Our first stop was Wat Pho, the temple of the Reclining Buddha, a massive 140 foot long golden statue of Buddha reclining on his side. The walls of the building were painted from top to bottom with murals and the constant ringing of clinking metal filled the room giving the impression of metallic popcorn popping. As we rounded the long statue we could see small bronze bowls along the full length of the back wall. For a small charge patrons could purchase a small bowl of tiny coins to be dropped one at a time in each of the larger bowl along the wall creating the sound we were hearing. The complex was a maze of intricately designed buildings and smaller temples containing over a thousand statues of Buddha. At every turn was a donation box to keep Buddha and his grounds cleaned and well groomed.
Next stop was the Grand Palace, a complex of buildings at the heart of Bangkok, Thailand. The palace has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam (and later Thailand) since 1782. The king, his court and his royal government were based on the grounds of the palace until 1925 when they moved but the Grand Palace is still used for official events. There were several large temples on the complex and people were lined up offering gifts to the Buddha and other statues. What struck me the most was in one certain offering area there were a choice of several things, such as flowers, incense and various foods, that could be purchased and then immediately laid on the altar. To keep piles from accumulating a caretaker would remove them allowing more to be offered. It was a never ending cycle. I thought it odd to pay money for something as an offering and then watch it being removed and tossed into a box. It seemed rather pointless.
Our final temple was Wat Arun, Temple of the Dawn. It is well known for its unique look, and is the temple that makes the background for our blog. To get to it we had to pass through 1000 street venders and take a ferry across the river. The river itself is a hive of activity. Boats of every size and shape make their way up and down the channel and although it is very large, it's like playing the video game frogger to get from one side to the next.
The Wat Arun temple basically consists of five tall spires. The middle one is the largest and the only one that can be climbed, at least by tourists. The ascent was extremely steep and climbing from one level to the next was like an aerobic workout. My shoes were about 3" longer than the depth of the step and they must have been about 12" high. The upper level, for those brave enough to risk it, was half way up the spire and offered an amazing view of the river and the Bangkok skyline. The descent was precarious and downright scary. It was quite amusing watching others expressing their alarm when attempting to go down. I watched as one middle aged Chinese lady was walking along chatting to a friend in Chinese, and when they got to the stairs and looked down, her face went pale as she exclaimed in English "Oh My God!" Has that phrase become a universal expression of alarm? Haha!
After we reached the bottom, our driver took us to a local restaurant. It was cheap and tasty. Before heading back to the hotel we again had to maneuver through the sea of vendors. We kept spying items that we thought so and so back home would like but at this point our bags were so packed we couldn't manage anything else. But it was fun to bring our friends and family with us on our trip if only in thought and conversation. Our driver was better than could be hoped for. He was helpful, informative and interesting. It was a good day but oh were our feet tired from all the walking and climbing. I can't help but wonder why so many of the statues of Buddha depict him as being fat with all those stairs to climb.
Andrea and I finally got with the program and got to your blog. How fun! I look forward to taking breaks from the bizzy bizzy to savor your posts.
ReplyDeleteHugs and thanks for the vicarious vacation!
DnA