Bangkok Part 2-Temples

As we drove around town we noticed there is very little car honking in Bangkok. This is quite different from our experience at home where honking is a favorite pastime. We also noticed the taxis are bright pink and license plates seem to be a variety of colors: turquoise, red and black.

Buddhist temples in Thailand are called wats. 95% of the country is Buddhist. We did see Buddhist monks walking around Bangkok and also saw a school for young men to take monk training. The school summer breaks had just started and many parents want their boys to take this training during summer breaks.

First stop was the Golden Buddha at the temple of Wat Traimit (Sukhothai Traimit). It’s the largest Golden Buddha image in the world. It is made of pure gold and is 12 feet 5 inches diameter and a height of 15 feet 9 inches. The Buddha weighs 5.5 tons and the current estimated value is around $250 million US.  It is believed to be around 700 years old, produced during the time of the Sukhothai Dynasty.

At some point the Buddha was completely encased in plaster stucco, painted and covered with pieces of colored glass to conceal it from invading enemies. It used to be located elsewhere so it wasn’t until 1955 when it was being moved to this location that the secret was revealed. A piece of the outer layer chipped off! Since then it has been treasured for it’s historical, artistic and cultural value. There was a lot of gold work in door panels, ceilings, arches in this temple.

Next we visited the Wat Phra Kaew (including the Emerald Buddha) and the Grand Palace. Wat Phra Kaew has a Golden Temple or chedis. Chedis is another term for a Buddhist stupa- typically a mound-like structure containing relics and used for meditation. We were told that each of the tiny (less than 1 inch square) gold leaf tiles is valued at about $1 US. We weren’t given a total but it must be worthy of, “Wow!” You can see the Golden Temple in the center of the first photo. The next photo is a close up of those gold leafed tiles.

These are figures around the base of the Golden Temple.

 A closeup.

There were all sorts of structures and statues all over. They all probably have huge significance but we didn’t learn all there was to know about them. We did learn that at one time everything used to be jewel encrusted. Now things are decorated with glass or substitute materials. There is a need for bling factor but there is not enough genuine stone for all the needs.

In one area there are murals covering the walls depicting the story of Ramakian. This is a similar story to that of Rama and Sinta (Sita) [even the names are the same] as told by the Indonesian Wayang plays. I've already discussed the story in a prior posting.

Housed in the main hall of Wat Phra Kaew is the Emerald Buddha. I was expecting something larger for sure. This is only 66 cm tall and isn’t actually emerald. It’s nephrite jade. Our guide explained that everything green and made of stone was often called emerald.  Nonetheless this small figure is important to Thailand’s religion and national identity. It was discovered in northern Thailand in the 15^th century. By decree, the Thai king climbs up and changes the “robes’ on the Buddha every season. Thailand has 3 seasons: hot, rainy, cool. You are not permitted to take photos inside the temple of the Emerald Buddha so you won’t see any here. I should mention, however, the Internet is full of photos claiming to be of this Buddha. The color of the jade seems to be all over the place (photo manipulation?) I asked if I would be permitted to take a photo of a poster of the seasonal costumes for the Buddha and was told it was ok. 

There are also golden statues of many Thai mythological figures in the courtyard. Here are the figures of Asurapaksi, Singhapanorn and Thepnorasignha.

The Palace was begun by King Rama I. Over time there was a lot of new construction and pauses in construction. I believe construction first began in 1782. The Thai royals lived in the Grand Palace until King Rama V moved the royal seat to Dusit. The Grand Palace has 72 rooms.

There is a strict dress code when visiting the temples: long pants/skirts and no sleeveless or tank type shirts. There must be sleeves. You can rent appropriate cover if necessary. There were guards to make sure everyone complied.

Inside the actual chapels you had to remove your shoes. At one spot you could grab a bag and carry your shoes with you. At most locations, you simply removed your shoes and left them side by side with hundreds of other shoes and hoped you could find them again after your visit. Note our shoes marked by black arrows.

Our guide told us the Thai people think taking another’s shoes is bad luck so theft of shoes doesn’t happen. It is ok to purchase used shoes, however. We saw several places selling previously owned shoes. There was one place that becomes a sidewalk garage sale in the evening and anyone can bring anything to sell- there were shoes for sale there.