Lost in Thailand and a Big Buddha

I’ve done a lot lately (almost too much) and I haven’t been keeping up with the blog. I’ll try to catch up now. On Monday, Dennis, Kristine and I went on an insane bike ride in the hopes of finding the Buddhamonthon park, which is near the university. We all saw it on some bus rides, and the vast greenery and large temple looked very inviting. Unfortunately, we took an extremely wrong turn and rode onto parts unknown. We rode down a busy highway, which we had to cross at one point, and then headed to the back roads. Beautiful dragon fruit trees and lotus gardens were at every turn. It was nice to see after the endless 7-11s that populate the main roads. The streets were far too narrow, but I’ve become accustomed to the no-holds-barred traffic.

We continued riding along until we came across a random temple, which had a massive market on the back. The thing about Thai markets is that they are unlike anything most Westerners have ever seen. I’ve seen live snakes, guys giving tattoos to people laying on the floor and fruit that I’ve never seen before in my life. This one was relatively tame, although the atmosphere with beautiful. The Chao Praya River ran through one side of the market, and there were plenty of tourist boats for local Thais and waterfront restaurants. Fish would surface every few seconds and then dip back in the muddy water. On the other side of the river were large shacks, where old ladies were washing their clothes in the passing water. Outside of the market, a large group of adorable puppies swarmed around me. The three of us ended up riding for hours and never found the park. Things were more successful the next day.

I found a map online and realized that instead of riding down the highway, we had to cross it immediately. It was just two minutes from the spot where I got lost before. Wadleigh, Dennis and I decided to head to the park on our sweet bikes (they were $63 with a basket and a second seat for a small Thai person). The park was an enormous 1200 acres and we were all grateful that we didn’t have to walk. It would have been nearly impossible to see the place on foot. At first, we were disappointed that the 16 meter Buddha statue was under construction and barely visible, but we found plenty of other things to look at.

The park itself was, for lack of a better word, beautiful. Everything was meticulously gardened and perfectly green. It looked like a painting. Water was everywhere, and we saw dozens of turtles, some 4-foot lizards and more fish than I have ever seen in my life. Some guy was just throwing fish food in the water and these cat fish would go crazy over it. There was also a museum, but just riding around left us exhausted. We left the park, crossed the busy highway, rode past far too many 7-11s and then relaxed in the pool.

I’ll try to catch up on a stunning day in Ayutthaya, the old capital, and my first full day in Bangkok some other time.