Holidays in Thailand: Day Two in Bangkok - Buddha and Black Socks

I hope you enjoyed my re-cap of our first day in Bangkok. Also, you can see a set of pictures I took on our entire trip to Thailand HERE.

In total, we spent two whole days in Bangkok, and below is a review of our adventures on our second full day.

Ending our first day, the combination of jet lag and a long day site seeking defeated us by about 5 p.m. and we eagerly spent the evening in our plush hotel room at the Hyatt. I ordered room service and Diane "had an Ambien" for dinner.

The next morning, we were feeling quite rejuvenated. Given our long night sleep, we were up early and decided to check out the breakfast in the sumptuous lobby restaurant. Sitting there contemplating what to do that day, we factored in a few things: 1) we had not seen the famous "reclining Buddha" temple, 2) we knew there would be more anti-government protests, and 3) well, Bangkok is just a massively crowded city. We figured that we'd like to see the Buddha temple and that the best thing would be to get going early to avoid traffic and protests. At this point it was about 7:15 a.m.

We quickly informed our travel companions that for those who wanted to trek out to the temple, we'd leave at 8:30 a.m. from the hotel lobby. And that's what we did. Our plan worked well and our taxi delivered us to the gates of the temple within 15 minutes. This, it turned out, would be the fastest taxi ride we'd have in Bangkok. We had a much, much longer taxi experience that evening, but more on that later.

Wat Pho - Reclining Buddha
Entering the gates underneath the bright morning sun, we saw a series of temple buildings replete with peaked roofs, tiling, ornamentation, statues and more. Once inside the grounds, we quickly found the entrance to the main building housing the huge, stretched out golden Buddha statue.

Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho

Simply put, this is a spectacular statue and one the likes of which we had never seen. Reclining from one end of the building to the far end, this golden piece shown brilliantly even though it was inside. We walked its length, periodically looking up and taking it all in. Along the front side of the Buddha, there were a number of small devotional or meditating nooks with flowers and other items.

Grounds of Wat Pho

When we reached the feet of the statue and rounded the corner so we were looking at the bottom of the feet, we saw that the feet were covered in ornamental in-laid decorations - elephants, snakes and other animals or scenes. The back side of the Buddha was similar to the front. At this point I also noticed that the outside walls of the building and the window coverings were all decorated with intricate pictures showing some aspect of Buddha's life.

Buddha's Foot Decoration

After we exited this main building, we tooled around the premises...ducking into a temple here, checking out statues there and just enjoying the exotic surroundings and the warm weather. Eventually, we wrapped up our visit and decided to try and find a market to look around at. After a short walk, we did - a vast and multi-block market of food, dry goods, hardware and other common items. As interesting as this was to look at, it did not really offer us anything to buy or to do. So, we decided to get back to the hotel. Again, we took taxis, but this time it took much, much longer to get to the hotel. At some points during our ride, we were going the exact opposite direction that we needed to. In the end, the driver was just going way around the major protest and traffic zone. This probably was the "fastest" way to get where we needed to go.

Food Court Lunch
Arriving back at our hotel, we quickly saw that the location of protest had moved from near our property to somewhere else in the city. Feeling hungry and thinking we might find some interesting shopping, we decided to go to one of the huge department stores we'd read about. In particular, some of these stores were said to have very good, diverse and cheap food courts - good enough that it was recommended to check one out. So we did. We walked along underneath one arm of the elevated tram system to the MBK Center. We entered and made our way up to the top floor where, indeed, there as a sprawling food court jam packed with restaurants and hordes of hungry people.

At the food court at MBK Center

Normally, to our American minds, you would just go up to one of the walk-up restaurants, order and pay...but not here. Nope. One of our group noticed that nobody seemed to be paying with money, but rather they all had a white card about the size of a credit card. Sure enough, the way this place worked was you went to a kiosk and purchased a card with a certain amount of credit on it. Then, you took it to which ever restaurant you wanted to order from and they deducted their price from it. There's probably a reason for this, but it was a hassle. But we did it.

I think the consensus was that the food was OK. Not great, not horrible...just OK. But, the experience was kind of neat. A couple of our group ended up with very, very spicy food and needed some ice cream to calm things down. And indeed, there was an ice cream cart in the middle of the food court. But, other than vanilla ice cream and M&Ms, the flavors and toppings on offer were NOT what we'd ever seen before. Corn? Peas? Something that looked like worms (I'm sure they were not, but they looked like them)? Wow. Our two people got vanilla ice cream and were satisfied.

