(7) WAT ARUN (TEMPLE OF THE DOWN)

Perjalanan tour di sungai berakhir di Wat Arun, candi terbesar dan tertinggi kebanggaan rakyat Thailand. Beda banget sama candi-candi Budhha di Indonesia, Wat Arun ini berbentuk bangunan tinggi menjulang sekitar kurang lebih 70 meter tanpa ada ruangan. Di sekelilingnya dihiasi oleh potongan porselen warna-warni berbentuk bunga.

The river cruise ended at Wat Arun, the biggest and highest temple in Thailand. Thailand people are very proud of with the temple. The temple architecture is different compare with Indonesian temple. Wat arun build soared 70 meters without any rooms. All around the wall decorated by coloring flowers from porceilin.

Begitu turun dari boat, sebelum masuk areal candi, ada tempat penyewaan pakaian adat Thailand. Gue langsung exciting banget untuk nyoba pakaian tradisional itu dan berphoto ria di depan candi diikutin ama temen-temen satu group … he he he he …. Adduhh topi-nya beraaaattt banget di kepala.

There is a rental traditional shirt of Thailand before entrance gate of the Temple. I was exciting to wear the traditional shirt and take a picture. The other group members are following me … he he he he … Wow …the hat so heavy! :-)

Sementara gue exciting untuk naik ke atas candi yang tangganya curam minta ampun, yang laen lebih tertarik masuk pasar di sebelah candi buat shopping. Sedangkan David lebih seneng nunggu di bawah di tempat teduh. Gue jadi inget omongan Irene temen gue, dia bilang waktu jadi TL ke Wat Arun, baru aja guide-nya mau ngejelasin sejarah candi, orang-orang udah pada kabur ke pasar untuk shopping … he he he he … ternyata kejadian juga ama gue. He he he he …. Lagian menurut Awee orang Indonesia memang terkenal banget demen shopping :-)
Meanwhile I am exciting to climb up the steep stair temple, the others more interesting to go to the market beside of the temple for shopping. Then David more like take shelter under shaded place to wait. I remember what my friend Irene told to me. She was a Tour Leader in her group tour to Bangkok. While the guide explaint the history of the temple, no body stayed to listen. They went to shopping to the market … he he he he ….It’s happen also to me. …he he he he he …. Regarding Awee information, Indonesian people are very love to shopping.

Waktu naik tangga candi tadi emang cuma berasa ngos-ngosan, apalagi karena udara panasnya minta ampun. Tapi pada saat mau turun, gila … !!! ternyata tangganya bener-bener curam, sampai-sampai gue bolak-balik ngatur posisi mau turun menghadap ke depan atau ke belakang tangga. Pantesan aja banyak yang cuma berdiri di depan tangga karena pada pobhia ketakutan mau turun. Malah gue sempat liat anak remaja cewek yang turunnya sampai digendong karena ketakutan dan hidungnya keluar darah karena pusing dengan ketinggian. Tadinya kupikir tuh anak jatuh makanya hidungnya berdarah … ternyata dia mimisan.
I never think that went down from the top of temple more difficult than climb up. Wow crazy! …. The stairs are very steep. I tried to find comfortable position to walk down. That why many people only stand up in front of the stair due to phobia with high and feel scary to go down. I saw a man hang his doughter to go down. Her nose blooding and she was very scary. I though before her nose blooding because of she falled down …. But it’s because of her phobia.

Pemandangan di atas candi …. Ffuuuiiihh keren banget! Kita bisa liat sungai Chao Phraya membelah kota Bangkok, bangunan-bangunan grand palace yang megah, duuuhhh …. pokoknya rugi deh kalo sampai Wat Arun tapi nggak naik ke atas candi.

The view from the top of the temple …. Wow! So cool! We can see the Chao Phraya River devided Bangkok, glorious the Grand Palace building, ….aahhh your tired to climb the temple will be paid with the nice view from the top.

Sesampai gue di bawah, ternyata pada belum selesai belanja. Gila…!!! Apa aja yah yang dibeli?. Karena gue curious apa sih yang dibeli mereka sampai lama sekali, so akhirnya gue ajak David masuk pasar. Ternyata yang dijual barang-barang souvenir. Menurut Awee barang-barang yang dijual di pasar Wat Arun ini paling murah dibandingkan tempat-tempat yang lain karena mereka berasal dari sekitar kuil ini dan mereka mengambil keuntungan nggak terlalu besar untuk keperluan disumbangkan juga ke Wat Arun. Seperti tshirt yang ada tulisan Thailand dan bergambar gajah bisa dapat 10 pieces untuk Bath 1000. Maka itu semua orang ngeborong souvenir untuk oleh-oleh disitu. Gue senyum geli aja sih ngeliatin semua pada kalap belanja, yah mungkin style gue udah terpengaruh ama turis-turis bule di Bali atau paket-paket tour yang dikemas oleh company gue. “Always put shopping schedule on the last day otherwise you will lose your holiday”.

