You are Either on the Dock or Off

Like all traveling, you can get off the bus and you can walk away from the bus. In this case, we have yet to take a bus but as previously mentioned, we have strayed from the usual tourist locations. Case in point: the flower market.

I told you about our jaunt to see the flowers and wholesale market but we then left it and walked across the bridge over the Chao Praya. Over there was the work-a-day world and from what we could see on the bridge was also a Christian Church and a Wat or two. Time to go see.

We'd dined along the Chao Praya a few nights ago, but this was a very long way from where we had been, mainly in terms of economic conditions. And like all major rivers, the amount of commerce on the water itself is staggering. The other night we had seen these huge black barges being pulled by tug boats. They sat high on the water, empty. This morning the barges were riding very low, filled with sand and building materials. Often times they have rice for the world market. There are long-tail boats for the tourists with 350 horse automobile engines propelling a slim gondola-style craft. It is for certain the the decibel level of the engines would make Led Zeppelin jealous. River taxis. Hotel taxis for residents. The city operates a craft which is a sort of street-car boat. It will hold hundreds, probably built to hold 75. It hauls up to the dock, sways, the dock sways, women and children and old people scream and jump off, the "conductor" whistles to the unseen "engineer" and they scurry away from the dock. Most of the time people make it off safely. OSHA would have nightmares. I had nightmares, but it works. We negotiated that particular boat yesterday. Not much on explanations for the first time user. Just jump on and jump off and hope you land on either the boat or dock before it departs. Or you will do the same.

But I digress.

So, we were attempting to find a particular Christian Church which we had seen from the river bridge. We wandered through a neighborhood by the river. Lots going on and finally we found the church of Santa Cruz. It has several hundred year old ties with Portugal and Thailand and today it educates the young. It has a thriving preschool and 1-12 school, or so it seemed. It took up several blocks, lots of kids learning and singing and teachers announcing. Alas the church itself was locked up tight. (I seem to recall the Cathedrals of Europe being quite open, all the time. Not so with Santa Cruz). We bid it a fond farewell and wandered off past a small Wat which also was locked. I was detecting a pattern in the neighborhood.

But the city had provided a wonderful, simple River-Walk and we strolled along it as we watched the river traffic. We could see in the distance another Wat or two and Christian Churches. We found the religious diversity of this city more apparent in the afternoon. We switched our hotels in order to meet our old friend from Zambia, Dave. He's a Chicago guy who lived in Africa and the Middle East all his working life and now is retired in Bangkok. I'll say more about him later. Suffice it to say that we are now across town from our original location (Silom Rd for those of you in the know)

As we prepared to meet Dave we heard a familiar call from our hotel room. Laura opened the window and it was the calling of the faithful. Nearby was a Mosque. Actually right outside the front of the hotel was the mosque. I should be able to hear it calling in a few minutes. We set off down the street to meet Dave and two blocks away is an Indian Hindu Temple. We'll check them both out in the light of day and after a few cups of coffee.

It comes as no surprise that a big world-class city is host to multiple religious institutions. This city is filled with 12 million and even though it is mainly Buddhist, and perhaps because it is Buddhist, it welcomes the faithful of all religions.

Our final destination on our River Walk was near to where we began. The other day we attempted to find the huge and beautiful Assumption Cathedral. We found it today. The private school was letting out and hundreds of kids, parents, motorcycles and cars were flowing to and from the school. The kids looked like kids in Dublin. Snacks, laughing, fiddling with Iphones. Doing homework, looking excited or bored as the parents came to pick them up. We headed for the cathedral itself, eager to take a look. Out front was a statue of John Paul II who visited in 1984. Next to his statue was one of St. Peter himself who was holding the Keys to the Kingdom.

Alas, St. Peter did not also have the keys to the cathedral. It was locked up tight.

Peace, Bob