Goodbye Lao, we are going to miss you…..!

by Mandeep Gaygoat

Today we had an early morning flight to Bangkok, Thailand. The flight departed at 07:30 via Lao airlines. Usual airport quite especially at that time in the morning!

Whilst we were at the hotel at 5am you can hear the drums. This is alms giving, in Buddhism, alms or almsgiving is the respect given by a lay Buddhist to a Buddhist monk, nun, spiritually-developed person or other sentient being. It is not charity as presumed by Western interpreters. It is closer to a symbolic connection to the spiritual realm and to show humbleness and respect in the presence of the secular society. The act of alms giving assists in connecting the human to the monk or nun and what he/she represents.
As the Buddha has stated:
Householders & the homeless or charity [monastics]
in mutual dependence
both reach the true Dhamma….
—Itivuttaka 4.7

At the airport in Vientiane

Goodbye Vientiane, we are going to miss you!

Welcome to Bangkok

As British passport holders we do not require an entry visa, on arrival by air we are allowed to stay in Thailand for up to 30 days.

Suvarnabhumi Airport is around 30 km from the city, we decided on taking the cheap option to get to the city centre which is by the city train. The Airport Link’s City Line runs every 15 minutes and the Express Line every 30 minutes. Both lines operate from 6am to midnight. The trains have a maximum speed of 160 kilometres per hour. The City Line will make eight stops across the capital, starting at Phaya Thai, before heading to the airport. The trains take 30 minutes from Phaya Thai to Suvarnabhumi. Passengers using the City Line pay between 15 baht to 45 baht, depending on the distance travelled.

Waiting for the Airport Link

We got off at Makkasan, unfortunately this was the wrong stop, therefore we took the MRT to Lumphini. Luckily the Airport Link and the MRT are air conditioned. The Metropolitan Rapid Transit or MRT is a rapid transit system serving the Bangkok Metropolitan Region in Thailand. The first section of the Blue Line between Hua Lamphong and Bang Sue opened in 2004 as Bangkok’s second public transit system. The MRT is operated by the Bangkok Metro Public Company Limited (BMPCL) under a concession granted by the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA). Along with the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS, also called the Skytrain), and the Airport Rail Link (ARL), the MRT is part of Bangkok’s rail transportation infrastructure.
The MRT serves more than 240,000 passengers each day. It has 18 operational stations along 27 kilometres (16 mi) of underground track. The Blue Line, officially the Chaloem Ratchamongkhon Line, is the only line currently in operation. As of 2011, two extensions of the Blue Line are under construction. When completed, the Blue Line will become a loop line around the centre of Bangkok, with an extension to Bang Khae on its western side. The MRT Purple Line is also under construction. It will connect Bang Sue with Nonthaburi in the north-west, and will be the first public transit line outside the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.
The MRT line is officially known in Thai as rotfaifa mahanakhon or “metropolitan electric train”, but it is more commonly called rotfai taidin, literally, “underground train”. The metro has a fleet of 19 trains; the 19th train entered service in October 2007 after a major accident. The hotel offered airport pickup for 1400baht we managed to get to the city centre for 63baht!

On the MRT

This took us to the bottom of Wireless Road….a VERY long road, as we later found out! Now fully loaded with our backpacks and in 31 degrees C we walked from the bottom end of Wireless Road to the top of Wireless Road a distance of around 2.5KM but with the very heavy backpacks it felt a lot further!

Start of the long walk up Wireless Road

A very hot and tiring walk

As we were both shattered I stopped a tuk tuk driver and asked him the price to the hotel, he said 50 baht I tried to bargain with him and said 30baht, he just drove off!!!!

Wall outside the US embassy

Finally arrived at the hotel

Swissotel Nai Lert Park, Bangkok
2 Wireless Road
Bangkok 10330
Thailand.
T: +66 2 253 0123
F: +66 2 253 6509
E: [email protected]

As we checked in early the hotel did not have a room available, therefore we popped out for lunch.

Walking the streets of Bangkok

A safety hazard?!

From the web we found a vegetarian restaurant called Navrattan. On entering the restaurant your feet stick to the floor! Sangeet opened the menu to find a insect walking out of it….I think it was also trying to escape the restaurant!

We then went to Bombay Palace which advertises that it is vegetarian, turns out they also do meat and fish!

We ended up finding an Indian vegetarian restaurant where we ordered Dosa. We were both very hungry and it tasted very nice……the second one we ordered was not as nice…..funny, how when you are hungry, the food always tastes very nice………you could say that when you go to some bodies house…..I must have been hungry because that tasted nice!!!!