They are not finish yet when I arrived down from temple. Crazy! … What shooping they are? Due to curious why they take so long for shopping and what are they buying, so I ask David to go inside the market. Apperently the market is selling souvenir. Regarding Awee, the market here sell goods more cheapest than other places due to they are not taking big profit and the profit only for temple donation. Like a Thailand t-shirt with elephant picture can get 10 pieces for Bath 1,000. That’s why everybody became crazy to shop everything in there. I just smile watching their shopping activities. Yeaehh … may be my style influented already by foreigner tourist in Bali and tour package by my company. “Always put shopping schedule on the last day otherwise you will lose your holiday”.

(6) CHAO PHRAYA RIVER

Dari Grand Palace kita jalan kaki ke pelabuhan penumpang tempat naik boat di sungai Chao Phraya. Di situ ada pasar tempat orang berjualan macam-macam dari makanan sampai souvenir. Karena udara panas sekali, sambil nunggu boat yang akan bawa kita tour menyusuri sepanjang sungai Chao Phraya, kita nyobain kelapa bakar Thailand yang dingin dan segar. Huuuhhh…. nikmat banget rasanya.

From The Grand Palace, we walk to the Harbour at Chao Phraya River. There is a market where selling anything from foods till souvenir. We tried Thailand coconut while waiting boat. Uuuhhh …. So cool and fresh in the hot weather like this.

Pemandangan sepanjang sungai sangat menarik. Cuma di sini nggak ada tontonan gratis orang lagi mandi di kali kayak di Indonesia … he he he he …. Dari sungai Chao Phraya kita bisa liat Grand Palace, Wat Arun, rumah penyimpanan perahu kerajaan, jembatan terbesar dan tepanjang, rumah sakit Siriraj pertama dan terbesar di Thailand yang didirikan oleh Raja ke V, pasar terapung (orang-orang yang berjualan di atas kapal), juga rumah-rumah penduduk yang unik meskipun di atas air dan nggak punya halaman tapi mereka bisa bikin halaman teras dengan taman yang indah.

The view of along the river is very interesting. In here only no free show somebody taking a bath at the river like in Indonesia … he he he he he …. Along the river cruise sightseeing we can see Grand Palace, Wat Arun, the building for keeping of the Kingdom boat, Siriraj Hospital - the first and the biggest hospital in Thailand which build by The King V, Floating Market, and also houses on the river. The houses are very unique architecture. Even on the river they can build terase and yard with a beautiful garden.

Di ujung tour kita sampai di sebuah kuil Dewi Kwan In. Di sekitar situ banyak sekali ikan Patin dan besar-besar. Ikan-ikan ini dianggap suci, jadi nggak ada orang berani nangkep. Waduh … kalo di Indonesia, ikan Patin enak banget dijadiin pepes …. He he he he …. Menurut kepercayaan orang kalau kita datang ke tempat itu sebaiknya ngasih makan ikan-ikan itu. Dengan kita melempar makanan ke ikan-ikan itu, kita membuang semua kesialan dan hal-hal yang buruk dalam hidup kita. Nah… lebih beruntung lagi kalau saat kita ngasih makan ikan, kita ketemu ama ikan yang berwarna putih … ffuuiihhh katanya keberuntungan bakal selalu menyertai kita. Waahh … semua orang langsung semangat beli roti seharga Bath 20 utnuk ngasih makan ikan-ikan itu biar ketemu yang namanya ikan berwarna putih J

At the end of the cruise tour, there is a Dewi Kwan Inn Temple. In the river around there are many big river fishes. I don’t know the name of the fish in English, but in Indonesia we called Ikan Patin. Thailand people believe that the fishes are holy, so no body fishing or catch the fish in here. Wow … if in Indonesia, ikan Patin is very delicious to be cooked traditional food named Pepes Ikan….he he he he he …. Regarding people believe here, it’s good to fidding fish when we visit this place. When we are throwing food to the fishes, it means we are thowing our bad luck in our life. Then we will get lucky if when we fidding the fishes, we can see white color fish…. Pffuuiihhh … they believe the luck will be always blessing us forever. So…. everybody very exciting to spend Bath 20 for a pocket bread for fidding fishes with hopping will see the white fish J