Once finished, we decided to head back to the hotel since the shopping on offer was more along the lines of electronics, home appliances, clothes and such...not the Thai art or handicrafts we were looking for. Back inside the Hyatt, we hit the pool for a couple hours for some nice, relaxing sun and cocktails before heading out to our last night dinner in Bangkok.

Black Socks and Dinner on the 55th Floor
For our last night in the city, we decided we'd go to a nice restaurant with a view. We settled on Breeze Restaurant. It's a modern Thai place situated outdoors on about the 55th floor of a sky scraper. It's just a few floors lower in the building than Sky Bar. Those of you who saw the movie "The Hangover II" will recognize Sky Bar as that open-air lounge where the group of American screw ups met up with some shady characters. Our plan was to hit Sky Bar for a cocktail, then head downstairs to Breeze for dinner.

Now, as we prepared to leave, we all knew that the bar and restaurant were nice places...but we also
knew this did not mean coat and tie attire - more like nice casual. So, that's what we all wore.

We jumped in a cab for the approximately four mile drive to the building housing the bar and restaurant. After initial progress, we bogged down in that famous Bangkok traffic. Way down. If fact, it took more than 90 minutes to cover the distance. As we inched along and sat at traffic lights for 10 minutes at a time, we saw our "drinks at Sky Bar" time ticking away.

At long last, we arrived at the building, exited our taxi and made our way to the elevators. Up we went and - despite the long cab ride - bounced out into the lobby anticipating the view from Sky Bar. As we strode in, I was politely asked by the hostess to please stay back. We all stopped. She said that I could not enter the bar because, despite my otherwise "nice casual" attire, I was wearing what they considered "open toed shoes." Now...I WAS wearing black leather sandals, but they covered virtually 99 percent of my feet and in no way were any of my toes visible. I questioned their judgment, but was again politely told that I could not enter. The lady suggested that if I were to somehow wear black socks underneath the sandals, that would be OK. Dumbstruck, I asked our group to go ahead into the bar while I went down to the hotel lobby again to look for socks at one of the shops there.

Sky Bar
Photo: (c) Mark Parren Taylor/Time Out

On my way down, I had a hunch. Instead of going all the way to the lobby, I stopped off at the restaurant where we would be dining in about 40 minutes. I asked the hostess there if I could get in wearing the shoes I had on. My thinking was that if I could...I'd just hang there until Diane and our group came down for dinner. But no, she said I couldn't. I reminded her that we had a group of eight coming in for dinner and drinks...ready to spend money...money that we wouldn't be spending if I were to be excluded. As I did this, people wearing FAR more informal clothes walked by and into the restaurant. We're talking shorts, t-shirts and the like with sneakers. After a phone call to her manager, the lady told me that - like upstairs - if I could wear black socks under my shoes I could get in. Wow.

Down to the lobby I went. A very nice hotel employee informed me that there were no shops, but that the 7-11 down a close by alleyway might have black socks. Right. Guess what? 7-11 doesn't have socks of any kind. Could have seen that coming. What to do? I went back from the alley up to the main street the hotel sat on and decided to walk up the boulevard to see if I could find a shop with what I needed. I walked and walked - lots of food stalls, bulk cloth vendors, hardware, but no place looking like they'd sell socks. I came to the conclusion that I'd not be making the dinner. As I did so, I looked up and across the busy avenue and saw what for all the world looked like a modern department store.

Yep. It was a department store. At that point, I knew my problems were solved. Indeed, things were looking up, but it still took a while to get it done. I found my way up to the men's floor quickly, but then embarked on what turned out to be a time consuming hunt for where they had black socks. I knew they would have them, but where? Well, it turned out they were on a display in a far, far back corner of the floor. I grabbed a pair and headed out to find a cash register. But wait! All of a sudden, two store staff came to my side and said that I needed "the card" to go with the socks for checking out. Card? I was confused. They scurried around and looking high an low among the shelves for "the card." I said something like, "I'll just go buy these." They assured me I needed "the card" and that it was missing. Great. Our dinner reservation time was coming right up and these guys can't find "the card."

Finally it turned up. It was a white card with a UPC code on it. Huh? One store employee escorted me to the nearest register where, you guessed it, there was a line up of about four people ahead of me buying things. And each and every one of them operated like they had never bought anything at a store in their lives. How much does this cost? Do you take a credit card? Oh, wait, I actually want to go get something else? No, I don't know my credit card PIN number. And on and on. With my socks, "card" and cash in hand I waited and waited for what seemed like an eternity.

