Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Bangkok 2

Thanon Yauwarrat leads into the inner part of Old Siam- an area filled with historical wats (temples). Majestic Wat Pho, Wat Phra Kaew (Emerald Buddha), unique Wat Benchamabophit (Marble), Wat Phu Khao Thong (Golden Mount) and well crafted Wat Arun (Dawn) were some of the temples that we had visited. We also spared some times to visit one of the well "prayer-answering" Buddha- Temple of Black Buddha, not to pray, just to fill our curiosity. Arun Wat is a temple that located at the other side of Chao Phraya River. We took a ferry there, with the opportunity to witness the view of the great river in Thailand.

Our photo taken at a far corner of Wat Pho with magnificent pinnacles errect few hundreds feet into the sky behind us. Covering an area of 80,000 square meters, Wat Pho might be the largest temple complex in whole Thailand, which the temple being divided into several sections with their own unique designs (the pinnacles are in the middle section of the temple). The wat was built in 17th century during Ayutthaya days, long before the establishment of Bangkok as the capital of Thailand. Wat Pho is believed as the birth place for Thai massage.


A part of Wat Pho, displaying a great craftmanship in carving the roof of the building.

Photos above show the fine designs of Wat Pho.

Flanking another side of the royal palace, grand Wat Phra Kaew stand proudly, facing the passer by from the main road.

Wat Phu Khao Thong (Golden Mount) greets visitors with more than 300 spiral stairs. According to history, the wat was built by Rama IV on the foundation of a collaped temple more than a hundred years ago. Rama V, later add the relic of Buddha from India to the wat. We cannot see the golden part of the temple nearby as the part stationed at the top of the temple. We didn't take any photo of the golden temple, however, you can take a look on it in Wikipedia.

The narrow spiral staircase required good stamina to be conquered. The bells for each of the visitors to sound, in order to bring good fortune.

Great view on the top of the Golden Mount.

From Golden Mount, we took tut-tut to visit Wat Benchamabophit (Marble). The wat is not as significant as the previous temples, and it is located quite a distance away from old Siam. So, we won't recommend you to visit this temple, unless you really have nothing to do. We again took tut-tut from the wat to the ferry point at Chao Phraya River. From there, we took ferry to visit Arun Wat.

Wat Arun, Temple of the Dawn, more than 250 feet tall, located at the bank of the great river of Chao Phraya. Built in 1809, the structure stood as a hallmark of the reign of Rama III. The photo below shows a closer photo of the wat.

Every temple has its own opening hours, and not every temple will open all year round. So, our advice, please put the opening hours of the temples into consideration when you are putting up your itinarary.

The Royal Temple Ratchabophit of with a many golden decoratives.

From inner Old Siam area, we started our journey back to Hua Lampong around 5:30 pm, starting from Ratchabophit, through Thanon Chareon Krung. We grabbed the opportunity to visit the night market there. Well, our advice is, visit inner Old Siam area first and go to China Town later on your way back. In that way, you can visit the temples with your camera alone, without been bugged by the things that you bought from the market.


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