Beirut to Bangkok

This rather beautiful young lady was there to greet us as we arrived tired and feeling in desperate need of a shower at Bangkok airport. We had been travelling for about 22 hours and did not have the prospect of a hotel room to stay in until the afternoon (it was now about 7am). So, adrenalin kept us going.

What were we doing in Bangkok, you might ask. Also, who are "we?" "We" are a group of administrators and teachers from ACS. "What" is the NESA Conference. I was there as a presenter together with Salwa. It seems like a long time ago that we won the trip after the Mini NESA that took place at school in early November.





When we arrived at the hotel, the Shangri La, this handsome elephant was there guarding the doors. His twin brother was on the other side.

So, no room for a few hours, what's a girl to do. Go for a whirlwind sightseeing tour of Bangkok, of course. The fact that it was about 38 degrees and 90% humidity didn't matter. Well, it didn't matter at the time but by the end of the touring most of us felt like we were going to faint...

The picture above shows the Golden Buddha. It was an amazing sight, made from pure gold and weighing in at some ridiculous tonnage. We heard the story of how he was made from donations by the peasants many moons ago, and how he was covered in a cement casing when their original homeland was occupied. The occupiers never realised what was under all that cement and when the Thai people asked to take their dear Buddha with them to their new capital, the occupiers didn't object at all. As soon as he arrived he was "disrobed" and has since sat in all his finery.

This has to be one of the biggest Buddhas in existence. To get some perspective, look at the door at the top end of the picture. People come about one third of the way up that door - you can just about make out the shape of a person standing there. Look how high above the door the Reclining Buddha's head is!

One of our favourite pastimes in the evening was strolling around the Night Bazaar. We had such fun there. The people were very friendly, even if they were trying to rip you off. But, bartering was all part of the game. You could be sure that any starting price would at least halve and, in some cases, end up one third of the original number given. I'd never bartered before and had such a good time. We went back about 3 times; that's not bad for a 6 day stay!

We mostly travelled around in taxis. Hint: whenever you take a taxi in Bangkok make sure it's with the meter or you can end up paying triple for the fare. One daring night, on the way back from the Bazaar, we decided to take a "tock tock." We had a young driver and we were four sitting in the back; how we managed to all squeeze in don't ask me - suffice to say that I was sitting on the floor! Well, he was driving pretty erratically so a couple of the girls started screaming. He thought they were having a good time so decided to play to the audience and began driving like a maniac! I mean, we're all from Lebanon and are, therefore, used to crazy driving. Boy oh boy, this guy was more than crazy. By the time we got back to the hotel we were hoarse with screaming and laughing, in equal measures.

One of my most pleasant memories of Bangkok will be the fruit. There was so much of it and it was delicious; especially the fresh pineapple. We had fruit for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sometimes fruit being the only component of that particular meal.

So, all in all I had a good experience in Bangkok. It was interesting to see the Far East. It's so different from either Europe, North America, or the Middle East. I found the heat oppressive and the smells in the streets overpowering. I loved the people and the general "busy ness" of the place. It was a wonderful opportunity to see another culture and country - I'm glad I went.