We got back to the hotel around 3pm the room was still not ready so I complained. At the hotel we had booked the basic room, we got upgrade to the business room, which gives you access to the lounge and free breakfast. Also we got two free drinks from the bar and one free use of the hotel car.

In the evening we got ready to go to the Gurdwara

Thai Sikh Organization (Thailand)
Siri Guru Singh Sabha Bangkok
565 Chakraphet Road,
Pra Nakorn 565
Bangkok 10200
Thailand
T: +66 (0) 2221 1011
F: +66 (0) 2224 8095
E: [email protected]
W: www.thaisikh.org

By the year 1911, many Sikh families had settled in Thailand. Bangkok was indeed the centre of migrant Sikhs. During that time there was no Gurdwara, so religious prayers were held in the homes of the Sikhs in rotation on every Sunday, Sangran and all the Gurpurab days.

The population of the Sikh community was on the rise, therefore in the year 1912, the Sikhs decided to establish a Gurdwara. A wooden house was rented in the vicinity of Baan Moh, a well known business area.
Thereafter, the place was decorated so that prayers could commence at this new Gurdwara. However, due to certain inconveniences, prayers and other religious duties were conducted only once a week.
In the year 1913 (or the year 2456 according to the Buddhist calendar), with the increasing rise of the Sikh community in Bangkok, a new larger wooden house was leased for a long term at the corner of Phaurat and Chakraphet road. After considerable renovation and decoration, the Guru Granth Sahib was installed and religious prayers were conducted on a daily basis.

Later in the year 1932 (the year 2475 according to the Buddhist calendar), the Sikhs community gathered some funds and purchased a piece of land for 16,200 baht and paid and additional 25,000 baht for the three and a half storey building plan. The new permanent Gurdwara was completed in the year 1933 was named “Gurdwara Siri Guru Singh Sabha”. It took about five and a half months to construct it. On completion this Gurdwara became the centre for the Sikh devotees and the Thai people who followed the Sikh faith.
A few years later, during the World War II, the Allied Air Forces targeted to knock out the metropolitan powerhouse and the memorial bridge (Saphan Phut), which are quite adjacent to the Gurdwara. The Allied forces dropped 2 bombs, each weighing about 1,000 pounds, which went off target and fell upon the roof top of the Gurdwara. The bombs, being really heavy penetrated the roof and fell right through the building till the ground floor. At that time several hundreds of Sikhs were taking shelter at the Gurdwara under the Holy grace of Guru Granth Sahib and to everyone’s surprise both the bombs (fallen on the ground) didn’t explode. Miraculously no one was injured.
However, due to the vibrations caused by one of the bombs that had exploded in the vicinity area behind the metropolitan powerhouse, made many cracks to the building and damaged part of the Gurdwara; thus making it impossible to continue the prayers at the Gurdwara. Prayers were stopped, while arrangements were being made to move the Gurdwara to a new location. A temporary wooden house was constructed and used as a Gurdwara. Shortly, the Gurdwara was repaired and prayers continued.
As time passed, in the year 1979, decision was made to renovate the Gurdwara and make it bigger to accommodate the increasing number of Sikhs. Together the committee of Siri Guru Singh Sabha and the other Thai-Sikhs asked for the blessing and permission from the Guru Granth Sahib to construct a new Gurdwara at the same location. The foundation stone was laid down by the Panj Piare, the Five Beloved Ones. The new Gurdwara was completed after two years in the year 1981.

The Gurdwara now technically had five floors plus a matinee floor. But however, people refer to the matinee floor as the third floor, thus making the Gurdwara having 6 floors. It was now a concrete building and was constructed on an area of total 1,440 square meters (360 “tarang wah”).

The ground floor is entrance hall which is width enough. There are three ways to enter the Gurdwara. The first way is a walk through a 3 meter wide lane, straight from the Chakraphet road. The second way is an entry from the door facing the Italian lane on Phaurat road. The third way is through the Jindamanee lane, allowing motorbikes to park at the entrance of the main gate of the Gurdwara. A fourth entrance could not be made because it was stuck to a department store, namely ATM. (Usually a Gurdwara will have entry doors on all four sides).
Towards the left side of the entrance hall, is a room, where religious books, tapes, CDs and cloth to cover the Guru Granth Sahib are sold. Any Sikh is permitted to either borrow or buy these items. Towards the right, is the clinic, namely “Sukshala Nanak Mission”. Needy patients are given free treatment irrespective of caster, creed or religion. This clinic was setup under the patronage of Siri Guru Singh Sabha and has been in service for more than 45 years. Right next to the clinic is the dining hall for the Granthi and Ragis of the Gurdwara and also for pilgrims who come from abroad and stay temporarily at the Gurdwara. Next to are the toilets for both men and women. As there is a strict rule in every Gurdwara, disallowing any person from wearing shoes to the upper floors, there is service provide on the ground floor for keeping your shoes. Left hand side for men and the right hand side for women. On the extreme left, there is the office of the Siri Guru Singh Sabha committee. A small meeting room is also present on the matinee floor above the office.

