Bangkok Part I- Wat Pho and Being "Alone"

I arrived at midday on Saturday in Bangkok, but there was a little bit of an issue with my hotel. When I made the reservation, I accidentally booked for the wrong dates. They were full, but someone canceled, but before they realized that, they told me they couldn't accommodate me... Anyway, long story short, I checked into my original hotel, but didn't get going until mid-afternoon because of the mistake.

My original plan was to go to the Grand Palace, but since it closes at 3:30 p.m., I decided that Wat Pho was a better bet for a short afternoon of sightseeing.

It is truly magnificent and despite being the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok, it was completely doable in just an hour or two. As an added bonus, I ended up being there right before sunset, when it was much, much cooler.

An explanation of the religious significance of Songkran.

The main bot houses the meditating Buddha, which I didn't get a photo of, but there are many other smaller buildings housing smaller buddhas, which people were praying at while I was there. The details were truly magnificent.

I had also planned to get a massage at the Institute of Massage, on the grounds of Wat Pho, but when I got there, it seemed pricey and dirty. 

There was a huge line of waiting tourists and a 30 minute massage was 260 bhat. (You'll recall that in Khon Kaen, I can get a 120 minute Thai massage for 300 bhat.) Also, inside the Institute of Massage, everything just felt...germy. I'm telling you, medical school will forever change your view of otherwise normal activities! The air felt heavy and with that many people waiting, I couldn't imagine that they were actually changing all of the linens in between massages. After waiting in line with my little ticket number for 5 minutes, I left.

I know. I've been in Thailand less than two weeks and I'm already calling things out on being dirty, overpriced tourist traps. 

Anyway, I skipped over the massage and went to the Reclining Buddha.

This Buddha is 150 feet and takes up the entire witan (building).

The feet are spectacularly carved and detailed.

In fact, the feet are inlaid with intricate, mother of pearl designs. They were truly fascinating to see up close.

Then, I sat on a shady bench in the courtyard and planned my next move, as far as dinner went. While I sat there, I heard the evening chanting of the monks start and even got to see a small group of boys doing evening prayer with their teacher.

More young monks milling around the courtyard.

I decided to get dinner on the Chao Phraya river, both because it was scenic, but also because a lot of the recommended restaurants in my guidebook were located in hotels that overlooked the river.

I chose to eat at the Sheraton River Orchid and while I had an amazing view of the water and ferries going by, let's just say that the Thai are not quite up to speed with the West when it comes to a single woman traveling or dining alone. It was pretty much not OK. I got a lot of looks, a lot of "You are here...alone?" and even more, "Wow, you are a...strong...woman." 

I'm pretty sure "strong" was being used as a euphemism for "crazy," "stupid," or "misguided." I came very close to lying about a made up husband who was in a meeting or across town at work or any number of places that a spouse could be, which would make my presence at dinner alone more socially acceptable.

Mostly though, I was just really dumbfounded. Obviously this isn't an issue that comes up in the US and it's hard for me to imagine my life in the parts of the world where traveling alone as a woman is unacceptable. What about for residency interviews? I had 10 interviews, but some of my classmates had 30. Thirty round-trip plane trips, thirty hotel room reservations, thirty rental car reservations, at least thirty meals ALONE. 

Male or female, we were expected to travel solo with the grace, aplomb, enthusiasm and charm needed to land ourselves a job after graduation. It probably would have been easier to have a travel companion, because I was bone-achingly tired and sometimes emotional during interviews, but as far as feeling strange about something like eating dinner alone? That ship sailed many, many moons ago.

Dinner is just dinner and this "strong" woman kept herself company like a champ! (Take note, people of Thailand!)