Finally, I was able to buy. It took all of 30 seconds for them to scan the card and take my cash. I bolted back downstairs and outside to the concrete steps in the plaza in front of the department store. There I pulled off my sandals, pulled on the socks and put the sandals back on. OK, time to get back to the building, up the elevator and to the restaurant. I had about five minutes before our reservation.

I knew right where to go, but I had come a ways down the street to get to the department store. The sidewalks were jammed with people and that made the going quite slow. So, I decided to run...in the street. Cars were there and moving, but not fast. So, it was pretty easy to run right along the sidewalk - away from the crowds and safely on the edge of where cars were rolling by.

I made it back to the building and up to Breeze. I found the same lady who told me I needed the socks. All I did was walk up to her and say I was here for a reservation and stuck out my foot showing black socks under my sandals. With that, I was in. Again, it galled me that I saw kids in shorts, adults in short sleeved shirts and tennis shoes walking in as I re-presented myself, but whatever. I'd made it.

View from Breeze Restaurant

All that accomplished, Diane and our group had posted up at the bar. Now, Breeze is a nice place and almost all of it is open air way, way up on the side of a sky scraper on what amounts to a huge balcony. As I strode in, I saw where they were sitting, gave them the short version of my story and then we proceeded to our table. Suffice it to say...I needed a drink.

Where we sat, my back was all of three yards from the edge of the building. A bit spooky. But, the food was good - actually among the best meals we had during the entire trip. Suffice it to say that the rest of the evening was uneventful as we leisurely ate our meal.

...And One More Thing
Oh, wait a second. No...the evening didn't end uneventfully. The hits just kept coming.

Our group was six people strong, and we could not all fit into one taxi home. So, we split up. Three went ahead in the first taxi. Diane, myself and our friend Michael took the second cab. Immediately we were pleased because traffic had abated significantly. But that ended quickly.

At some point, our taxi was pulled over by a stationary motorcycle cop. We sat there listening to the cop speak to the driver in Thai...not sure what the problem was. It seemed clear, however, that the issue was between them and not us. But then the cop stuck his head in the window and asked us in broken English where we were from and we told him USA. All of a sudden, there were hand motions to the meter, and what sounded a question about our passports and something else that sounded like "you pay."

With that, both Michael and I blurted out, "No, we're out." We opened both back doors of the cab and got out, taking Diane with us. We started walking away, and the cop didn't protest too much. But, I did here him call to us again. I did NOT want to spend the night (or longer) in a Thai jail, so I turned around. This time, I heard the cop more clearly say "pay meter." I walked to the side to the taxi and looked at the meter - fearing an all-of-a-sudden very high amount. But no. It signaled a very small amount of money - $3 maybe. So I simply agreed and paid with the lowest denomination I had...probably something like $5. A bargain to get out of the situation.

Inside our "escape" tuk-tuk on our way back to the Hyatt

We walked down the street and quickly found a tuk-tuk to take us the rest of the way. We paid him too
much, but it was worth it to be sure we'd get home. As we pulled away, we looked back to where the taxi had been and the cop was still interrogating the driver, so we figured that the whole thing was probably not about us, but were glad to be leaving the vicinity.

And that did end our evening. We arrived back to the Hyatt and called it a night.

Whew.

Come on back later for my next post about our trip as we venture up to Chiang Mai for some culture, relaxation, cooking class, elephant riding and more.

NOTE: All pictures in this post except the Sky Bar shot were taken by Marc Osborn and Marc Osborn owns the copyright for those images. Any use of any of the pictures taken by Marc Osborn in this post is not permitted without prior written permission from Marc Osborn.

Seattle Seahawks!

At this point, all I am prepared to say is...

Comparing Seattle and Denver - The Cities

While the two NFL football teams from Seattle and Denver square off this weekend in the Super Bowl, here is a comparison of what the two cities are most known for - not everything, but the major items these areas are most know for to most people.

Both are often rated as some of the most livable cities in the United States. Lets see how the two metropolitan areas compare...

