Southeast Asia (9/13) – Wats in Bangkok

A wat is a Thai Buddhist temple. As the capital of a 93%-Buddhist country, Bangkok has a lot of impressive wats. We visited the four most famous ones.

Wat Phra Kaew & the Grand Palace

The Grand Palace sits by the river and has been the center of the current Thai dynasty. It’s the top tourist attraction in Bangkok, and comes with a 500-baht admission versus the 50 baht to enter most other places. The predominant reason anyone visits the palace, though, is to see Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) within the palace grounds.

Emerald Buddha has utmost significance in the religion and history of Thailand, and may be the #1 sacred thing in the kingdom. To an outsider, though, it’s as visually as impressive as the Mona Lisa – you pay your respects, and move on. The temple built to house it, on the other hand, is absolutely stunning. I can’t decide if my favorite part is the shiny tiled exteriors, or the endlessly detailed mural of Ramakien.

For anyone visiting Thailand, I’d recommend reading up on Ramayana (a major Hindu epic), Ramakien (the Thai version of the story), and/or Khon (the play based on the story). All decorative elements in this temple, sculptures in the airport, souvenir store trinkets, and even facial masks sold at 7-Eleven all have references to this story and its major characters.

Wat Phra Kaew

Ramakien mural

Selfie in front of the palace part of Grand Palace

Wat Pho

Wat Pho is the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. It’s known for a large Buddha image lying sideways, and its traditional massage school. You gotta pay your respects, but I don’t think this is the most photogenic of temples. The Buddha image was large for sure, but the tight enclosure made the experience a bit odd. We did find a bunch of yoga (?) statues throughout the temple grounds, though, and we had fun with our “Wat Pho Challenge”.

The reclining Buddha

Wat Pho Challenge #1

Wat Pho Challenge #2

Wat Pho Challenge #3

Wat Pho Challenge #4

Wat Pho Challenge #5

Wat Pho Challenge #6

Wat Saket & the Golden Mount

Wat Saket is famous for being on a hill and having panoramic views of the city. Its history is a bit grim, with the location originally being a dumping ground of sick & dead people during an epidemic, and many were buried directly beneath that hill. The temple looks very nice from afar.

Golden selfie

View of Wat Suthat from the top of the Golden Mount

Chicken on the temple grounds

Wat Arun

Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn, is named after the HIndu god Aruna. It sits on the Thonburi (west) side of the river, directly across from Wat Pho. In its prior life, King Taksin housed the Emerald Buddha here. While not as shiny as the other Bangkok temples that we visited, this temple is very impressive with its massive chedis.

Residential houses and a canal, steps from Wat Arun’s entrance