Ban Pa In is on an island in the Menam River. One handsome palace is in the European style, and another is of a pure Chinese pattern. There is a modern temple of Gothic style, built fifteen years ago. Near the palace a tower affords a fine view.
We arrived at Bangkok late in the afternoon, feeling well pleased with our day's excursion.
Fifty years ago Bangkok had none of the public buildings to be seen to-day,—perhaps a mile of good road and streets in only fair condition; now there are numerous drives and perfect communication to every point of the city. There are twelve miles of electric railway line, soon to be extended, while leading out from Bangkok are hundreds of miles of well-equipped railways. Jinrikishas are used in Bangkok, but with foreigners carriages are preferred. The native street, called Sampeng, is really a Chinese-Siamese combination, and might be termed a bazar on the order of those visited in previous cities. The streets, filled with strong odors, are small lanes running parallel with the river, and to me were less interesting than previous bazars, the venders seeming to be apathetic and having less variety of goods. This impression may, however, have been due to the midday hour, for the natives, understanding the climate, are only alert during the mornings and evenings. The season may also have lessened the dash and excitement of the street. We were told there were quite as many tribes and nationalities represented in Bangkok as in Singapore, and such a mixture usually means novelty. The dress and undress in Siam afforded variety, the men and women nearly alike, for, as stated in the description in connection with Ayuthia, the women have short hair and wear the panung precisely like the men.
The guides in Siam are not very competent, and could give us only ordinary information, so there was little for us to do but to speculate on certain points.
Tower of Royal Palace at Ban-Pa-In
There are several interesting towns which are within a few hours' railway communication with Bangkok, but we could only read of them, as none of them had hotels or even rest houses for the convenience of tourists. This state of things will be remedied as soon as it is realized that the outside world is interested in this far-away kingdom, the first tourist party having visited Siam only two years ago. We were hampered before reaching this country by the lack of a guide-book (as we had been in Java), Murray's enlightening knowledge having extended only through India, Burma, and Ceylon; but after our arrival in Bangkok we found some local guide-books, from which we learned of the towns alluded to.
Petchaburi seemed one of the most interesting on account of the wonderful caves and temples, a description of which I will give in brief, in order to prove that Siam, like the other countries previously visited, has unusual attractions along these lines. The railway to Petchaburi was opened in 1902, and the journey takes five and a half hours from Bangkok. It is an old historic town of much importance and the centre of a very populous district. It is picturesquely situated on both banks of the stream, curving seaward at the foot of some wooded hills. One of the hills is crowned with the royal palace and another with a handsome temple. The palace is a magnificent edifice and commands wide views on all sides, the sea being clearly seen from the observatory. The hill on which is situated the temple, and its companion, are known as Kow Wang.
Descending a well-constructed, if somewhat precipitous, staircase for what must be fully a hundred feet, we find ourselves in a cave from which a very spacious archway leads into a huge vaulted chamber. The first impression is one of acute astonishment, by no means lessened, even after one becomes accustomed to the dim light inside. By rough calculation the cave is about two hundred yards long by one hundred wide. The floor is paved throughout with tiles, and at every turn there is an image of Buddha. At one end there is a statue fully fifteen feet high in a niche fronting the entrance, and near by is one twelve feet high. In a wide passage, leading to another extensive cave, is a statue of the sleeping Buddha, apparently about fifteen feet long, and in the semi-gloom which surrounds him, suggestive of eternal calm and peace. In this cave are more Buddhas, sitting, standing, and reclining.