DENVER

• Nearby Rocky Mountains - winter and summer sports.
• Good pro sports teams - the Denver Broncos have been in the Super Bowl six times before, winning two of them; the Colorado Avalanche NHL hockey team has won multiple Stanley Cups; the MLB Rockies usually competitive and have appeared in the World Series and the NBA's Denver Nuggets are decent most years. 
• Colorado University - in nearby Boulder, this school is one of the best public institutions in the country.
• Beer - both the old school Coors variety, but more importantly Denver (and Colorado) is one of the best places in the nation to get microbrews.
• Cold weather. But, Denver is quite sunny - clocking in with more than 300 days of sun each year on average.
• Being one mile above sea level.

SEATTLE

• Music scene - many, many famous musical acts have come from the Seattle area. Ones many know of are: Jimi Hendrix, Ray Charles, Heart, Kenny G, Queensryche, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Alice in Chains, Mudhoney, Presidents of the USA, Death Cab for Cutie, Brandi Carlisle, Macklemore.
• A diversity of world-leading business - many global companies you have heard of started and/or are headquartered in the Seattle area: Microsoft, REI, Amazon, Expedia, Nordstrom, Eddie Bauer, Costco, Tommy Bahama, Starbucks, Cutter & Buck, Holland America Cruise Line, T-Mobile, Nintendo, Brooks Sports, just to name a few.
• Coffee - Starbucks certainly, but the city is innudated with smaller, gourmet coffee roasters and outlets.
• Outdoor and recreation - from Seattle, people have easy access to mountains (winter/summer sports), the Pacific ocean, desert, great wine country and Vancouver, BC and northwest Canada.
• Rain - it does rain a lot in Seattle between November and April, but there are other cities that get more rainfall each year...New York City for example.
• Iconic landmarks - Space Needle, Mount Rainier
• Microbrew beer - perhaps second only to Portland (hate to say it), Seattle has a large volume an wide diversity of locally brewed beers.

Everybody loves the city their from or where they live. Understandable. And by all means Denver strikes me as a really great place to live and work.

However, I'll take Seattle...more culturally interesting, bigger and more diverse economy, more to do and see in the region and - as of Sunday - a Super Bowl champion football team (here's hoping)!

Super Bowl XLVIII: SWOT Analysis & Prediction

OK, the Super Bowl is this Sunday. It pits the Seattle Seahawks as NFC champion against the Denver Broncos as the AFC champion.

Below is my breakdown and prediction for the game. Full disclosure, I'm a lifelong Seahawks fan. I'll try to be objective because "homer-ism" bugs me.

BREAKDOWN
Below is a SWOT analysis of the two teams:

Strengths and Weaknesses
Seahawks Strength - Defense. This is clear. Seattle has the best defense in the NFL by virtually all measures. In particular, their pass defense is tight with big, strong, fast DBs who can cover and hit hard. Legion Of Boom don't you know. Without having to worry about Denver QB Manning running the ball like they had to be with San Francisco, can the Seahawks top-rated DBs control Denver receivers and let the pass rush pressure Manning into bad throws or sacks?

Denver Strength - Offense. In particular the arm and brain of QB Payton Manning. The passing game is the Bronco's bread and butter. Manning's ability to deduce, fool and pick apart a defense is as good as it gets. Denver would not be in the Super Bowl without their QB and passing attack. Their run game is so-so at best.

This sets up a strength on strength matchup - Denver O vs. Seattle D. Obviously, this could be the place where the game is decided. Will the prolific Denver O produce points against the Seahawks D or will the stingy, hard-hitting Seahawks slow them down, limit them? Will they get FGs or TDs? Will Manning be pressured into throwing a pick or two?

Seahawks Weakness - Offense. While not truly "weak" (they did score enough points to win 15 games en route to the Super Bowl after all), the Seattle offense is not as strong as their defense. The run game with RB Lynch is the key for the Hawks. Get "Beast Mode" going and it could be a long day for Denver because off of that: 1) QB Wilson can be effective passing, and 2) Manning can't score if he's on the sideline as Seattle grinds it out on the ground. But the thing is, that has been difficult for the Seahawks to do over the past few weeks. Throw in a penchant for untimely penalties and mistakes, and they hamper themselves too often. The NFC championship game was better for them, but still...one wonders how they will perform in the Super Bowl.

Denver Weakness - Defense. Denver does not have what you would call a great defense. Good? OK. Above average? Maybe. Great? Not really. But, can they stop Lynch? Can they force Russell Wilson to have to throw the ball to win? Will they be able to deal with Wilson's ability to scramble and find open receivers...or even run the ball?

This sets up a weakness-on-weakness matchup. I think this will decide the game.

