You may
wonder if all that
gold foil you see on statues and in temples in Bangkok is real. Yes, this
is real gold ranging in purity from 96.5 to 99.99 percent pure. It is an
extremely time consuming process to create gold foil that thin from the
original gold bars. Once the gold reaches the stage where it is thin
enough to be shipped to the Wats bamboo scissors are used to cut it into
small square pieces. Regular scissors are not used because the gold foil
sticks to the metal of the blades.
There are hundreds of wats in Bangkok. Some of the ones we have visited on trips to Bangkok are listed below.
Wat Phra Chetuphon or also called by the name
Wat Po
is home to the reclining Buddha. This is the oldest and biggest
temple in Bangkok - it is quite impressive and well worth your
time to visit it. There are colorful temples, tall spires and
ornate artwork everywhere! Upon close inspection you will find
that the colorful buildings, spires and statutes are decorated
with thousands of small pieces of colored glass. Colorful paint
is liberally applied to many of the statues.
The inside of Wat Po underwent a remodel including the reclining
Buddha itself as well as the wonderful detailed murals on the
walls inside. As a result when you visit this temple today
everything is in excellent shape. This Buddha was created from concrete and bricks and is covered with a layer of real gold. The feet of the reclining
Buddha are quite impressive - they are layered with mother of pearl. Also
spend some time looking at all the very detailed murals on the
walls as
hundreds of
these were painstakingly restored by very patient individuals. We have
visited this temple many times - several times during the actual
remodeling. We watched one of the workers work on a mural; it was almost
too painful to watch - his progress was excruciatingly slow. Also note
that if you arrive at this temple in the afternoon chances are the
ticket attendants will yell at you and say "5 minutes, 5 minutes to
closing" when in reality if you are there anytime in the early to mid
afternoon you are no where near their closing time. We asked the guards
why they say this and they say it is to try and get people to hurry up
and not wait around blocking the entrance!
Also note, that Wat Po is famous for their massage school for both
foreigners and Thais. You can come to Wat Po and pay for a massage. More
information is available here:
www.watpomassage.comEstimated visit time for entire
temple 60 minutes.
Wat Arun, a smallish temple located on the western side of the Chao Praya River, is
accessible via ferry boat from Wat Po directly across the river. There are many small local restaurants located along the wood planks that border the edge of this portion of the Chao Praya River. For authentic Thai
cuisine you can't beat some of these restaurants.
There are some excellent views of the Grand Palace and of Wat Po from Wat
Arun. You will certainly be attracted like a magnet
to a refrigerator to the tall tower, called Phra Prang, which is in the center of Wat
Arun. It is worth walking around this tower about 1/3 of the way up on the
concrete walkway. This tower is 243 feet tall and is decorated with thousands of little pieces of colorful porcelain.
Even though Wat Arun is also known as the "temple of the dawn" -
sunset is an excellent time to be here as there are not that many
crowds and its a peaceful time watching the sun set over the Chao
Praya river and Bangkok. Estimated
visit time 60 minutes.
The Royal Grand Palace
began construction in 1782 and is one of the main highlights in Bangkok. It is open from 8:30am to 3:30pm each day. The palace is bordered by four roads - Mahathat, Thai Wang, Sanam Chai, and Na Phra Lan. Completely surrounded by high walls on all four sides, the Grand Palace encompasses several acres and contains many buildings. It is located next to the Chao Praya River. Being one of the most recognizable landmarks in Bangkok it is easily characterized by its gleaming golden temples,
hundreds of spires, and brightly colored tile
roofs - most of which are a prominent orange color.
A couple of things you will want to be aware of: Only persons wearing long pants are allowed to enter the Palace grounds.
For many years you also needed to wear closed toe shoes but
recently this rule has been relaxed and you can now enter the
Grand Palace with sandals. If you do not have on the proper attire, you will be
need to change into the appropriate attire, although I found that these rules do not seem to apply to many of the local men who work in the palace. There is a changing room and and long pants
are available for use. In order to use this facility and the clothing you need to leave a passport or driver's license with the attendant. When you return the clothing the attendant will return your passport or driver's license.
Tickets to the Royal Palace are about 200 baht. You will be inspected for the proper clothing at the main gate. Be sure to pick up one of the very informative brochures available in several languages at the gate. This brochure provides a map inside and also describes in detail the history of the buildings and the palace.
Aside from the sheer impressiveness of the all the detailed gold and glasswork in the buildings (bring your sunglasses!) you will want to
visit the famous Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The Emerald Buddha (inappropriately named because it is actually made out of jade) was first found in the northern province of Chiang Rai in 1434. It was originally covered with plaster and when a priest saw some green coloration through the plaster, he mistakenly thought it was emerald, and the name has stuck through the centuries. The hall that contains this Buddha feels
intensely spiritual and is often well packed with throngs of people inside
and outside. The Emerald Buddha is set about 20 or 30 feet above the
floor on top of a gold throne. Inside will be people on their knees praying towards the Emerald Buddha. You will probably see many flowers, vegetables and other organic items that have been left here. Depending on the time of year (the
seasons - cold, warm & wet the Emerald Buddha will be clothed in different golden clothes.
