SEA Field Trip: Bangkok's Temples Say Wat?
6/23/2008 at 4:15 PM
Tags: Southest Asia Travel, Southeast Asia Field Trip, Temples (all tags)
Can't afford a European vacation this summer? Do what our contributor Claire Duffett did: Explore Southeast Asia instead.
A 20-minute ferry ride up the Chao Phraya River from downtown Bangkok, you'll find a boatload of temples in the Phra Nakorn district. Motoring upriver, there's the old capital on the left bank and on the right bank, the wats and temples inside The Royal Palace, built in 1782. Each building vies for the title of the most ornate, gold-encrusted, bejeweled homage to the man formerly known as Siddhartha Gautama.
The Grand Palace's Wat Phra Kaew houses the Emerald Buddha, who sits atop a coiled serpent. Nearby, Wat Pho houses the largest reclining Buddha in Thailand. He lays on his side, relaxed, waiting for his shuttle to Nirvana. At more than 150 feet long, the reclining Buddha barely fits inside the building, and the tip of his headdress nearly scrapes the gold-plated ceiling.
Tourists, many of them fellow Buddhists from India, drop coins into the 108 jugs lining the temple walls.
The best, most indulgent tourist perk at Wat Pho? Inside one temple, masseurs rub weary travelers using traditional Thai techniques. Pay about $6 for a half-hour session inside the softly-lit, air-conditioned room, and finish off with a complimentary cup of apple juice. Talk about Nirvana...
Related Stories:
· Bangkok Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Southeast Asia Field Trip [Jaunted]
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