Facing the front but towards the end of the entrance hall, there are three elevators, leading to various floors of the Gurdwara. At the same time on either side of the elevators are the staircases, about 3 meters wide each and has to total of 84 steps from the ground floor to the main prayer hall where the Guru Granth Sahib is installed. Surprising the number of staircases here is exactly equal to the number of staircases in the Baoli Gurdwara, located at Goindwal. Gurdwara Baoli Sahib, which was constructed by Guru Amar Das Ji (the third Sikh Guru), is the first Sikh centre pilgrimage. Moreover, the number, 84, also indicates the total amount of re-incarnations (8.4 million births and deaths), which a human being has to go through. This is to remind us to only do good deeds and mediate in the name of Waheguru as well as provide service to the community and help the needy people. Life as a human being is considered the last step before realizing God.
On the second floor, is a big hall used as the Langar Hall (Guru-Ka-Langar) and many other kinds of different activities, such as arranging a dinner party during the wedding ceremony. This hall is also often used as a lecture hall by different people invited by the committee. During religious days and weekends, this hall is usually converted into a Langar Hall.

Next is the matinee floor. Although this floor is just half the size of other floors, it is now considered as the third floor. In the middle of this floor is a large room, which is often used for meetings or other religious activities.
The fourth floor, which is accessible either through the stairs or the elevators, is simply a big hall. This hall, excluding the side walkways, is about 15 meters in width and 37 meters in length.

There is pathway in the middle of this hall, leading to the Guru Granth Sahib. The floor is carpeted with a beautiful design and is used as a sitting place for all the Sikh devotees.
Ladies sit on the left hand side of the hall, while the men sit on the right hand side, facing the platform, on which the Guru Granth Sahib is installed. The reason for sitting separately is to maintain order and to maintain concentration in listening to the religious prayers.
In the middle of the hall is a raised platform, about one meter above the floor, with carved gold-plated pillars on all fours sides. Above the platform is gold-plated dome, in the shape of a lotus, with petals around it. The top most is covered with a piece of cloth having a gold lace at the edge around it, giving a royal symbol. Placed on the platform, is the Guru Granth Sahib.
Sitting at the platform is the Granthi or the Giani, who wihile reading from the Holy Granth also uses a Chaur or Chauri (Yak hair or manmade fiber embedded in a metal placed in a wooden handle) and waves it over the Guru Granth Sahib Ji as a symbol of respect.

Towards the right of this platform, is a slightly raised platform used for Kirtan singings and giving religious lectures.
Daily at 4:30 a.m., the Granthi brings out the Guru Granth Sahib and places it on the designated platform and begins reading the Hukam Nama for the day and then covers the still opened Guru Granth Sahib with a piece of cloth. At around 6:30 p.m. daily, after reciting the Rehras prayer, the Granthi performs the Sukh Asan ceremony (formally closing of the Guru Granth Sahib for the day) and retires the Guru Granth Sahib.

On the fifth floor is the Thai Sikh International School. This campus provides education for children up to Kindergarten 2, so that small kids need not travel far to the other campus, located at Bangna, which is for higher education. However, when a student passes from here, he/she can continue his/her education at the other campus.

This is where we saw in the new year.

For email subscribers
Kirtan at Bangkok Gurdwara

For email subscribers
Waheguru Simran

First Hukamnama of 2013

For email subscribers
First Hukamnama of 2013

The darbar sahib was packed with the local sangat. Quite an amazing atmosphere.

Getting a tuk tuk or taxi home is not easy, the first tuk tuk I stopped wanted 400 baht! It seems with it being the new year, the taxis and tuk tuks can command their charges.

Waiting with fellow Sikhs for a taxi

Negotiating the price with a tuk tuk

He drove off!

Passing a flower stall at 1am

We finally managed to get a tuk tuk, on the picture you can see him on his mobile, probably calling his wife to pack the bags for a first class holiday. He charged us quite a lot!

It was strange to see, taxi’s having no customers just ignoring us, even though they were going the same way as us.