it for a short period. Bangkok is a young capital nearby the sea far away from the numerous hostile neighbors.
The kings reside on both sides of the river. Their power is limited nowadays. In fact Bangkok isn't a real city, but large conglomerate comparable with Holland part of the much bigger entity of the spared populated Thailand. One third of the population is living the watery area cut with ditches and canals. A lot of people are living on houseboats. The light is beautiful, everything is rumbling, the climate is delicious, you can live on the streets and that's reason despite all the mess you can have a good life in Bangkok.
The current royal palace is in fact not inhabit by the king. It is more a kind of sanctuary visited by immense crowds of visitors. As everywhere in Thailand everything is very colorful. They have thousands of temples, pagodas and other sanctuaries. They build all the time new ones. In Holland we like some more modesty. Often the temples are overdone. But especially the statues around the royal palace are unique in their expression. There are no two statues the same. Stone, enamel, gold and silver alternate. Beautiful stylized dragons and banisters you see them all over...
Houseboats are made almost without any exception from wood. A lot are replaced the last twenty years by houses on piles along the water. Neglect they looks like very picturesque. Our guide told that you can live marvelous along the canals. There is electricity, running water and television nowadays. The retailers and tradesman show daily to bring all the thing be needed. Everywhere you see small temples with food the bring goddess in a good mood. The first day we entered a big boat near the hotel. On the video we have shots of the views along and explanations of the guide. By one temple the water and the fishes are sacred. Fishing was allowed. We got some bread to throw in the water to get the enormous fishes to the surface.
