wat traimit bangkok Travel Guide
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