Opportunities
The biggest opportunity is in the weakness vs. weakness matchup. Who comes out on top there? The Denver offense is very likely going to score a few times, even against that Seattle defense. And, Seattle's D is probably going to stymie Manning and the Bronco's O a few times...perhaps even getting a turnover or two.

BUT, what about the other way around? Is Seattle's O capable of scoring, say, 24-28 points against Denver? Therein lies the opportunity to win for Seattle. Conversely, if Denver's D has a great game, they have an excellent chance to win the game.

After that, I think special teams are a great opportunity for both teams. For Seattle, it's the kick return game that offers the best shot. Harvin, Baldwin and Tate are all guys who can take a kickoff or punt all the way back for a TD. Meanwhile, Denver has a FG kicker who is spectacular. If it comes down to a last second long FG attempt, Denver has the edge.

Threats

• Weather - cold temperatures, wind, rain and perhaps even snow all could all materialize during the game. And, if any or some combination does develop, it could have an impact on who wins. Bad weather probably benefits Seattle with its defense and ability to run the ball.
• Referees - Super Bowl XL, that's all I am going to say. Referees can have a profound and definitive impact on who wins if they make a bad call, or worse...a series of unexplainable calls all against one team.
• Injuries - Who's out? Who's in? The one person I think could make an impact by being there or not is Seattle's Percy Harvin. If he can make the game and stay in it, his speed and dynamic playmaking ability might be an edge that puts Seattle over the top for a win. Without him, Seattle is a more pedestrian offense.

PREDICTION
OK, so with that analysis now out there, who wins? I think this legitimately could go either way. Objectively, it may be a close one that goes down to the wire. I don't see either team blowing out the other.

However, I must confess that as a lifelong Seahawks fan, it is unfathomable to me that they could actually win the Super Bowl. Don't get me wrong, I desperately want them to. But Seattle teams (basketball, baseball, football, soccer) have such a long and consistent record of breaking the hearts of their fans on the verge of glory that I just can't imagine them actually winning this one. I think any real Seattle sports fan know the Hawks are unlikely to pull this off against Manning. We've seen it too many times. Whether its sub-par play, unprecedented bad luck or just being outclassed...Seattle sports teams almost always blow it. The one exception is the 1979 Supersonics who won the NBA title. That's it.

Maybe if they'd gotten lucky and were facing, say, San Diego or even New England...I'd be optomistic. But Payton Manning? In the cold of NYC?

So, while it pains me to do this, I'm going to pick the Broncos to win the Super Bowl.

I think Manning will have enough success through the air that they'll score 24-28 points, and I think the Seahawks offense - because of a turnover and penalties - will not be able to match that.

The weakness-on-weakness matchup will break in favor of Denver.

SO, I say Denver Broncos 27, Seattle Seahawks 17.

I hope I'm wrong.

Holidays In Thailand: Palace and Protests in Bangkok

This year Diane and I decided to spend our holidays in someplace completely different. No, not a ski trip to Aspen, a shooter down to Mexico or a few days in New York City. Nope. For this season we decided to go halfway around the world - back to an area we've enjoyed before and we knew would offer up warm weather and cultural appeal.

The place we chose was Thailand in southeast Asia. Why there? Well, we visited Vietnam and Cambodia in 2006 and really liked it and we toured China in 2008 and enjoyed that too. So, why not pick a new area in a region of the world we have an affinity for?  

Along with a few friends who would be going with us, we conspired during the summer and fall to put together an itinerary and some ideas on what we'd like to do and see while in Thailand.

With plans in place and excitement for getting out of town and on vacation set and ready, we took off on Dec. 20, 2013 for our adventure.

In this post and some subsequent ones that I've titled "Holidays in Thailand," I'll re-cap what we did, show some pictures offer up other info. You can all see a full set of pictures I took on our trip on my Flickr Photostream by clicking HERE.

So, with no further adieu, here is the first installment...

HOLIDAYS IN THAILAND: Palace and Protests in Bangkok

With the way Delta Airlines arranges the timing of its flights to Asia, we arrived to the Bangkok airport at about 12 a.m. on Dec. 22. We'd spent the previous 18 hours on flights - Seattle to Tokyo, Tokyo to Bangkok. Throw in a 15 hour time change and, well, we'd killed all of Dec. 20 and Dec. 21 getting to Thailand. 

