Wat Arun, or Temple of Dawn, is located on the west riverbank right across from the temples in the previous post, which are on the east bank. It’s beautiful at any time of day, and if you find yourself in Bangkok, don’t miss the Amorosa Restaurant Bar at the Arun Residence in the old city, which provides unblemished views of the temple at sunset. Built in the days of Ayuthaya Kingdom, Wat Arun preceeds the days when Bangkok became capital of Siam/Thailand. Formerly, the Chinese community centered on the west bank, which may explain the many Chinese motifs of the temple. For instance, it’s covered in a mosaic of seashells and porcelain pieces, which came from the ballasts of ships that sailed from China to Bangkok, and Chinese soldiers and animals surround the bases of the prangs (a Khmer-style tower). The trident at the top of the central prang is the Trident of Shiva. All religions and cultures unite at this singularly phallic-looking temple…
Wat Arun, as seen from Amorosa…. aka, having fun with the restaurant table top
Wat Arun and the Pickle Ad – If you haven’t tried Rick’s Picks Pickles (available at your local Whole Food’s)… well, you should get in the car and GO. They are the darnedest best tasting things this side of anywhere, and come in delectable flavors like Smokra (hot okra), Windy Wasabeans (long beans, with wasabi), and Phat Beets. At $7/jar, they are pricey, but worth every drop, and you can reuse the brine. Whenever we take a trip to the U.S., we make sure to buy enough jars to last us till the next trip. Anyways, such is our devotion, that we decided to take a jar of Smokra to Wat Arun for the company’s very first (and unsolicited) photo ad shoot in Bangkok. We wrote Rick to let him know…but alas he showed no interest in our pickle pictures.
Hi, Honey,
I finally understand the view of the temple of dawn, namely, the reflection of the temple is created by your dinning table! What a wonderful scene.
Qiusha