Imperial Valley press., 1937-01-24
By John Richard Finch

nEFORE went to Siam, the word meant to
ID me just two things white elephants and
twins. This was perhaps natural enough be-
cause it is the Samese twins and the mysterious
sacred white elephants that put the little king
dom of Siam on the mental map of the average
occidental. The fact that the famous twins were
fathered by Chinese and their mothers ances-
trail background is of uncertain origin makes
little difference. These two renowned INSOFAR
ables first saw the light of day in Siam, and
to Siam goes the distinction land the publicity
of being their birthplace. Today beyond faded
photograph of them and their children in the
Bangkok museum there is no memorial. The
white elephant however, still remains, an ever
present symbol of good fortune - an indication
Of an af1uent and prosperous monarchial reign.
AS approached Bangkok, Slams capital city,
winding up the Malay Peninsula through stew
ing jungles in a coach of the Siamese Royal
State Railways, plan to obtain talisman
that might bring me the good fortune, affluence
and prosperity claimed by the Siamese kings
was already forming in my mind. A bracelet
made of hair from the tail Of one of the Royal
white Elephants! That was it! knew the Chi
huahua-like pachyderms had hair on their tails,
because had seen picture only few days
before in Pedang Besar Long, coarse hairs put
there by nature no doubt, to flick off the flies,
mosquitoes and countless insects which breed
but I'm always doing crazy things, and the idea
appealed to me.
So with no plan whatever for accomplishing
this feat, but with the idea smoldering in the
back of my mind, arrived in Bangkok, which
I knew even before my train pulled into Hua-
lampong Terminal was a city of temples as
well as twins and white elephants Just how
awesome, fascinating and truly beautiful these
temples were was soon to find out.
Ioc toor ihod tho citu of
magnificent distances" which I found simply
meant that it takes a long time to get any
where, and brought to mind our own city of Los
Angeles. Like Los Angeles, Bangkok is spat-
tered all the map. 1t runs along the east
bank of the Menam River for eight miles and
is crisscrossed every few yards by little canals
known as klongs. Barges, sampans, and quaint
canoes pursue their business upon these gay
waterways during the period there is water in
them. During the dry season when they are de-
duced to mud wallows the Siamese go in for
mud fishing, fish tickling" as it is called.
Fish tickling is sport the Siamese can't resist.
Court ladies don old clothes and wallow about
in the sticky mud like water buffaloes cropping
for fish buried in the river bed I usually try
everything once, but this was national sport
-lsich passed up. ! decided to stick to
elephants. n:
BANGKOK is stronghold of the Buddhist
p faith and is perhaps the most pagodaized
city in the world Lofty spires on every side
pierce the blue skies like golden needles. These
temples, architectural masterpieces in design
and sheer artistic beauty, are called ,oats Much
ancestral merit is gained by building a iDat, but
little comes of maintaining them, and in con-
sequence many are much like old ruins, but
none the less fascinating.
-Four, in particular are outstanding In my
estimation = the Wat saket, Wat Pra Keo.
Wat Poh and the Wat Cheng. Wat Saket serves
as crematory for the dead Within are frescoes
depicting the sort Of entertainment the wicked
may expect in the hereafter. The Buddhist hells,
lab In number, are much more hopeful, how