A week ago, after our trip to the U.S. embassy, we adventured off to Sanam Luang to view the Royal Crematorium of the late King Rama IX. Sanam Luang is a large oval field near the Grand Palace, specifically set aside for building a crematorium when necessary. At other times, it also serves as a parade grounds for royal birthdays and such celebrations. Its primary purpose only becomes necessary rarely.
A Thai Royal Crematorium is a lavish structure built for the funeral pyre of a king. The sandalwood for the building comes from a special forest which can only be harvested for this reason. The building is designed to replicate Mount Sumeru - the center of the universe according to Buddhist tradition. The structures are temporary; thus a new one is built for each king. The current crematorium is scheduled to be dismantled and make a tour around the country. Its final resting place is to be determined.
We had looked online to find a bit of information to help us navigate the wheres and hows of visiting the crematorium. However, nothing in Thailand is set, so we knew we would have to be flexible. Parking around Sanam Luang is terrible during the best of times. With thousands of people estimated to visit the crematorium each day and roads around it closed, parking would be a nightmare. We read about free buses from various parts of the city. We decided to leave the truck at a park near the embassy with free, unlimited time parking; take the subway to the train station; then take a free bus from there.
The first part of the journey was straight forward. Once at the Hua Lamphong Train Station, it took some asking around before we found the right spot to catch the bus. The bus did have a special sign over its usual number designating it as "Hualamphong-Sanam Luang." We had to wait a bit in the sweltering bus before it started and we could get a bit of breeze from the movement. The ride to the right part of town did not take too long, and we were soon hopping off ready for the next step.
We found ourselves in a crush of people, following a Chinese tour group. It was only about a five minute walk to the entrance of a large fenced area encompassing Sanam Luang and the roads around it. We were about to walk across the entrance bridge, when we were summarily and bit rudely shooed away. "Thai only! Foreigners that way!" We began to walk and walk and walk. The sun beat on us. I carried Calla and held Simeon's hand coaxing him to keep walking. Calla was getting heavy; I was hot and thirsty; my sandals were giving me blisters.
After walking about a kilometer, we came to the foreigners' entrance; the same place where one could enter to visit the Grand Palace. We got in line to display our passports and step through the metal detectors. At first, the guards wanted each person to hold his or her own passport up for the camera as they walked through. Calla was asleep in the baby carrier, but I attempted to display her passport as well as mine as I walked through. Hollis came next, then Simeon. After that, they gave up and let everyone else just walk through.
Now we had to walk the kilometer back to where place where Thai could enter; directly across from there was the entrance to Sanam Luang. If we were Thai, we would have been at Sanam Luang in about five minutes, instead we walked for an hour to get to the same place. When we arrived at the entrance, a lady first asked us why we were there. I guess she wanted to make sure we knew we were going to see the Royal Crematorium and weren't just there to wander around Sanam Luang. As if we would have made all that effort if we didn't know what we were planning to see. She then told us we might have to wait for an hour, and it might be too long. Philip said, "We've already been walking for an hour, what's another hour."
Once inside, we were welcomed with cold bottles of water, bags of little oranges, and banana muffins. We were each given a pink tag designating our group. We filed into plastic chairs under a white canopy and settled in to wait. We had scarcely finished our snacks, and our slowest eater Hollis was still eating, when our group rose and was ushered toward the Royal Crematorium. I was happy not to wait an hour but at this point a bit longer rest would not have been unwelcome.
The day before, I had showed the children the different parts of the crematorium, and we had read about the building and its uses as preparation for our field trip. They were excited to recognize a miniature rice field and patch of vetiver grass, as well as a small reservoir, in honor of King Rama IX's in honor projects in those areas. Next we passed the building where the royal family wait prior to lighting the funeral pyre.We walked through a display of photos and drawings of past crematoriums. Finally, we were right at the current Royal Crematorium itself.
At 50 meters tall, with six pavilions surrounding the Principal Pavilion, towers grandly over Sanam Luang. The majority glitters with gold leaf with deep red stairs on all four sides. At the base, exquisite statues decorate the edges of a misting pond. Each of the four sides is dedicated to a different "auspicious" creature. The first side we see is the Elephant side. It is especially interesting to observe the elephants with fins and fish tails lounging in the water. Each elephant is brightly painted in fantastical colors.
We walk to the left to the Singha side. A singha is a mythical creature, a bit like a lion and a bit like a dragon. Some of the singha appeared to be dancing; others fighting. We continued to the third side, dedicated to oxen. Some of the oxen had fish tails and others had wings. The fourth side was for horses, including a few winged horses. Each statue was beautiful and carefully detailed. We enjoyed looking at each. As we looked, Simeon stated multiple times that he "really wished we could climb the stairs. Don't you wish we could climb the stairs?" We were thankful that he restrained himself and did not attempt to climb them.
After we had seen our fill, we walked to the exit. A lady there began talking to us, counting our children, and so forth. In a moment, we became a side tourist attraction with people lining up to get their picture taken with us. The lady-guard shouted out to all exiting, "Here are some farang (white people) who live in Thailand. They have one boy and four girls...." It took us awhile to politely extricate ourselves. Simeon was hamming it up smiling and saying "cheese!" to everyone and Calla was practicing her new skill of blowing kisses.
Finally, we made to the exit point. Last chance for bathrooms, so we all went. By the time, we got out, Philip and Calla had attracted another crowd. Another round of photos. This time Simeon was grumpy, so he hid behind me. We made it across the bridge and back into the crush of people. It didn't take long before we were able to hop on the right bus back to the train station.
Forty-five minutes later, the bus had basically made it around the block. The traffic was so bad we were literally going nowhere. Calla was tired, hot, and fussy. She couldn't get down and walk around; she couldn't get comfortable on my lap or Philip's. Simeon managed to fall asleep. A homeless lady intently watch Eris journal in her little diary. Hollis and Meriel played a game of their own devising. Finally, we made it through the seven-way intersection which was the bottleneck. It felt like we were able to speed the rest of the way to the train station.
A long day away from home, hot and sweaty and exhausted. We treated ourselves to picking up pizza on the the way home. That night, we were all in bed early. We were glad that we went; it was perhaps a once (or maybe twice) in a lifetime opportunity to visit a Royal Crematorium. We had experienced a bit of Thai culture and appreciated the beauty and artistry of the structure. I will long remember the experience, and I think the older children will as well.
(We forgot the camera at home, but we did get some not so good photos on Philip's phone. I will try to figure out how to get them on the computer to add sometime.)
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