Feeling a bit like zombies from The Walking Dead, we trudged through the surprisingly crowded immigration process, picked up our checked bags and found the van we'd arranged to deliver us through the darkness of the wee hours to our hotel. I sat in the front seat with the driver. Revived a bit and feeling glad to be in our destination, I chatted him up bit on some practical things like which type of taxis are best to use (pink, red, green taxis...all OK; green/yellow combo taxis...no go), how many people live in Bangkok (6 million in the city popper, 12 million in the greater Bangkok area) and if the anti-government protests were still happening (they were). 

We pulled into the plush Hyatt Erawon and checked in...hitting our room and bed at about 2 a.m. Whew. We drifted off to a much needed sleep in the quiet comfort of the hotel. 

Lessons in River Travel and What's Open and What's Not
Now, a 15 hour time zone change will screw around with your internal clock. And so it was that by about 8 a.m. the next morning - despite only getting six or so hours of sleep, we were wide awake. Time for some coffee and meeting up with our friends. By 10 a.m. we were refreshed and ready to head out on this sunny day to see some of the sights - Bangkok now unveiled in the daylight. 

Conferring with the concierge on how best to get from the hotel to the ornate Grand Palace, I was informed that there was a major protest planned for this day and that it would be centered right there near the Hyatt. OK. So, this meant a taxi was not practical...it would take hours to get anywhere. The alternative? Take the city sky tram from the station near the hotel down to the river and get on a "long boat" for a quick jaunt up the river to a station right near the palace. All right then. A bit different than what we planned, but sounded like fun. And it was. 

Here are a couple shots from our boat trip up the river...

Once we arrived at the destination boat dock, we walked through a market, snagging some freshly fried plantains to snack on - and out onto the main drag. Clearly the white Palace walls were right in front of us, but here was no clear indication where the entrance was. So, we started walking along the wall to see if we could find it. A few minutes into the walk we came to a small driveway with a couple official looking guys standing there. We asked where the entrance was and he said that the Palace grounds were "closed until 3 p.m." for some sort of private event. The other guy then said he could show us something or other. Right. We said no and crossed the street - plans instantly changed to kill some time and find a place for lunch by the river.

From our Lonely Planet guide book, we believed there was a good restaurant right on the river, but as much as we tried to find it using their info we could not. We were close, we knew it. At a busy intersection near a market and some other restaurant, a woman asked us what we were looking for. I was dubious, but I gave her the name of the place we were looking for. She instantly waived her hand and said, "They closed." She then started saying she had a restaurant on the water "this way." What the heck. We followed her through a labyrinth of the market toward the water. When we arrived at the water's edge, it became apparent she wanted to sell us tickets to a boat ride trip that would take us to another market upriver. Again, no thanks. We turned on our heels and left.

We retraced our steps to where we thought that restaurant should be, and this time we saw some blue umbrellas down by the river that for all the world looked like a restaurant...but you had to walk through what looked like a private gate and across a parking lot to get there. So, we did...just walked in like we owned the place, strolled across the lot and bingo! Restaurant. Good place.

After lunch and some cold Singha beers, we decided to try for the Palace again. We followed our noses and found the entrance. And guess what? It wasn't closed like the guy earlier had said. Nope. Open. It just made us think the guy earlier, like the "restaurant" lady, wanted to shunt us off on some other thing where they would be paid. At any rate, we got right into the palace and toured the grounds.

Wow.

Visiting the Grand Palace
This palace is unique in its glitter, gold, opulence and colorful style. Centered on the Emerald Buddha temple, the compound featured a number of pointed gold structures, huge colorful soldier statues, figures of all different types and just more than your eye could take in with one glance. Here are a few shots to give you the idea...

Emerald Buddha Temple Complex

Every corner, wall, staircase, walkway and ceiling provided a canvas on which someone throughout the centuries have added ornate decoration, gold, figures or other ornamentation. As I understand it, all of these structures are in support and celebration of the Emerald Buddha - a sacred icon. See my picture of it below.

While the people of Thailand practice many religions, Buddhism is predominate and has been for centuries. Back in 1999, Diane and I visited Sarnath in India - the place where Buddha is said to have begun his practice and people started paying attention. That place does have some structures still standing, but it's nothing like what we saw in Thailand. It's impressive to see how from such humble beginnings in India, Buddha and Buddhism has spread to be such a major force in people's lives and - through their kings and queens - for nations as a whole.

After walking around most of the Emerald Buddha complex, we exited into another area of the palace grounds, the residence. Because it was getting later in the afternoon, we didn't go into that building, but observed it from the outside as we walked by. Eventually we found ourselves at the exit.

