We haven't been to Wat Arun for ages... I am not sure we have been there since they finished repairing and restoring it.
Anyway, here's a sunset shot from one of the many rooftop bars that are there purely for the purpose of capturing these shots.
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Wat Sri Suphan is also known as the silver temple, for obvious reasons. It is described (accurately) everywhere as one of Chiang Mai's more unusual temoples. It is a unique (I'd think) work of art built entirely by the skilled traditional workers from the local community and is a modern interpretation of traditional Lanna design. It was built built during the reign of King Mueang Kaeo of the Mangrai Dynasty in the 16th century between 1495 and 1525.
This is, as the name would suggest, as temple made of marble. To be precise, white Italian marble. It is one of the temples that crops up on the 'top places to visit' or 'most instaramgrable places' in Bangkok (When did instagramable become a word?).
Construction of the temple began in 1899 at the request of King Chulalongkorn after building his palace nearby. The temple's name literally means 'the Temple of the fifth King located near Dusit Palace'. The ashes of King Chulalongkorn are buried beneath the Buddha statue in the main hall. It is the temple on the obverse side of the 5 baht coin,
Wat Sutheat is one of the oldest and most important Buddhist temples in Bangkok. It is a royal temple of the first grade, one of ten such temples in Bangkok. As a Royal Temple it has a special reverence within the country. First built over 200 years ago during the reign of Rama I, huge teak doors were added by Rama II , before finally finishing construction in 1847 when Rama III ascended the throne.
Just outside the temple, in the middle of a roundabout is one of the symbols of Bangkok; A Giant Swing that was an integral part of the old annual rice harvest festivities when groups of men rode it to its full 80ft height, as they attempted to grab bags of silver coins. Unsurprisingly, a few too many fatalities put an end to the custom. The magnificent teak arch, however, is still standing and forms part of much safer thanksgiving ceremonies in the modern day. Although often described as being one of the most instagramable places in Bangkok, I found it massively uninspiring as a photography subject. The temple itself was a another matter...
The marble floor outside the temple, gives great reflections. I need to go back just after it's rained and see if I can get even more pronounced reflections. It is definitely one of Bangkok's quieter temples. I wouldn't say I had to myself, but there can't have been more than a handful of others there, including locals who come to pray. Outside the walls Bangkok rages in it's noisy busy-city was but it is very peaceful inside.
This is one of the more famous Wats in Bangkok and delights in the full name of Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan. The name is derived from the Godess of sunrise and a rough English translation is the Temple of the rising sun. It's central stupa has, for the last few years been shrouded in scaffolding and bamboo matting as repairs were completed. However a few weeks ago this was removed and it once again became a place to watch the sun go down.
There are a string of rooftop bars on the other side of the river from which to watch the sunset on the wat. Not sure we picked a good one though. Firstly, they wouldn't let me use my tripod. Others were using smaller tripods but my full size one was not allowed. All the other bars seemed to have no problem with them however. Also, we thought we were being clever getting a bar directly opposite the Wat. A better option would have been further westwards as we would have a better view of the light glinting off the mirrored mosaic tiles of the stupa. Next time!
This is an amazing temple, well actually a series of temples. I think it's really a monastery rather than a single temple. The one below is only open to males and is truly spectacular. The pictures don't really do justice to the amazing murals on the walls all the way around it.
Although some of the smaller stupas have a touch of the seen better days/jerry built about them, this is one of the more iconic sights/sites of Ayutthaya, with the three stupas all in a row and all still standing.
Built in the 15th century it was the temple complex for the adjacent Royal palace. It once was home to a 16m high seated Buddha. This statue was covered in 143kg of gold but, surprise surprise, it was nicked and melted down by the invading Burmese. This was getting to be hot work so time for an iced coffee and a cheeky piece of cake!
Ayuttaya is an hour away by train from Bangkok and it only cost 80 baht for the 4 of us to get there (Less than 2 quid!). Not each! In total! It cost more to get to the skytrain from our house than from Bangkok to Ayuttaya.
Ayuttaya is the former capital of Siam and, in its pomp was one of the wealthiest cities on the planet. The kingdom that it was the hub of was larger than Britain and France combined. Then, it all went a bit Pete Tong. The Burmese invaded and much that was valuable was carted off to Rangoon or just destroyed. The island that was the centre of the old city is now a series of ruined Wats which make a fantastic day or two of wandering. Having arrived and enjoyed a spot of lunch, it was off to explore. The first surprise was that, for the time being, entrance was free to everything. RESULT! Could be something to do with the death of the King, but whatever the reason, you don't look a g h in the m.
Wat Pho is remarkable. It has sprawling grounds dotted with stunning stupas (see future post) and the amazing reclining Buddha. This is Bangkok's oldest and largest wat. It is surprisingly quiet and peaceful for all that.
As regular readers will know I do love a nice Buddha statue and this is a goody.
Wat Traimit in the heart of Bangkok's China town is home to the worlds largest gold statue. A 3m high gleaming gold Buddha worth something in the 10s of millions in gold alone. |
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AuthorsWe are teachers and have worked in various schools in Europe & Asia. This is really a chronicle of out travels over the years. It is meant for us to look back on, reflect and remember where we've been, what we've done and all our little adventures. If you like it too, then fab! If you don't, do you think we care? Archives
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