James Bond and Anna & The King

Naahh … Kalo kita ngomongin Thailand, pasti nggak lepas dari dunia film-film box office Hollywood. Di Sungai Chao Phraya ada boat kecil yang jalannya kenceng banget. Orang Thailand ngasih nama boat ini James Bond Boat karena dulu pernah dipakai agent 007 beraksi di Bangkok. Gue nggak inget di film James Bond yang mana. Turis Eropa demen banget naik boat ini dan jadi salah satu schedule wajib mereka kalo tour ke Bangkok. Sayang gue nggak dapet take picture-nya waktu itu.

Well ….. If we are talking about Thailand, it’s also about the world of Hollywood box office movie. There is a small faster boat at Chao Phraya River. Thailand people called James Bond boat due to this boat the 007 agent drive this boat in Bangkok. I don’t remember in which James Bond movie. European tourists are very like to use this transportation and its compulsory tour in their itinerary when they are in Bangkok. Unfortunatelly I didn’t get the picture of this boat.

Satu lagi Film Anna & The King yang di bintangin Chow Yun Fat & Jodie Foster. Film ini menceritakan tentang Raja Thailand V. Sayang rakyat Thailand nggak suka dengan film ini karena ceritanya banyak yang nggak benar. Makanya film ini dilarang beredar di Thailand. Menurut cerita yang sesungguhnya Raja Thailand V adalah raja yang paling dicintai rakyatnya. Raja ini yang pertama kali menuntut ilmu di Negara lain dan setelah selesai pendidikannya dia membawa banyak kemajuan bagi Negara Thailand dengan menerapkan ilmu dan pengalaman-pengalaman yang didapat di luar negri dengan mulai dibangun fasilitas umum untuk rakyat seperti membangun gedung sekolah, rumah sakit, … dll. Maka itu, dari Raja yang pertama sampai ke sembilan yang paling dicintai oleh rakyat Thailand adalah Raja V.

The other movie is Anna and The King by Jodie Foster and Chou Yun Fat. In the movie is telling story about The King of Thailand V. Unfortunatelly Thailand people doesn’t like this movie due to so many uncorrect stories. That why the movie can not showing in Thailand. The thruth story of The King of Thailand V is very loved by Thailand people. He is the first Thailan King who taking study in other country. After graduste his study, he is applying his education and experiences to build Tahiland. He build publict facility like publict schools, publict hospital, publict transportation, and etc. So that’s why from the first King until nine, the King V is the most loved King by Thailand people.

(5) GRAND PALACE & WAT PHRA KAEW (THE EMERALD BUDDHA TEMPLE)

Sebenernya di itinerary nggak ada acara ke tempat ini. Tapi karena satu arah dengan optional tour Chao Praya River dan semua peserta tour memang ingin pergi ke tempat ini, so akhirnya semua setuju untuk ambil additional optional tour Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew dengan biaya per orang Bath 500 kalau di rupiahin sekitar Rp 125.000,00. Untungnya semalem udah dikasih tahu Awee kalo sebaiknya kita pakai baju yang rapi dan sopan, karena kalo kita pakai celana pendek, rok mini, dan baju tanpa lengan udah pasti nggak boleh masuk. Grand palace adalah Istana Negara Thailand dan Wat Phra Kaew adalah kuil istana dimana Patung Buddha dari batu Zambrud dengan berbalut baju berbahan emas ada disana. (Wat artinya Kuil atau Temple). Menurut petugas di kuil tersebut, baju patung Buddha ini diganti setiap pergantian musim – panas, hujan, dan sejuk. Saking dianggap sucinya, maka yang mengganti pakaian Buddha ini hanya boleh dilakukan oleh sang Raja Thailand. Masyarakat Thailand sendiri percaya kalau patung ini bisa ngasih tanda bila akan terjadi bencana di Thailand. Sayang gue nggak sempet nanya kapan terakhir patung itu ngasih tanda dan bencana apa yang terjadi.

