The Mysteries of Thailand – Giant and Small

"I want to take her home, I want to take her home!" an older Thai woman said feigning grabbing Ailyn's cheeks. Ailyn's curls and general cuteness make her practically a celebrity in Thailand to the point she's asked us several times, "Why is everyone staring at me?"

But at a Buddhist shrine, Ailyn gets special attention. After all, even little Thai children don't usually so dutifully kneel on the floor and join with those praying and paying homage to the Buddha. To Emily and my great surprise, Ailyn in particular likes Buddhist temples, gets excited to go and is sad to leave. She watched what people do and joins them. Sennen often does as well – but this year, Ailyn is far more interested. 

So it was that when we went to Wat Pho – one of Thailand's most important temples – Ailyn sat devoutly on the prayer rug in front of the collection of gold Buddhas displayed near the entrance – unknowingly receiving the admiration of many.

But the main part attraction at Wat Pho is the largest reclining Buddha in the world. And that seemed almost beyond both kids' comprehension – as is really the case for almost anyone seeing it for the first or even second or third time. 

"Why did they make such a big Buddha? This must have taken a very long time to make? How long did it take? Why did they spend such a long time making it? Why did it need to be so big? How can you see this Buddha all at once? Why would they do it this way? Why would the king want that?" accounted for the first 90 seconds after Sennen laid eyes on the reclining Buddha.

Of course, the answers aren't much different than with any large-proportioned royal or religious place including Notre Dame and St Peter's – they're there to impress and inspire. The reclining Buddha at Wat Pho certainly does both in a more subtle way than say a gothic cathedral or the Palace of Versailles. What's interesting is that very few people actually pray or make offerings to the giant Buddha – perhaps because the proportions make it almost impractical. You simply cannot see the whole statue from any given place.

After visiting the giant reclining Buddha, we explored the rest of Wat Pho including its gorgeous structures and the largest collection of golden Buddha statues in the world which wraps around so much of the temple grounds. And as with all things, once the kids had seen their fill, it was time for lunch – and so it went.

Having seen the biggest person in Thailand, later in the afternoon Emily and I found ourselves wondering about exactly how everyone isn't ginormous. We spent the late afternoon and evening on our own again and as always – we witness not only the sheer quantity of food available ever few feet in this city (and country for that matter), but also the unbelievably large amounts they eat and of often very high calorie food. We saw one incredibly thin woman polishing off a stacked plate with about six pieces of fried chicken. The ubiquitous Thai iced tea is mixed with sweetened condensed milk, sugar and evaporated milk. People can drink several a day and there are numerous other highly sweetened beverages that are just as popular. Coconut sticky rice with mango seems to have become an "in" food (although it was never an "out" one). In a country whose streets look like a buffet that the American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association would tell you to avoid at all costs, the population appears shockingly thin.

In fact, Emily and I – who have not held back enjoying Thailand's amazing cuisine – weighed ourselves at a coin-op scale in front of a 7-11 and are the same or lighter (me!) than when we left home. It seems impossible. 

Shopping is the other great mystery of Thailand. Given this was our last full day in Bangkok, Emily and I spent several hours visiting markets and eventually a wholesale clothing mall (10 stories, 2 city blocks of nothing but discount, wholesale clothing – and it was PACKED). Without a doubt, malls are one of the greatest attractions in Bangkok and range from havens or bargain shopping to levels of luxury that few Americans have ever experienced in a retail setting. And even the most mundane Bangkok mall is larger than any mall most of us have ever encountered. In Bangkok, malls are almost as ubiquitous as Thai iced tea and function as a sort of life hub where people spend their time and social lives – casually shopping, buying a quick meal, grocery shopping (supermarkets are usually in the basement of malls) or just hanging out enjoying the air conditioning. From an American standpoint, this almost makes sense: Bangkok is hot, malls are air conditioned and cost nothing to enter, people can hang out in malls….

But the numbers don't add up. Nearby Singapore has an impressive collection of fancy, often high-end malls. This is not surprising as its population enjoys a per capita GDP of $57,714 – less than $2,000 behind the United States. Singapore also has 5.6 million people living within 278.6 square miles. There are a limited number of things to do in a city-state and the recipe seems right for shopping to become a leisure activity.

Thailand's per capita GDP is USD $6593.82, although more than double that at $15,192 for Bangkok residents. But given the number of malls, the quantity of goods – and that shopping is far from limited to malls and indoor retail stores in general given the huge number of outdoor markets, back-alley shops and of course all the food carts – how is it possible to support the vast quantity as well as high quality of malls in this city????

All we can do is chalk it up as one of the many mysteries of a country whose scales run light and cash registers seem full despite the facts.

Especially because we're out of time to continue delving into depths of Bangkok. Tomorrow we fly to Phuket and from there take a shuttle van to Khao Lak where we plan to spend a week and a half on the beach. It's time to say goodby to urban Thailand and hello to the much lazier, prettier and simpler life of Southern Thailand.