At Hotel

　　Leaving Bang Pa-In Palace, we simply went back to Bangkok, but everything seen through the window was fun to me who was new to Bangkok. I was sorry that I wasn't able to even distinguish each Thai letter or alphabet. When entering into the city, I was surprised to see the evening heavy traffic jam. I thought that it was of crucial importance to see past my biases.
　　We got back to our hotel and unpacked my luggage. We were so busy in the morning. I informed the hotel staff about our situation, checked in our luggage only and jumped back in the car to chase the tour bus. We got together with our old friends who had lived for several years in Thailand.
　　There was a small pond? in the lobby, though I didn't know its name. Such a fixture is rare in Japan, though I often find them outside the building. Then, a lantern?, whose name I also didn't know, was floating on the water surface. I didn't understand what the lantern-like float meant at that time. To be continued.

(Vocabulary)
see past … ～を無視する、～に惑わされない

バン・パイン宮殿を出ると、あとはもうバンコク市内まで戻るだけなのだが、初めての土地なので窓から見える景色全てが興味深い。市内に入ると、車の多さ、渋滞に驚く。先入観に惑わされてはならないと思った。

さて、ホテルに戻り、やっと旅装を解く。何せ朝は大忙しだった。事情を話し荷物を預け、ツアーバスを追いかけたのだから。そしてロビーでタイで仕事をしている同級生二人と合流した。

ホテルのロビーに設置してあった小さな、何と呼べば良いのかわからないが、池？水槽に小さな灯籠が浮かんでいた。ロビーの外にあるなら不思議に思わないのだが、室内にこのような造作がしてあるのは珍しい。このときは何の感動もなかったのだが、約１時間後、そのわけがわかった。