As we left the palace grounds, I could not help think that we had just toured through a truly unique monument. Nowhere in our world travels had we quite seen anything like this. Sure, we've seen opulent palaces in Europe and Asia, but not something like this - the gold, the wild colors, the stylized statues and the religious and political importance. Bangkok might be a huge, modern city choked with traffic and chalked full of shopping malls, markets and high rise buildings...but it has the Grand Palace. Placed right on the river, it's a must for anyone who visits, and I'm glad we spent the time to see it.

Protesters Take Center Stage
Next, we repeated our steps back down the river on a boat and to the elevated tram station, ultimately arriving back to our hotel just in time to witness one of the massive anti-government protests we'd read about before coming. Without doubt, the political situation there is complicated and there are two sides. As a novice on the issues, I read a bit about it before our vacation. Here's what I understand the conflict to be about: 1) the elected government led by a Prime Minister named Thaksin Shinawatra was overthrown in 2006 following a coup based on displeasure with corruption, 2) after "democracy" was restored in 2011, Shinawatra's political party won the majority and his sister was elected Prime Minister and is in that position now still, 3) those in the opposition party (primarily made up of middle and upper class/wealthy in Bangkok) were and still are not happy with this, 4) so much so that in 2013 they began anti-government protests with the aim of overthrowing the sister who they believe is simply a puppet for Shinawatra himself. The opposition claims corruption and is demanding that the Prime Minister step down, any and all elections are canceled and that an unelected panel of members of their movement be appointed to run the government in the short term until corruption can be rooted out and "real" elections can be arranged. 

All of that led up to a huge number of people gathering right outside our hotel for about eight hours on the same day we went to the Grand Palace. We took a few minutes to check it out. Below are a couple shots I took from the edges of things. We simply walked down to where the protesters were gathering and looked around. I simply took a few shots. We did not see any violence or hint of it - just people gathering with signs, flags, whistles and such. As it turned out, we were witnessing just the beginning of the day's protest. Over the next few hours and until about 10 p.m. or so, you could hear the speeches, noises and sound of the rally happening. Whatever you think if their cause, you had to be impressed with the commitment, the organization and the ability to mobilize thousands and thousands of people day after day to come out and participate in the demonstrations. 

And thus ended our first full day in Bangkok. A few of our group decided to venture out after dark to see the protest further and try to find a place to eat. Diane and I were not among them. We decided to take it easy in the hotel room - jet lag now taking its affect in the early evening. So, we ordered very tasty room service and hit the sack early, drifting off to the sounds of protests on the streets. 

What would then next day bring? Well, come on back in a week or so and I'll have a post up about our second full day in Bangkok.


NOTE: All pictures in this post taken by Marc Osborn. Marc Osborn owns copyright for all images in this post and no use of any of the pictures for any purpose is permitted without prior written permission from Marc Osborn. 

Super Bowl XLVIII: Why Seahawks Fans Don't Trust the NFL

Want to know why so many Seahawks fans feel their team got robbed in Super Bowl XL and how that makes them paranoid for the team's appearance in Super Bowl XLVIII? Want to know why "the Manning Narrative" for the upcoming game has Seahawks fans concerned?

I'll re-cap it for you. Below is the evidence, but in short it goes like this: following intense media coverage of Steeler player Jerome Bettis "coming home to Detroit with his last chance to win a Super Bowl," the referees in that game proceeded to make a series of unbelievably wrong or unprecedented calls - all hurting the Seahawks, all benefitting Pittsburgh and all on critical plays that could have made the difference in the game. Naturally, Steeler supporters poo-poo it all as "sour grapes." But let me assure you that if the shoe was on the other foot, they'd feel differently.

And let me also assure you that based on this previous experience and the "Manning Narrative" now, Seattle fans will be just as worried about the officials as they are the Broncos on Super Bowl Sunday.

In support for the Seattle side of the controversy, several years later, the head referee for Super Bowl XL admitted he and his crew made the wrong call in several instances and apologized. Fat lot of good that did the Seahawks and their fans.

Here are the plays in question from Super Bowl XL that has me worried even now, going into this new Super Bowl:

• Phantom Holding Calls. There were a number of them against Seattle in the game, all on critical plays. The most egregious one was in the fourth quarter - and it was bad for two reasons. You can see the play at the 7:19 mark on the video here. With Seattle on offense and making a drive down to score and take the lead, a Steelers player jumps offsides (but is not called for it) and the Seattle tackle scrambles to block him. While not a straight up block, it was not an unusual block that happens on every play of every game. Naturally, on the play, the Seahawks completed a pass to the one yard line...and it came back because of the "holding" call. Announcer John Madden even says right there upon seeing the replay, "I didn't see holding."