All Royal clothes not being worn by The Emerald Buddha are found in the Royal Museum
located near the ticket gates (museum mentioned below).
When the seasons change, the King of Thailand is responsible for removing
the "old" clothes and replacing them with the current season's
attire. If the King is sick or unable to do this, usually his brother or
another member of the Royal Family will change the clothes.
One of the largest buildings in the Royal Grand Palace is the Chakri Maha Prasat Hall (Royal Throne Hall).
As you leave the main palace there will be an exit to the main courtyard
and the Chakri Maha Prasat Hall (Royal Throne Hall). Be sure you are
ready to leave as there are signs saying you are not allowed back into
the main palace once you exit to the main courtyard. Guards are on duty
here to make sure of this. Be sure to visit the Coronation Room - this
is where the world's longest reigning monarch, the King of Thailand was
coronated in 1946. Photography is not allowed in here. Nearby weapon
museum rooms are also available - some displaying very old weaponry and
worth visiting.
Notice the European influence in the lower two thirds of the Royal
Throne Hall - it was designed by a European architect in the 1880's. The
upper half contains several tall colorful spires. There are some very
nice bonsai trees growing in front of this building. In addition you
might want to consider taking your photo with one of the Thai Royal
Guards standing in front of this building. Sometimes I've even been able
to make them smile for the photo but more often then not, no matter what
I say, they retain that grim looking expressionless stare.
The Royal Museum
inside the Grand Palace walls is located just inside the Viseschaisri Gate. Walk straight past the clothing attendant on your right and in several hundred feet turn left (probably where most of the people are congregated). This is the ticket office. Immediately take a right through an
unassuming entrance into the Royal Gold Museum - sometimes you need a
ticket sometimes you do not (in any case one of the tickets purchased at
the main gate works for this museum). I suspect most tourists fly right by this
museum - I never saw this the first time I was at the museum - I wanted to get inside the
Royal Palace as quickly as possible.
This museum is well worth visiting - not to mention the air conditioning inside works quite well. The first floor contains gold, silver, bronze and copper coins and other memorabilia for sale. Upstairs is the heart of the museum. Hundreds and hundreds of ornate gold items from the royal family line the display cases.
Tour groups often visit this museum, so one minute a room might be full of people and then the next minute quite empty. The tour groups
tend to push there groups through quite rapidly, probably in anticipation of seeing the actual palace.
The Royal Museum recently opened a new wing which contains a great
collection of coins and other items historically used for money.
It is also interesting to note that Thai people can visit the Royal
Palace for free. In addition if you are a foreigner and you are with a
Thai person you may be granted free entry (but not always). More
information
and latest updates about the Royal Grand Palace can be found here:
www.palaces.thai.netEstimated
visit time for the Grand Palace and Museum is 180 minutes.
Wat Traimit is home to The Golden Buddha, the world's largest gold statue of a Buddha (about 800 years old). It weighs over 5.5 tons and is quite impressive. If it is crowded you may need to hold up your camera over your head in order to get a decent photograph. This wat is located close to the Hua Lampong Railway Station (the main train station in Bangkok).
If you know where to look there are faucets and hoses just off some
of the main paths leading into this
wat - these are a good source for splashing cold water on one's face and clothes. Also notice the neat trees in which the branches are thin and cordlike and hang almost to the ground level. Several of the vendors have tied some of
their goods to the ends of these branches. Be sure to pick up a free
brochure which describes the history of this great stature. Estimated visit time 30
minutes
Wat Intharawihan (Wat In for short) is home to the one of the world's tallest standing
Buddhas. The Buddha here is dressed in gold tiles that tower many feet above the ground. This is the
main attraction at this Wat - entry is by donation only. Wat In borders
Thanon Wisut Kasat and can be easily reached by walking from Khao San
Road. Estimated visit time 30 minutes.
Wat Sapatum Wanaram
is a great place to stop if
you are looking for some relaxation and quiet time after shopping in
many of the huge shopping complexes that surround this wat. It is the
temple of the King Rama the IV and is located between two major
shopping complexes, Siam Paragon and Central world.
Despite being located in the middle of this concrete jungle, once you
are in the Wat - its like being in a totally different world. You are
surrounded by trees and it is much quieter than the nearby roads. Look
for the elephants with long white tusks located on the grounds; they
often contain temporary decorations.
Wat Saket or "the golden mount temple" is located not far
from the Chao Praya River not far from all the main temple complexes. It
is situated on top of a small man-made hill and as a result from the top
of this temple you have excellent views of most of Bangkok in 360
degrees. What differentiates this temple from the others, is its hill
top location (over 300 steps need to be climbed to reach the Stupa) and
the sheer size and brilliance of the golden Stupa located in a small
courtyard on top of the temple.
There is a small
entry fee to enter the uppermost part of the temple. This area
becomes extremely crowded during National Holidays. Estimated visit time: 45 minutes
