‘Letting go’ in Bangkok

“This city grows on you,” says my cousin Kenneth Reyes, a resident of Bangkok for almost two years now. He says this amid the gridlock in downtown Bangkok.

“Despite the traffic, the drivers are not impatient. They don’t honk their horns needlessly. There is give and take on the road,” he explains, seeing my raised eyebrow. He also marvels at the affordability of good food — whether on the streets or in air-conditioned restaurants.

Aside from the quality of life that even middle-class Thais enjoy, there’s the diversity of their culture that attracts tourists. Their culture is just so pronounced — like the hot chili in their dishes, the hot pink taxicabs on the road, the curvaceous red violet orchids, the gilded temples.

Last year, 28 million tourists visited Thailand, according to Thai Airways GM for the Philippines and Guam Khun Sern Chupikulchai. The numbers dipped somewhat this year, but he is confident the dip is not significant.

Tourism Authority of Thailand director Khun Kate Kritwutikon says some 300,000 Filipinos comprise tourist arrivals to Thailand, but she expects the number to increase sooner than later.

“There’s value for money in Thailand,” says Malu Dueñas, sales manager for Thai Airways in the Philippines. A hundred dollars (about 3,200 baht) goes a long, long way.

Five-star hotels and glitzy malls face thriving flea markets — there’s revelry in their co-existence. Imagine Greenbelt 4 with all its luxury boutiques, and across the streets are colorful stalls selling everything from knockoffs to spicy noodles. Despite the unlikely mix, there’s harmony in the city.

* * *

We were in Bangkok recently upon the invitation of Thai Airways and the Tourism Authority of Thailand to experience the city anew and to participate in one of Thailand’s time honored festivals, the Loi Krathong.

Although it wasn’t my first time in the city, I still got to experience several “firsts.” The Museum of Floral Culture, opened just two years ago in a century-old colonial teak mansion, is said to be the first and only floral museum in the world. It was especially created for those who love flowers and nature, with special focus on Thai floral culture, which is inextricable from the Thai way of life. Virtually all vehicles have garlands, similar to our sampaguita garlands, not as decorative air fresheners but as offerings to the spirits for a safe journey.

We had lunch in the renowned Blue Elephant Cooking School and Restaurant, which is housed in another colonial mansion. The founder of Blue Elephant (“Blue” because it is the royal color and “Elephant” because it is the national animal), chef Nooror Somany Steppe, is the unofficial ambassador of Thai cuisine.

The dishes are mouthwatering on sight because of their exquisite presentation — and they capture you at first bite.

Also opened about two years ago was the Throne Hall built on the grounds of the Dusit Palace in 1907. There is nothing Oriental about the exterior of the Throne Hall, which is akin to that of European palaces, with its domes and Baroque architecture.

But the Throne Hall itself is a resplendent fusion of East and West, erected in Carrara marble from Italy with domed ceilings embellished with Renaissance décor. But instead of biblical figures, you see a Golden Buddha in the most prominent of the frescoes.

In 2008, the Thai King granted permission for the Queen Sirikit Institute to use the Throne Hall as a museum for the arts of the kingdom. And truly, the pieces of art on exhibit now are jawdropping. They include tapestries that took four years to embroider in the Thai pak soy technique, carved teakwood panels that narrated epics, thrones and small royal barges of gold and silver.

* * *

Another first was participating in the Loi Krathong. A krathong is a buoyant floral basket, whose base is usually made of banana tree trunk and banana leaves blanketed by orchids. Loi means “float away.” During the Loi Krathong, which takes place during the full moon of the 11th month, Thais let go of their krathongs in any flowing body of water, especially the Chao Phraya River. A candle is lit in the krathong and as one lets go of the floral basket, one is also supposed to let go of one’s negative thoughts, anger, anxieties and fears. One lets them drift away on the krathong under the moonlit sky.

Just watching the krathongs float away with their invisible burdens is already cathartic. You can easily make it symbolic of letting go.

We were fortunate to be invited to a riverside pavilion by tycoon Thanapa Sirivadhanabhakdi, the CEO of the Thai Beverage Company. From the balcony of the pavilion, we watched floating lanterns — actually boats dressed up in colorful lights — glide by. After a five-course meal, we were led to a wooden jetty, given our own krathongs and led to the deck. Boatmen assisted us in laying down our krathongs on the river, where they drifted into the dark, side by side other krathongs. From the deck, they looked like a school of glowing fish, swimming out to sea.

On any day, under any religion, it is good to let go of negative feelings. But imagining them floating away on a bed of orchids under the silver light of the moon was a vivid, surreal experience.

It was easy to let go.

(Thai Airways has 10 weekly flights to Bangkok utilizing a wide-bodied Boeing 777 with its renowned Royal Orchid Service and individual video monitors in Economy Class. For more information, please contact 580-8421 or e-mail [email protected].) (You may e-mail me at [email protected].)