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I make a show of squinting my entire face so as not to look.
With a chuckle, Logan leads me ahead. “All right, smartass, you can look now.”
My jaw drops when I open my eyes.
I’m transported back into the cathedral-like atrium of the temple we entered in the lost city. But with better lighting. I stare stupefied at the twin rows of shiny pillars lining the room.
“Are these real?” I ask Logan, touching one.
“No, just a replication.”
Under my fingertips, I recognize the feel of paper mâché, painted gold to shine.
“But the statues are real,” Logan adds, giving a chin nod to the back of the room.
Garuda, the winged man, Yasha, the fierce warrior, and Mock, the monkey god of justice, greet me like old friends.
“You had them brought here all the way from the jungle?”
“It was quite a feat.”
We walk over to the colossi. My first instinct would’ve been to touch the middle statue, but they’re all picketed within a circle of red rope to prevent me and other tourists from doing just that.
“Why bring them to Bangkok?”
“The jungle site is too remote for most people to visit.”
I scoff at that. “Yeah.”
“The government has decided to make this a permanent expo and showcase as much of the treasure as possible.”
“Is Buddha here, too?”
“Next room.” Logan beckons me forward.
In the museum, we don’t have to navigate a narrow, dark passageway to reach the reclining Buddha, just cross into the next room, which, once again, is an almost exact replica of the second chamber we discovered in the temple, down to the entrance to the secret passage and the slab of stone blocking it.
I laugh at that. “Don’t tell me the patrons will have to search for the switch to move forward.”
Logan grins. “Tour guides will show them the arcane, but we wanted to make the experience as realistic as possible.”
With the enthusiasm of a kid let loose in Disney World, I press the carved disk identical to the one that lifted the stone door in the real temple. The faux stone slab rises in the same way, and we gain access to the treasure chamber.
The wooden boxes that used to contain the gold sit behind a protective glass display, even the one Smith mauled. A few coins are also displayed in a separate glass case. Similarly, the stone chests that held the diamonds and rubies are in their nook, empty of the gems. Only the pictures I took of the precious stones are exposed.
I’m about to ask where the gems will be kept when my attention is drawn to a waist-high column in the middle of the room covered by a square glass dome.
“What is this?” I peek inside to find a gorgeous gold ring with a blue stone set in its center.
Logan comes behind me, dropping his hands on my shoulders and his chin on the top of my head. “Do you like it? The blue reminded me of the color of your eyes.”
“Yes, it’s beautiful.” I stare at the ring mesmerized, then frown. “Wait, I don’t remember any jewelry from the temple? Did you find this somewhere else?”
Logan ignores my question and moves next to the display. “Would you like to try it on?”
He already has a hand on the glass, ready to lift it when I stop him. “Wait! Are you crazy? We can’t touch museum property.”
“This we can.”
