Adventures with Mama Britton: Long Weekend in Bangkok

Mama Britton has always been one of my biggest cheerleaders in life. When I called her to tell her that I had accepted a job in Myanmar, she didn't get mad that I was moving far away, nor did she ask if I knew how hard it would be to live there. Instead she said, "Ooo, I can't WAIT to visit you!" In June 2017, she followed through on her promise, and Mama Britton became my first visitor in Southeast Asia. 

#adventureswithmamabritton

We decided that Mom wouldn't come straight to Yangon. Instead, I took a personal day and met her in Bangkok, Thailand. The flight from Yangon to Bangkok is less than an hour and a half, and the city is a pretty major international port. The really cool thing is that Mama Britton traveled to Bangkok in 1969, when my aunt gave birth to my cousin. (My uncle was in the military, and they were stationed in Southeast Asia. My aunt was moved to Bangkok when it was time to have the baby.) Forty-eight years later, she made the journey again - with fewer layovers along the way this time.

Reunited at the Bangkok airport... I wish I looked this good after 24 hours of traveling!! 💕

We stayed at my favorite five-star hotel in Bangkok, The Landmark. It's in a very busy area of the city (for tourists, anyway). I love this hotel because it is beautiful, clean, and comfortable, it has a great location and a wonderful staff - but my favorite part is the breakfast! They have an international spread, and you can have just about anything you could ever want on your breakfast plate. 

We got to the hotel, and they took us to a special area for check in. I think it's because I was a guest there before, or maybe it had to do with the room that we booked. (I only stay here when it's a splurge weekend!) Either way, it was very special treatment. They took us up to the quiet top floor and gave us beverages while they took copies of our passports and completed the check-in process. We already felt like Cinderella, which is how I wanted my mom to feel on this trip. 

There was a beautiful plate of fruit waiting for us in our room. We dropped our bags and went to grab some dinner at my favorite street food spot in the night market nearby. We went to bed pretty early because it had been a big day for both of us - especially Mama Britton!

I love how tickled my mom got when we took pictures by our hotel room doors on this trip. It became "our thing." 😃

   

Views from our hotel room (taken the next day... we were too tired to remember to do it when we arrived)

I love the fruit in Thailand!

I was so excited to see my mom that I forgot to take pictures of our street food dinner. This juice was the only thing I managed to snap that night, as we were too busy eating and talking about how excited we were that she was finally here!

Friday, June 2nd: Time for some R&R

Our first day in the city wasn't too eventful. I had to run a few errands, as I always do when I go to Bangkok. There is much more access to Western products and supplies in this city than where I live, so I often have to 'stock up' when I visit. We had a (DELICIOUS) breakfast and shopped a bit, and then spent a wonderful afternoon at the spa. You know, the basics of a weekend in Bangkok!

So much food... I love breakfast at The Landmark!

Views from the BTS (Bangkok's skytrain)

I can't help myself... we don't have these in Yangon!

Our visit to the spa was sublime. (I was the one that fell asleep on the table!)

After our massages, we walked across the street for some dinner. We had shawarma (a Middle Eastern wrap with shredded meat and yummy sauce) with some french fries. On our way back to the hotel, we saw some action in the street: There was a mini parade with a marching band on a bus, blasting live American patriotic music. It made me giggle... I love Bangkok! (Click the link above if you want to giggle, too.)

Shawarma vendor near our hotel... yum!

Saturday, June 3rd: Excursion outside the city (and back in time!)

Mama Britton said that the city was quite different than it was nearly five decades ago - she couldn't believe how busy and developed it has become. We decided that we needed to explore more of the 'old stuff' too.

We woke up early the next day for our first big outing in Bangkok. We signed up for a group tour to the Summer Palace and Ayutthaya - one of the ancient capitols of Siam (queue excitement over The King and I... #noshame).

Our tour bus for the day

It was pretty decked out!

Ready for our big adventure! #letmetakeaselfie

Our tour guide for the day - she kind of narrated our trip for us and explained some of the history and traditions of Thailand

Our first stop on the trip was the Summer Palace. Mom said that she thinks she remembers my aunt taking her to the Grand Palace all those years ago, and I had visited back in September of last year too. This tour appealed to us because we wanted to share a new experience together.

The Grand Palace in Bangkok is the official residence of the king. The Summer Palace (Bang Pa In) is about one hour north of the city and was originally used by royalty as a summer escape from the heat of the city. Now it is mostly used for state occasions.

We stopped outside the grounds, where many vendors were selling souvenirs (mostly clothes). You have to dress conservatively in order to enter the grounds. Many people on our trip were unaware of that rule, and they had to buy the infamous elephant pants from the vendors so that they could enter the grounds. Mom and I were prepared, so we didn't need to buy anything.

