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.
[Illustration: _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.
Thence, on through a somewhat low and dark tunnel, we go to yet another
cave, from which a short passage leads upward to what was the original
dark entrance. This is now impassable, as the stairs have collapsed.
Many curious stalactites are in clusters, some like inverted lilies and
others like canopies or umbrellas; they are of all sizes, ranging from a
few inches to several feet in diameter and some are tinted in various
shades. The caves are well worth visiting, and a view of them will
adequately repay the time and expense of the journey from Bangkok. In
the centre of the town and near a quaint wooden bridge stands Wat
Mahathal, conspicuous by reason of its unfinished brick tower, on the
summit of which a couple of trees are growing; a quadrangle surrounding
this contains one hundred and ninety-five images of Buddha, which are of
interest if only because of the different expressions of their
countenances.
[Illustration: _A Siamese girl_]
The American Presbyterian Mission has a commodious hospital, pleasantly
situated on the river bank, which enjoys a high reputation among the
natives. There are two distinct tribes of Laos inhabiting this district.
The women, on account of their peculiar headgear and jackets of dark
cloth and short sarong, are interesting. The cultivation of rice is the
prevailing industry in this district.
Judging by the number of Siamese feasts and festivals there are in the
calendar, a holiday must always be in order. The Siamese official year
opens April 1st, and about that time, a date regulated by the moon, the
New Year holiday occurs. This is not celebrated quite as vigorously as
it formerly was, but the country people make it the occasion for
performing some great deed of merit, and this proves a time of harvest
for the priests. Every one wears his best clothes, a special kind of
cake is served, and the temples are thronged. Gambling laws are set
aside, and in every house may be seen some game of chance. On the
evening of the second day, for the festival continues through a period
of three, all the guns along the palace walls are fired thirty-six
times.
The Astronomical New Year soon follows, when the images of Buddha are
sprinkled with water, while the priests hold a festival at the royal
palace. Priests and aged people are presented with gifts.
When the sixth Siamese moon is at its full, the birth, inspiration, and
death of the Lord Buddha are observed with great veneration; good deeds
prompt every one, alms are given to the poor, and fine robes sent to the
priests.
Twice a year the ceremonial drinking of the water of allegiance takes
place at the royal palace. The princes, nobles, and principal Government
officials assemble, drink, and sprinkle their foreheads with water in
which various weapons have been dipped. Appropriate religious services
are also held. The principal European officials also conform to this
custom, which usually occurs in the months of March, April, and
September.
[Illustration: _A royal barge at Bangkok_]
The ploughing ceremony takes place in May and marks the beginning of the
planting season. The King is represented by the Minister of Agriculture,
who goes with a procession to the selected spot, and, after some
religious service, takes hold of a plough which is drawn by two gayly
bedecked oxen. After scratching the ground for about an hour, four
ladies of the royal household, attired in ancient costumes, sow various
kinds of seed carried in gilded baskets. The grain thus scattered is
considered sacred, and there is a wild scramble for it at the close.
Many signs and symbols are attached to various parts of the ceremony,
which usually takes place at Dusit Park.
A swinging festival is very unique and interesting, but is quite
complicated and has to be seen to be understood. The swing is very high
and I think is stationary.
Another ceremony is the giving of priests' robes. This lasts a month,
and the King or his deputies visit every Wat in the kingdom. At this
time the boat racing at the Pakman Wat occurs, and the royal barge and
State boats are all brought out for the occasion. At another festival,
the Loy Krathong (all these celebrations have their Siamese names), the
river Menam and the canals present a gala appearance, being dotted at
night with thousands of miniature ships, rafts, and boats, each
brilliantly lighted and bearing offerings to the goddess of water. This
festival occurs in October and November.
But the greatest occasion of the year is the King's birthday, September
20th, the three following days being included in the festival.
Everywhere the city is a blaze of red and white bunting, and at night it
is brilliant with myriad lights, presenting a fairylike scene. About
this time the Foreign Office gives its annual ball, a brilliant occasion
for which invitations are in great demand.
