Suvarnabhumi

The new Bangkok airport opened a few days ago and I had ample time to explore it to the fullest. My flight to Bangalore was not until 9PM and that left me with a good 8 hours or so. There were some concerns among travelers after the military coup in Thailand. But I when I landed there everything was normal, business as usual.

Bangkok airport was christened(an oxymoron considering they chose a Hindu name) Suvarnabhumi(The Golden Land). I was aware of the Buddhism and Hindu roots in Thailand but this was a surprise to me. And given the fact that many airports in India were named after Nehrus and Gandhis, it was quite refreshing. I did not know more surprise was in store.

I met a couple of Indians in Beijing and they were heading to Bangalore too. We got into talking after landing in Bangkok and explored the airport. It was a modern structure(with WLAN connectivity across the terminals) with plenty of natural light cutting in through the shaded glass ceiling. It was also designed to protect travelers from the hot tropical sun. A multistoried building with each floor having a vertical and horizontal paths cutting through each other making a cross.The two major materials used in construction were glass and steel.

A lot of shops were still moving from old airport to the new one. And many businesses have taken this opportunity to raise the prices. All in all everyone seemed to be happy.

As I was walking up and down the terminals, I found something. A huge structure with two groups involved in a tug of war. One group was demigods and another, Rakshas(demons). The rope was a serpent(Vasuki) wrapped around a mountain(Mandara) and they were churning a huge reservoir of milk. Yes, they were churning the Milk Ocean in the quest of Amritam(Ambrosia), the nectar of immortality. I have never seen this part of Hindu mythology being staged quite like this. It was stunning. I would not be exaggerating if I said everyone was taking at least one picture with this structure in background. In the evening, at the centre of each storey, traditional Thai arts were displayed. Artists danced and put up beautiful puppets shows.

After getting tired walking all over the airport, we settled for a late lunch with a burger,fries and coke, something I was really getting tired of eating lately. And the rest was boring stuff, so I sign off.