• Phantom Offensive Pass Interference. Video here. Early in the game, Seattle QB Matt Hasselback slings a long range ball into the end zone to one of his receivers. He catches it and it's called a TD. But wait! There's a flag. Just before the catch the receiver and the defender are right next to each other...each touching the  other with hands. Both of them doing the same thing, and really with no impediment to each other. But for some reason, the ref has his hand on his flag before the ball arrives and once it does, he throws it and calls OFFENSIVE pass interference. No TD. Seattle has to settle for a field goal. Wow. I remember thinking, "Oh boy...so this is how its going to be today?"

• Phantom Pittsburgh Touchdown. Video here. In the second quarter, on a third and goal from the Seattle two yard line, Pittsburgh QB Ben Rothlesberger runs toward the end zone, is tackled before it and comes down with the ball before the end line. After hitting the ground, he reaches the ball out over the line. The referees call it a TD. It's not. I will say on this one, however, that the Steelers had another play to get it in the end zone even if the call had been made correctly. So, it's very possible - even likely - they would have come away with seven points anyway. But something else could have happened too. We'll never know. 

• "Low Block" Against Seattle QB Following His Throwing an Interception. Video at the 8:26 mark on the video here. At one point in the game, the Seattle QB throws an interception to a Pittsburgh player. All of a sudden, all players just seconds ago on offense are now on defense and are attempting to tackle the guy who picked off the pass. During that action, the Seattle QB hits a Steelers player below the waist...more by sheer accident than anything. But remember, he's now on DEFENSE. The referee sees this and calls a penalty. And what does he call? BLOCKING below the waist. What? Blocking? How can he be blocking if he's on defense? And how can it be a penalty for a defensive player to hit an opposing player high or low? Pittsburgh gets 15 yards tacked onto their interception return, moving them up to mid-field.

• Non-Call on Horse Collar Tackle by Pittsburgh. Video at the 8:05 mark of the video here. In the fourth quarter with Pittsburgh only ahead by four points, Seattle RB Alexander is streaking down the field on a run and getting close to the Pittsburgh "Red Zone." A Steelers player drags him down from behind by his collar...right in front of a referee. Clearly a penalty and if called it would have put Seattle in a great position to score. But, no call. 

It wasn't any one of these calls that was the problem. It was all of them together that made the impact. And for any of you out there saying, "yeah, well I'm sure that the refs screwed Pittsburgh a few times too." Um...no, no they didn't. Flags were safely stuck in their pockets through most of the game, and for sure on any big play benefiting the Steelers. 

And all of THAT is why this Seahawks fan is very, very nervous about Super Bowl XLVIII. The NFL will benefit greatly if the Broncos and Payton Manning win the game...just like they did with a Pittsburgh in 2006. 

Who Is the Thug?

In the aftermath of the whole "Richard Sherman issue" following is post-game comments about SF WR Michael Crabtree, he's been called "a thug" and taken to task for what he said. But, there are two things that have gone virtually un-noticed and un-commented upon that are far more "thug-like" than anything Sherman did or said:

SF player in street clothes nails Seattle player on the sideline. Midway through the game, Seattle had to punt the ball. They did. As one of the Seahawks players ran down the sideline to cover the kick, he strayed into the SF sideline area - which does happen sometimes. But what does not happen is someone on the opposing team not playing in the game taking a shot at the "live" player. But in the NFC championship game last week, it did. The SF player in street clothes doing the illegal hitting is a guy named Ronald Curry. You can see the video of the incident in full and slowed down speed HERE.

So I ask...who is the thug?

Crabtree shoves Sherman in the face. Want to know why Sherman was so pissed off when he made is now famous post-game comment? Well, right after he broke up the game-ending pass with a deflection against Crabtree, he went up to Crabtree and said "Hellava game, Hellova game." And that's official and recorded from NFL microphones. That's all Sherman said...and that's all it took for Crabtree to reach out and aggressively shove Sherman in the face.

So again, who is the "thug?"

Of course, you don't get any media commentary on those two incidents. Why would you when the a) 49ers lost and b) you have the video and audio of Sherman to go with. None the less, I submit that the 49ers exhibited far more "thuggery" than Seattle did.