Siamese ceremonies are quite as peculiar as their feasts. The habit of
cutting the long tuft of hair, which is left on children's heads until
they have attained their growth, is very striking, and at the royal
palace very elaborate preparations are made, which include religious
ceremonies and the use of a golden jewelled instrument resembling
shears.
In Siam cremation is the general way of disposing of the dead. Among the
wealthy classes the body is embalmed and kept sometimes three years
before the ceremony, which is conducted with great pomp and on a very
expensive plan, gifts being distributed among all the attendant friends
and sums of money given to the priests and to the poor. The Chinese, of
which there are large numbers, are usually buried, but in case of a
mixed marriage the children are cremated.
There are many superstitions. A peculiar one in court circles is the
wearing of a different-colored panung each day of the week,--on Sunday,
red; Monday, cream; Tuesday, purple; and so on,--for good luck. Another
is the use of buttons adorned with representations of animals,
symbolical of the year in which certain persons are born,--this also for
good luck. The tendency naturally leads to great respect being shown to
fortune-tellers. The youth of Siam are, however, it is said, outgrowing
this superstitious condition.
One time-honored custom is, however, in greater vogue than ever, and
that is massage, which is employed by all classes.
While the foreign residents of Bangkok are not large in number, they
have made their impress felt, and in no way more markedly than in the
amusements which they have inaugurated. There are sixteen organizations,
many of them recreation clubs for golf, tennis, and cricket, but there
are also a literary club, a dramatic club, a Philharmonic Society, and a
gymnasium. Bangkok has a good library, containing books of travel,
reference, and fiction.
Racing is popular and is generally attended by the King, who gives gold
cups for prizes. Hunting is in great favor, for game can be found near
Bangkok, and at not a remote distance lurk the rhinoceros, buffalo,
tiger, leopard, deer, antelope, hare, and crocodile. Elephants abound,
but may not be shot.
Bangkok, as a city, becomes distinctively individual as one learns more
of it; for instance, the telegraph and the telephone lines are
controlled by the postal department and are working satisfactorily under
this régime. As early as 1902, important fiscal changes were introduced:
one was the closing of the mints to free silver, and the other an
issuance of paper currency notes. The first meant the practical adoption
of a gold standard. I cite these examples as showing still further
progressive methods.
There are holiday resorts on the east coast of the gulf, where Bangkok
residents can retire for a change of air. These have been mentioned.
There are also remoter places of great interest farther in the interior
and in the mountains, which will soon be available for travellers.
Rathburi is an old walled town of importance. Near here, the French
Catholic priests have a mission house and seminary. The American
Presbyterian Mission owns a fine hospital, and two missionary families
are stationed here.
Phrapatoon is the seat of a large pagoda which is visible for many miles
around. It was formerly gilded and was built in style similar to the
pagodas seen in Burma.
With all the available information about the kingdom of Siam, one cannot
but feel that it has a future full of possibilities; certain it is that
the measures already inaugurated by the King are made for the welfare of
his people.
The tropical growth of Siam impressed us only slightly, as we had just
come from Java, "the garden of the earth." Otherwise we should have been
enthusiastic over the beauty of the landscape and the luxurious growth
of trees and plants.
There was no special programme on our last morning in Bangkok, and so I
wandered around for final impressions and for photographs. I had an
amusing little talk with what proved to be the court photographer. Among
other notables of the realm, he showed me a picture of the Crown Prince,
whereupon I innocently asked him how many sons there were. He replied,
"Sixty-seven," and that he had taken all their photographs. The reply
was rather startling, and I impulsively asked, "And how many daughters?"
He looked blank and admitted that he did not know. Of course I
understood that the family relations of the King were modelled on
strictly Oriental lines, and that he had three legal wives, the number
prescribed by law; but I was unprepared for a statement that showed a
daughter in a royal household to be such a nonentity as the above
implied.
When I visited the market, I saw an unlimited number of fruits as well
as vegetables; cocoanuts, plantains, bananas, durians, pineapples,
bread-fruit, jack-fruit, dates, almonds, pomaloes, mangoes (fifty
varieties), mangosteens, custard apples, limes, oranges, tamarinds,
figs, and papayas, all are to be found here in their proper season. I
did not even know the names of some, but never again do I hope to see
such a display.