The Elephant Pants Brigade

Entrance to the grounds of the Summer Palace

Rules for clothing on the grounds - very similar to temples in this part of the world (modesty is key!)

The grounds were lovely, and the shade was much appreciated on this hot summer day.

The water made for very peaceful scenery

I loved this old tree! The roots are very cool.

We came to a very small temple. Inside there was an alter with a Buddha. The guardians outside were lion-like, which seem to have some Chinese influence. The tour guide was in a rush during this part of the tour, so I didn't catch what she said about it.

We continued exploring the grounds. We came upon a small lake/pond, which is meant to divide the private residences from the public outer areas. One of my favorite places on the grounds was the lake pavilion, seen here. It houses a statue of the king who commissioned the pavilion to be built. I think the Thai architecture here is stunning.  

The lake pavilion (left) and the palace buildings of Bang Pa In (right)

Mama Britton liked it here too :-)

The grounds outside the lake were very pretty too.

Next the tour guide took us inside the Varobhas Bimarm residence, which was gifted from China in the nineteenth century. It is part of the inner palace area but is now partially open to visitors. Inside, it is very elegant and royal-feeling. We were allowed to visit three rooms: First, we visited the formal throne room. It houses a big fancy chair (throne) for the king that was raised on a platform - the rest of us are meant to be lower than the king (even other royalty or state visitors). Then we visited a less formal sitting room and a large dining room. Everything here was very fancy and ornate.

Although we were dressed modestly, we were given sarongs in order to be "properly dressed" for the royal residences. They had coverings for men, too. We also removed our shoes before entering the building.

I did not get a picture of the outside of the Varobhas Bimarm residence because our tour guide was rushing us along, which started to grate on my nerves a bit (we hired private tour guides for the rest of our trip, which was much more pleasant!). 

We continued past some of the other residences as we continued our journey around the grounds. The main residence for the king and queen was also built in the nineteenth century, but in a very contrasting European style. It is nestled on a pond and has some stunning views of the manicured grounds.

The main residence for the king and queen when they visit

Next we visited the "Chinese residence," which is another building open to the public. It reminded me very much of entering a Chinese temple. We removed our shoes and wandered around the red lacquer and dragons. It was very ornate.

The "Chinese residence" - notice the dragons on the roof

Mama Britton liked this place :-)

We wrapped up our tour of the grounds with a stop at the memorial site for Queen Sunandakumariratana. Kings and queens are not buried on these grounds, so this is simply a memorial site. The monument was built by a king who was heartbroken over the loss of his queen. She died in a tragic drowning accident on her way to the Summer Palace in the late nineteenth century. The king was very protective of his wife, and he declared that no one else could touch her: "On pain of death, do not touch Queen Sunandha!" When her boat capsized, the onlookers could have saved her but were fearful of the decree. Our tour guide told us this story on two separate occasions, so it seemed quite important. I am not clear if it is important to Thai history, or if it was a story that she particularly liked to share. Either way, the monument was lovely and the love story was a real-life tragic romance.

The gate access to the residences

The monument for the beloved queen  

All smiles as we left the beautiful grounds of the Summer Palace

Although it was only late morning, the heat was already quite intense. We were happy to be back on the air-conditioned bus for a short trip over to Ayutthaya (approximately pronounced "ah" + the word "you" + "tie" like a necktie + "ya" like 'see ya later alligator'). I was excited because it was one of the ancient capitols of Siam, but decidedly not where Yul Brynner resided with all of his little children. (I still played the soundtrack in my head as we wandered around #becauseicould)

"Welcome to Ayutthaya" - you have to cross a bridge in order to get here from the mainland

A scaled model of the ancient grounds

The ruins were absolutely beautiful. There is only a small part of it still standing compared to what it once was, so it did not take long to wander around. It reminded me of a small dose of Bagan, for those who know what that is (and those who don't... stay tuned! Mama Britton and I ventured there later in our travels).

The architecture at Ayutthaya is stunning. The city became Thailand's capitol in the 14th century and remained here until the 18th century, when the Burmese attacked. Much of the city was burned or was transferred to the new capitol of Bangkok. The entire city was once encircled by a wall. A small part of it still remains standing today.

I included this picture for a reference of scale

Side view of a Buddha

In the back of the grounds, we stumbled upon a really cool tree. In the attacks all those years ago, some of the Buddhas were beheaded. Others have simply fallen apart with time, with the help of earthquakes in the area. This particular tree grew around the head of a Buddha, and it looks like it is peeking out from the roots.

You have to sit on the ground to take a picture because you are not supposed to stand over Buddha. (This is also why Mom and I are on the ground in the picture at the top of this post.)

