wat arun bangkok Travel Guide
Wat Mangkon Kamalawat - Wat Leng Nee Yee Bangkok Thailand
Also called Wat Leng Noi Yi and wat mangkon kamalawat, this “Dragon Flower Temple”is the most spectacular temple in Chinatown. It was founded in 1871 and has since become one of the most venerated sites for the Chinese of Thailand.
Above the imposing gateway is a ninestory tower which serves as a Museum of Religious
Artifacts, not yet open to the public. Inside the spacious courtyard stands an ld vegetarian hall and a traditional medicine shop where cures are prescribed by the Chinese god of medicine.
The central complex is divided into several vi ams. The dominating hall features three gild ed Buddhas draped with saffron obes and flanked by gilded statues of the 18 arahats. Also located in the entral chamber is a fat Maitreya Buddha (the final Buddha before the estruction of the world), six Dharmapala figures found in every large Chinese emple, and the Four Heavenly Kings, Hindu deities converted to Buddhism. To the ight is another hall with im ages of Taoist Star Deities who heal all illness s; to the left are statues of Taoist patriarchs and the founderabbot of the emple. The ex treme left has a small but beautiful garden and vegetarian hall illed with elaborately carved furniture. Services are held daily at 1600.
Golden Buddha - Wat Traimit Bangkok Thailand
Wat Traimit, better known as the “Temple of the Golden Buddha,” is one of
Bangkok’s most popular attractions and home of the world’s largest golden Buddha. The gloaming Buddha deserves a brief look, but be forewarned: the image itself has little (if any) artistic value, and the entire complex has sadly disintegrated into a tawdry tourist trap, filled with pleading touts and barking escorts who herd around busloads of cameratoting tourists.
However, the history of the Buddha is worth recounting. According to local accounts, the threemeter statue once sat neglected and unloved in Wat Chotinaram, a disused temple in the business quarter of Bangkok. No one real ized its true value since the Sukothaiera image had long been sealed in stucco to protect it from Burmese invaders. In 1953 the East Astatic Company purchased the land and took over the premises. The Buddha was first moved to a temporary building, and later transferred in 1955 to Wat Traimit. During the process, workers dropped it from a crane and cracked its plaster skin. A heavy rainstorm that night further weak ened the covering. The following morning, a resident abbot noticed a metallic glow emanat ing from the crack and ordered the
protective shell peeled back. Underneath the stucco fa cade lay a 5.5ton golden image.
Local abbots claim the Buddha is 90% pure gold, though scientific easurements have never been made. To the left of the statue is a piece of riginal stucco covenng. Wat
Traimit is open daily 0830-1700. Free to visit
Wat Pathom Kongka
This unassuming temple, once known as Wat Sampeng, was
constructed during the Ayuthaya Period and so predates the founding of Bangkok
by nearly a centliry. One of the oldest wats in Bangkok, Wat Pathom Kongka
served as an execution ground for nobles convicted of state crimes. Today,
you’re more likely to find tradi tional Chinese funerals in the open pavilions
outside the cloistered courtyard. The temple compound is split by Songwat Road.
The main chapel with its bai sema stones enclosed in Cambodianstyle huts and
viham surrounded by cement stupas lie close to the Chao Praya River. The monks’
quarters and religious schools are on the other side of the road