There were fewer flowers than I had been led to expect, but the flora of
Siam is said to be particularly rich in unusual varieties of orchids,
which are found flourishing abundantly even in the jungles, and a visit
would well repay a collector. A person can find a rich field in Siam
along many lines of investigation.
We left Bangkok in the afternoon on the steamer _Nuen-tung_ for a five
days' return trip to Singapore. I have already alluded to the "sand bar"
which is an obstacle to navigation; hence it is that the heavy freight
vessels anchor fifty miles distant at Koh-si-Chang, but I learned later
that this obstacle could have been removed by dredging, had not the
authorities declined to take any action, as the "bar" furnished a safe
means of defence should war ever occur.
We saw various pagodas as we advanced; the most noted example was in the
village of Pakman. As viewed through masses of foliage, it reminded us
of the trip on the Irrawaddy River in Burma. A cargo of rice was taken
on at Koh-si-Chang, and we did not leave there until eleven, the day
following. A group of islands similarly called was a feature of the
trip. It was cooler when we entered the Gulf of Siam, and the China
Sea was favorably smooth. The conditions of the steamer were unchanged,
but they had grown familiar to us, and even the cockroaches no longer
intimidated me.
[Illustration: _The collier quay at Singapore_]
* * * * *
SINGAPORE: We arrived at Singapore early in the morning, and for a third
time viewed the shores; on this trip we went to the Raffles Hotel for a
brief sojourn. The place is airy, capacious, and semi-Oriental, and
reminded us of Colombo, as did the temperature, for although but two
degrees from the equator, the air was like June at home, and without any
of the chill in the evening that we sometimes experience; so it was a
great pleasure to sit out in the corridor-like veranda and listen to the
music. It was all so contrary to our expectations, for we had been told
fearful tales about heat, insects, and general discomfort on the Malay
Peninsula, or on what they term the "Straits Settlements."
* * * * *
JOHORE: To commence with, we devoted the first afternoon to an excursion
to Johore, the capital of an independent Malay province, whose Sultan
reigns with pomp and ceremony. After a railway ride, we took the ferry
across the river, where a scene of loveliness awaited us. The city is
unpretentious in appearance, but our afternoon excursion revealed to us
a varied landscape with a tropical growth. We visited a plantation
where india rubber, one of the chief articles of export, is cultivated;
then a large Mohammedan mosque, finely located on an eminence. The tiger
house on this particular day held but one inmate, who showed no desire
to devour us.
The grounds surrounding the palace are as spacious and as well cared for
as a botanical garden, with the brilliant flowers, blossoming trees, and
a great number of red sealing-wax palms. The palace is luxuriantly
embowered in vines and trees. Johore is a famous gambling-place, but the
"parlors" were deserted on this afternoon, and we could see only the
fine furnishings in carved teakwood.
The stay in Johore ended with tea at a hotel. Here we saw the real
Sultan entertaining a party of Europeans. He looked young and was
dressed in an immaculate English style, quite unlike the striped calico
suits displayed by royalty at Jeypore, India. He came in a French
automobile, and is said to pass half his time in Singapore, being fond
of society. We arrived in Singapore for dinner, and during the evening a
delightful surprise awaited me in the appearance of two Milwaukee
friends.
[Illustration: _The Sultan's Palace at Johore_]
The following day much ground was covered, for, by invitation of
Cincinnati friends, I took a motor ride of about forty miles amidst
undreamed-of beauty, both near the city and in the surrounding
country. There were streets lined with villas whose gardens were full of
a luxuriant growth of shrubs and flowers; some of them had the quaintest
high-arched gateways, with coats of arms and animals carved in stone on
each side of the entrance. The Botanical Gardens were very interesting,
as was also the park, miles from the city, and laid out around the
reservoir, which furnishes all the water supply. We went on and on until
we reached the "Gap," where a mountain view awaited us. We visited the
shops and bazars before luncheon, and in the afternoon all of us
explored the native Malay quarter. The dress of the women was unlike any
other seen in the Orient. The Chinese seemed to be the real residents,
for everywhere they prevailed in large numbers.