We completed the circuit around the ancient ruins and took in more beauty. It amazes me that these old temples and structures are still standing!

Another Buddha sitting in front of a temple

I like the variety of poses in this shot. People-watching is fun!

I see a light here, near the bottom left of the shot. They must light up this structure at night. I'll bet it is stunning.

We boarded the bus but were held up by a family who decided they wanted to take 30 minutes longer than everyone else. Many of us wanted the guide to leave them behind, as there were four of them and they should be able to work together to figure out a return trip to Bangkok. The guide was a little more forgiving than we were, so we all waited on the bus until the family arrived. We were all pretty hostile and annoyed, especially because it took away time from our other stops. In the end, it was a lovely day, so I shouldn't complain too much!

Our next stop was the Royal Temple, a beautiful Thai temple outside of Ayutthaya. Here, a monk blessed us and sprinkled water on us. The blessings were for safe travels and good health. It felt sort of like a baptism when the water sprinkled over us, as it is meant to be a sort of cleansing. When the blessing was finished, a woman tied a white string on our wrists for continued protection when we left the grounds. (Men received their bracelet from another male helper. The genders are not supposed to touch one another inside the temple.)

The red, white, and blue flag is the Thai flag. The yellow one represents this particular sect of Buddhism that is practiced at this temple.

Gathering for the blessings

We all kneeled on the floor while the monk blessed us. Some people took videos and/or selfies during the process. Mama Britton and I just took in the experience.

This is the woman who tied the white string on our wrists.

For continued blessings - I still have mine hanging on the wall of my apartment!

In Thailand, there is a Buddha for each day of the week. Your Buddha is associated with the day of the week you were born. (This is practiced in Myanmar too, but they use animals to represent the days of the week instead of Buddhas.) Each day of the week is associated with specific traits, and the Buddha reflects some of these traits. There are two for Wednesday - one for a.m. and one for p.m. Myanmar has this too. The difference here is that they also have a Buddha for those who do not know what day they are born (in modern times, this is mostly for orphans, but was used by many poor citizens over the previous centuries). 

Friday - this is "my Buddha"

Notice that the different days have different sitting/standing positions, as well as different statures and gestures.

Sunday is Mama Britton's day. Here, it is the gold statue on the end of the shelf.

We wandered around the small outer temple as well. We saw a few more Buddhas and some alters that were quite pretty. This was a very peaceful place. 

Entrance to the side temple

We boarded the bus and made our way to Wat Lokayasutharam, home of the largest reclining Buddha in the area. It is old and beautiful, but not as impressive as others I have seen. I am happy that we stopped to see it, but in the end, it was okay that we only had a short time at this stop.

Roadside in Ayutthaya: I am wondering if this is for the Chinese Year of the Rooster?

Little peek-a-boos of ancient ruins along the road

The people offer an idea of scale - this Buddha was huge!

We had to go to the side in order to fit the entire image into the frame of the camera.

After we left the Reclining Buddha, we made our way to the river. This is why our tour guide was in such a rush; the boat back to Bangkok was on a specific schedule. The boat ride back was very relaxing, and it was nice to eat lunch and then lounge in the shade. Some people dozed off with the rocking of the boat, while others took in the sites around the river. We did a little of both.

All aboard!

One of my favorite sightings along the riverside

Entrance to another temple along the way

Back on dry land, a shuttle returned us to our hotel. We treated ourselves to a foot massage (#wheninbangkok) and had a relaxing dinner in the hotel room. It was a lovely ending to an exciting day!

My favorite thing to do in this city... and this was one of the best I've ever had!

After a couple of days of street food, we were craving a taste of the West.

Sunday, June 4th: Back to Yangon

Sunday afternoon we were scheduled to travel back to Yangon. I took Mama Britton to Chatuchak Market, which is a weekend market in Bangkok. It is one of my favorite markets that I have visited thus far in my adventures. We wandered around the busy stalls (holding our purses tightly). We bought a few souvenirs and trinkets to take back. The market is pretty intense, so after about an hour we both had our fill and headed back to the train. After a short bit of downtime at the hotel, we made our way to the airport (which is a destination in and of itself!). 

Sipping on fresh juice as we stroll through the weekend market. And for those of you who are wondering, that is a virgin drink!

  

I love these guardians at Suvarnabhumi Airport

This interesting sculptural display welcomes you to the international terminal, once you go through passport control.

All in all, I think Mama Britton enjoyed our time together in Bangkok. She did incredibly well with the jet lag, and we had a good balance of adventure and R&R. She has become one of my favorite travel companions - this, after all, was only the beginning of our grand adventure! 

Made it home-sweet-home to Yangon. Mom thought it was so interesting that I sleep in a mosquito net. She said it felt like a bed for a princess! #yangonlife