Bangkok is making sure that people come to it not just for its lucrative business, but also for its hospitality
THE people of Bangkok call their city, the City of Smiles. And I found no reason to question this claim as I met my first dwellers of the city, the immigration officials. Also, all of them were women.
Unlike the poorly dressed, grim-faced distrustful officials whose searching eyes I have had to face during most of my journeys, these young women, in their smart uniforms wore a smile and were very helpful. I was soon to discover that the Thai woman performs all kinds of work that her males colleagues do as well. I saw them working in large numbers in offices, in shops; I found them driving motor-boats/launches and running roadside eating houses.
Bangkok is dotted with skyscrapers. From the 29th floor of our 30-story hotel, we could view a city sprawling with its network of flyovers, multi-tiered expressways, overhead trains and high-rise glass and steel structures, all symbols of a thriving economy and technological advancement. But all this the country has achieved in recent memory only. Unlike India and Pakistan, that were considered by the seventeenth and eighteenth century Europeans to be the geese that laid golden eggs, Siam, as Thailand was known till 1939, had little to attract anyone. However, that all changed in the 1960s when the Vietnam War began.
Billions of US dollars found their way into neighbouring Thailand as America dug deep into South-East Asia. Nevertheless, the Thais did not squander this wealth and were wise enough to utilize this inflow of wealth to develop their own sources of generating further trade and industry. Today, as a result of their wise steps so many years ago, Thailand’s exports have touched the $75 billion mark while Pakistan is gloating over a mere $11 billion.
The city of Bangkok was made the country’s capital in 1782 by King Chao Phya Chakri, the founder of the present ruling dynasty, who assumed the title of Rama I. King Mongkut or Rama IV (1851-1868) is well-known to the outside world because he was the king portrayed in the remarkable movie, King and I. He and his son, Rama V (1868-1910) made concerted efforts to modernize their country. However, western education brought with it Western notions of governance and in 1932, the country adopted the parliamentary system with the king as a constitutional head.
Before setting for the Thailand adventure, one of our concerns was the availability of halal food in Bangkok. However, our fears were unfounded as our group leader, Mujeeb, had discovered a Muslim restaurant serving Pakistani food, during a previous visit. Located at a walking distance from our hotel, it was a neat place with fine furniture, crockery and air-conditioning. The meals were served by young Thai waitresses in light-green shalwar kameez suits. During our visits there, we saw a number of Thais and Europeans patrons.
Bangkok is often called the Venice of the East. This is of course because of its waterways. However, an important difference between the two that is rarely mentioned is that Venice is located by the sea and its waterways are formed by seawater branching out inside the city. Whereas, Bangkok is situated on the banks of the river Chao Phraya, about 25km north of the sea. The waterways are actually canals dug out during the reign of various kings in the past and their main purpose was to form a protection barrier from the Burmese invaders and other enemies.
We began our sightseeing of Bangkok by taking a motorboat. However, it did not turn out to be a very pleasant experience as the water was dirty and at some places stinking. The houses and other buildings on either side were dilapidated and hardly presented an elegant sight.
The boat stopped at one point to enable us to visit a snake farm. A show was going on there with two men handling snakes described as poisonous and it did create some awe.
As a Karachiite, I was impressed by the immaculate condition of the roads and the orderly flow of traffic. No car or taxi tried to overtake and none of the motor-bikers attempted to sneak through gaps between cars while the signal was red. It must have taken a lot of effort to make the Thais so disciplined. But if they can do it, then why can’t we?
The narrow streets and lanes, too, were in extremely good condition as they were cemented — our district Nazims might learn something from this. The auto-rickshaws were more comfortable and larger than ours and carried three passengers. Motorbike taxis were something new for me. The driver wears a coloured jacket and helmet which is his uniform. Obviously these taxis can carry only one passenger, a pillion rider, but they have helped a lot to solve the transportation problem in a city with most of the roads too narrow for the large buses.
I was told that frequent traffic jams had posed a great problem in Bangkok till a few years ago. But the introduction of the overhead train, called the Sky Train, three years back and an strict adherence to traffic rules has helped control this problem to a large extent. An underground train system is also under construction and would further facilitate transportation within the city.
Next morning we went to see the Grand Palace complex, a major tourist attraction within the city. Our guide was a young woman Tajmah, who claimed to be of Chinese origin but whose height and facial features betrayed an American blood connection. As soon as she came to know that we were Pakistanis, she exclaimed, “O, you are a nuclear power!”
She soon became friendly with my grand daughters, Huma and Kinza. “For other people, it is usually difficult to remember Thai names. But you cannot forget mine. Just think of Taj Mahal.” The complex, the structures within which were built by various kings over a period of more than a hundred years, consists of two parts. The first included the Royal Monastery of the Emerald Buddha which is one of the most venerated religious sites in the country. However, we could not enter the ordination hall as the King was due to arrive there on that day to change the dress of the Buddha, a ritual similar to the annual changing of the Ghilaf-e-Ka’aba by the Saudi King. This ceremony is performed three times a year, as the seasons change.
While wandering around other structures in the compound we noticed some wall paintings which, Tajmah told us, depicted scenes from the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. We also noticed a number of idols of various sizes of the Hindu god Ganesh, whose upper part is that of an elephant. In fact, Hindu saints and gods are also venerated by the Thais.
The other part of the complex has a palace built by King Rama V in 1882, which bears influences of western architecture. The present King does not live here and it is used only for ceremonies like presentation of credentials by ambassadors or for state banquets in the honour of visiting heads of states. The walls are decorated with paintings depicting past diplomatic receptions including the one by Queen Victoria who received King Rama IV’s ambassador at the Buckingham Palace.
The next morning we went to the floating market at Damoen Saduak, 109Km southwest of Bangkok. Women from nearby villages bring fresh vegetables and fruits in their small boats while the buyers too come in similar boats. It must have begun as a necessity but now it is there simply to attract global tourists. We bought some green coconuts, the water of which made a soothing drink and the kernel too was thick and delicious. Permanent souvenir shops and restaurants have also sprung up along the banks of the canals.
The most enjoyable part of our six day sojourn in Bangkok was the day spent in Pattaya, a two and a half hours drive southeast of the capital, where the children had a lot of fun with various kinds of water sports. But that is another story.
Bangkok is making sure that people come to it not just for its lucrative business, but also for its hospitality 
