During the last week of December, I took a bus to the city center to walk around the shopping district just to gauge the festive atmosphere. The traffic along the main road towards Wireless Road was quite heavy. But this gave me a chance to observe the new high rise buildings at the corner of the busy intersection. That corner had the latest shopping complex and luxurious condominiums. I ought to find some free time to survey the new shopping center soon.
I got off the bus at the other end of Wireless road and climbed up the steps leading to walkways (skywalk) which linked all the shopping centers on both sides of this busy road (Sukhumvit road). I could walk along this skywalk to catch the skytrain (BTS) to all stations along this busy road which would avoid all the traffic jams on the road. My goal was to get near the big intersection with all the major shopping complex, the Amarin Plazar and the Hyatt Erawan Hotel.
The walk was quite pleasant as the weather was much cooler on the evening. There were many tourists walking along the skywalk making the atmosphere very lively and active. The sounds of the traffic below also added to the busy and flowing vibes. I quickly dropped into the luxurious Gasorn shopping mall to take some photos of the decorations. There weren’t many customers as they would probably be heading towards restaurants for their dinners. The atmosphere of this mall wasn’t very attractive to me as all the merchandise seemed incredibly expensive and impractical in real life. I wouldn’t use expensive goods for fear of spoiling them. Fortunately for these shops, some people would find these expensive goods useful in their daily life.
In the corner of the Hyatt Erwan Hotel was the famous Brahman statue. Local people and Chinese tourists liked to pay respect to Brahman and asked for his blessings. Some distressed people might ask for special favours or help with the promises that they would come back to offer Thai dance performances, more marigold garlands, wooden elephants and other Thai sweets. So, visitors could see traditional Thai dancers perform in front of the statue and lots of garlands including wooden elephants around the shrine.
Many years ago, my Singaporean friend would travel to Bangkok specifically to pay respect to the Brahman statue and asked for good luck with his lotteries. He did get a few winnings and flew to Bangkok to make his promised offerings! I heard that successful Chinese businessmen got his wishes granted and they organised a chartered planes taking all his friends and families to join them at the big ceremonies for Brahman. Incidentally, there were other Hindu shrines surrounding this famous intersection.
On the roof of Gasorn, there’s shrine of Laksmi, the Hindu goddess of good fortune, wealth and prosperity. Besides Gasorn Plaza, in front of the Intercontinental Hotel situated a shrine of Vishnu. Then a short walk towards the famous Centralworld shopping mall, further along the other side visitors could see two big shrines for Ganesha and Trimurti. These two shrines were quite big with wide yard for people to perform their ceremonies. Big crowds could be seen in the evening as people flocked to these shrines to ask for their blessings and assistance.
In the past I thought these people were too superstitious and ought to confront their problems directly instead of asking for Hindu deities’ help. Later on, I realised that these shrines offered a safety valves for people under a lot stress with no one to turn to for help. So, they needed the psychological support and a glimpse of hopes so that they could carry on another day. This way offered them much cheaper and safer alternatives than going to see doctors and get addictive drugs. On the other hand, I did go around trying to feel the energies of these statues. I was quite impressed by their strong and positive vibes. Usually, these statues would have to go through elaborate chanting ceremonies and religious rituals performed by experienced shamans. Perhaps I should visit these shrines and pay my respect for some auspicious vibes for the New Year.
The festive decorations in front of Centralwor were quite impressive. They even put on free musical performances for people during the festive weeks. But I was allergic to loud noises so I didn’t walk across to the other side. I could see crowds in front of the shopping mall. It’s good to have places where people could enjoy themselves without having to pay for the entrance. The colourful lightings made Bangkok looking very cheerful for a change. That place had gone through a lot of trouble times during the fierce political conflicts over ten years ago.
It was amazing to me to witness drastic changes in the city and observe that all things were indeed impermanent and changes were natural cycles of life. I just hoped that we would have lots of tourists which will improve the flow of money and the economic situations for ordinary vendors and small businesses. So, I would like to beseech all the Hindu gods and goddesses in this area to bless the country with good luck, good fortune, peace and happiness.
Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.
Stay strong and cheerful.
#beautifulsunday hosted by @ace108
Thank you so much @qurator and @brumest for your kindness and encouragement.
I love how they decorated the greenery on the different levels of the mall. So festive and very pretty.
The famous traffic jam very visible.
I was in the a couple of times passing Hyatt Erwan Hotel and that corner always seem crowded.
People here would not believe how epic the city of Bangkok is. I miss the crazy walkways and malls in the Sukumvit area. We stayed in a couple of places off the main rd. Walking up and down was super entertaining.
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All the streets are full, but here in Cyprus there are few people on the streets.