Actually in the itinerary there is no schedule to go to this place. But because of we will pas this place when we go to Chao Phraya River and also everybody want to go there so we agree to take this additional tour. We pay for Bath 500.00. In Rupiah is about Rp 125.000,00 or US$ 12.5 in US Dollar. When we go inside of this place, we have to wearing polite clothes. No short pan, no short skirt and not wearing open t-shirt. Lucky us, last night Awee inform us already. Grand Palace is a Palace of the King of Thailand and Wat Phra Kaew is a palace Temple where Emerald Buddha wearing clothes from gold put in there. (Wat means Temple). Regarding information from the temple staff the Emerald Buddha clothes will change in every season – dry season, rainy season, and cool season. Thailand people believe that the Emerald Buddha is holy. So the King of Thailand only who can change the Emerald Buddha clothes. They believe that this statu can give a sign when the calamity will come. Unfortunatelly I forget to ask when and what the last disaster came.

Seperti istana Negara di banyak Negara, sudah pasti tempat ini bagus banget. Mata kita benar-benar dimanjakan oleh bangunan-bangunannya yang unik dengan hiasan melengkung seperti rumah gadang dan stupa candi borobudur. Juga taman-taman dengan pohon-pohon yang berbentuk lucu-lucu dan cantik. Bangunan-bangunan istana ini didominasi warna emas yang melambangkan kejayaan kerajaan Thailand. Off course, belum lama ini gue baca di salah satu koran local di Indonesia bahwa Raja Thailand saat ini adalah orang terkaya di dunia ….. ffuuuiiihhh … mau juga gue jadi mantunya!!....he he he he ….. Sayangnya kita nggak bisa foto di dalam temple, karena Patung Zambrud Buddha ini dikeramatkan.

Like another Grand Palace in others country, this place very beautiful. Our eyes spoiled by unique building and beautiful garden with pretty style and architecture. The architecture of building very unique looks like the Gadang house in Padang – Sumatra Island in Indonesia combine with stupa like stupa of Borobudur Temple in Yogyakarta – Indonesia. Gold color dominated of all the building. It symbol of prosperity of The Kingdom of Thailand. Off course I just read a local news paper in Indonesia that the King of Thailand is the most riches people in the world on this time. Wow ….. I would like to be his doughter in low …he he he he he…. Unfortunatelly we couldn’t take a picture inside of the Temple due to they are highly sacred the Emerald Buddha.

O’ ya … kita hoki karena waktu kita ada di istana Negara, pas lagi ada upacara pergantian tentara yang bertugas di istana. So kita dapet chance tontonan gratis … he he he he he …

Ah..ya … We were lucky on that time there are ceremony to change the duty of the palace guards. So we watched it.

Third Scandal

Bukan Liza kalo nggak diteriakin petugas. Saking semangatnya photo, gue nggak mau kehilangan spot-spot bagus di Wat Phra Kaew. Sampai-sampai gue berusaha untuk naek manjat ke atas tembok. Yang ada belum kesampain nongkrong duduk manis di atas tembok, ada petugas teriak keras banget, than gue dimarahin dengan bahasa Thailand yang kagak gue ngerti. Dia pikir gue ini orang Thailand karena muka dan warna kulit gue nih menurut Awee, Thailand banget. Gue cuma bisa cengar cengir karena gue jadi ngetop banget saat itu, semua orang nonton gue dimarahin petugas. Maunya sih gue ngelambaiin tangan ke semua orang kayak artis lagi disambut fans-nya… he he he he … Akhirnya petugas itu tahu kalau gue bukan orang Thailand dan ngejelasin pakai bahasa Inggris kalau gue nggak boleh naik ke tembok. So gue minta maaf sama petugas itu J

It’s not Liza if somebody not screams to me. I was so exciting to take picture. I don’t wanna lose great spots at Wat Phra Kew so I climb to the wall. Suddently a security guard screams to me when I climb to the wall. He talks to me very angry in Thai Language. He thought that I am Thailand girl because my face and skin color very look like Thailand people. Our guide Awee also said like that. I just smiled sheephishly while everybody watching the security guard angry to me. Actually I wanna waved at them like an actris waved to my fans …. Ha ha ha ha ha …. Finally the security guard knows that I am not Thailand girl and explaint to me by English that I can’t climd the wall. So I am apologize to the security guard and promise to him will not happen anymore J Pffuuiih … I am so nerves.

Sementara David senyum-senyum aja ngeliatin gue dimarahin. Dia geli dan kesenengan gue dimarahin …. Sialan! Tapi satu hal yang bikin gue senyum waktu dia bilang, Its ok Liza. No worries. It’s a good experience for you. You will not forget this moment and will become excited story to tell to your friends J

Meanwhile the security guard angry to me, David only smiles watching from his place. He really enjoy with this insiden. … Bad guy!! But something which made me smiles when he said, its ok Liza. No worries. It’s a good experience for you. You will not forget this moment and will become excited story to tell to your friends J