Wat Pho – Reclining Buddha
Sometimes, Bangkok really gets me down. It’s congested, polluted, stinky, rude, ugly, and LOUD. It’s bad enough to make you want to give up on the city and move somewhere that hasn’t been totally wrecked, like Wyoming, say. But, sometimes, the city redeems itself. On Thursday, we went to a sneak preview of the Pattaya International Choir Festival, and heard Polish, Czech and Thai choirs perform traditional folk songs, as well as an interesting rendition of Ride the Chariot, that famous black gospel song. Friday found us at the Goethe Institute listening to young Thais perform classical guitar and cello solos. (The cellist chose a 6-part Bach piece and people were quite ready to clap by part 3). Next door was a gem of a German restaurant called Ratsstube that served up delicious beef goulash and French onion soup. So urban jungles can be a real pain in the ass, but sometimes they throw you a bone or two to make you stick around.
In this vein, I thought I’d share a series of photos on the temples of Bangkok, one of the few places in the cities where you have space to walk, relatively clean air to breathe, don’t have to buy anything, and if there’s no renovations ongoing, some peace and quiet. Ignoring the gaudy temples and palaces done in a Thai baroque of gold, red, green, blue and mirrors, there are some quite lovely and beautiful temples in the city.
Wat Pho – known for its gigantic reclining Buddha. One or another version of this statue is featured in The Beach with Leo DiCaprio, which is an otherwise noteless movie.
Loha Prasat in Wat Ratchanada – This is my all-time favorite in the city. Inside, you climb a spiral staircase in the center, as floor after floor of concentric hallways reveal themselves. There’s nothing inside the building really, just a lot of balconies, doorways, windows, and beautifully framed views.
Wat Bowoniwet, Wat Mahathat, Golden Mount - a walk through the Old City reveals a number of charming and well-used temples.