In whatever direction we went, new features revealed themselves, and we
commended the wisdom of Sir Stamford Raffles in founding this island
city with its wonderful harbor, where shipping from almost all parts of
the world congregates, making the active sights at the quay at once
novel and business-like. Indians, Sikhs, Malays, and other nationalities
are represented, but the Chinese perform all the menial labor required.
The coolie is a character,--patient, hard-working, uncomplaining,
supplying a demand throughout the Orient, made necessary, as we have
seen, by the indolence of the Burmese and of the Malays, to mention only
two examples.
Singapore is very gay in the season, and a centre for the wealth of the
Far East; indeed, sultans and nabobs consider it a veritable Paris.
The last morning of our stay, I went around in a jinrikisha, and my man
was as fleet as a horse. I had an experience trying to find so simple an
article as a paper of pins, visiting shop after shop. Evidently they
have not learned the ways of the American department store!
* * * * *
HONG-KONG: We sailed in the late afternoon on the steamer _Moltke_ for a
five days' voyage to Hong-Kong, with a feeling that we had experienced
no discomfort but much pleasure in the seemingly maligned city of
Singapore.
We passed the Strait of Malacca without any untoward excitement, and we
steamed along pleasantly with a group of passengers who looked well-bred
and agreeable; as time went on, our first impression of them was
corroborated. A delightful feature aboard was music every evening in the
salon, mostly singing. There was a service on Sunday, both for the
first-class and second-class passengers. We soon entered the China Sea,
which was to be our sole waterway to Hong-Kong, fifteen hundred miles
distant, or rather to the Straits of Formosa, which guard the China
Sea on the north, as the Strait of Malacca does on the south. We reached
port on the morning of March 20th, and the approach--past many islands,
along the fine harbor, with its high rocky shores, towering mountains in
the background, and a terraced city in the foreground--gave us a new
sensation. We landed at Kowloon and were taken across to Hong-Kong
(which, properly and legally speaking, is Victoria).
[Illustration: _A general view of Hong-Kong_]
[Illustration: _The public gardens in Hong-Kong_]
Fronting the landing is a long street of fine stone business houses,
which extend tier after tier from the shore and in a way represent the
city's commercial importance.
The Hong-Kong Hotel is situated in the business centre; although under
English management, the service was entirely Chinese, and at luncheon we
were confronted by an array of waiters with braids around their heads
and wearing long blue garments made like aprons; the ensemble was indeed
most depressing. The menu presented a curious feature, the courses being
numbered, and you were expected to point to the number, but woe to any
one who wished an egg boiled four minutes or a piece of rare roast!
Hong-Kong is on the north shore of the island, and dampness prevails
even when it does not rain (there is an unusual amount of rain); in
consequence, great care has to be observed by the residents, both of
their homes and clothing. Yet, notwithstanding this and other
disabilities, the English have made the island "blossom like a rose."
Engineering enterprise has converted the mountain-side into an
attractive residence centre. A railway leading to the Peak (the highest
point in the landscape) is not only a convenience, but a pleasure on
account of the magnificent view afforded along the ascent. A little
lower is an attractive Peak Hotel, which is popular with residents. At
every point on the heights there are features to impress one, as we
found the afternoon of our arrival, when we took jinrikishas to visit
Happy Valley, where are located the public garden and the Protestant
cemetery, which is also laid out like a park. The Catholic cemetery is
near by and has the same general features. Happy Valley is also the
scene for various sports, such as golf, tennis, croquet, and racing, in
which Hong-Kong abounds.
The afternoon of our visit, we walked about to various points, enjoying
the views, and commending the perfection which had been wrought since
1842, when China ceded the island to Great Britain. Realizing that
Hong-Kong was destined to be a world port, England some years since
leased a portion of the mainland from China for further harbor
facilities. This strip extends back thirty miles and is held for a
term of ninety-nine years. The city retains its former name, Kowloon,
but its business facilities are all under English management. The miles
of docks, warehouses, shipyards, and machine shops are another proof of
the wisdom and forethought with which Great Britain carries out her
plans for colonizing alien places.
[Illustration: _A typical street in a Chinese city_]