A day spent visiting some of Bangkok's most famous and picturesque wats (temples).
We spent our first full day exploring three of Bangkok's most famous temples (wats). Our temple tour began with a stop at the Grand Palace, perhaps Bangkok's most famous attraction. The sheer grandness of the palace grounds was almost overwhelming and the strict palace dress code and scorching heat only made the long day ahead of us seem that much more daunting. It was here that I realized how grateful I was for our questionable decision to purchase Thailand's quintessential fisherman pants, or as we like to call them friendship pants, the night before! Once inside the Palace Grounds, the beauty and ornate details of the temples immediately makes even the faintest of heart forget about the scorching heat. The traditional Thai architecture was truly breathtaking, adorned with colorful tiles and gold, it was plain to see why the Grand Palace once served as the residence for Thailand's past Kings.
The temple tour continued as we made our way over to Wat Pho, a Buddhist temple conveniently located down the road from the Grand Palace. This temple, most famous for the image of a giant reclining Buddha, is surrounded by intricately designed chedis (stupas) and monastery halls. If you have time, I would recommend exploring the outer temple grounds as they are rather peaceful and enjoyable. It's apparent that most of the visitors only stop here to see the reclining Buddha, as that hallway was the only one packed full of visitors. Standing at 15 meters in height and 45 meters long, the reclining Buddha is a definite must-see for Bangkok travelers. Also located in this hallway are 108 bronze bowls, lining the length of the hallway. These 108 bowls represent the 108 auspicious characters of Buddha. For 20 Baht (~$0.65 USD) you can purchase a bowl of coins, dropping the coins into each of the 108 bowls. It is believed that this will bring you good fortune and help the monks maintain the temple.
Our final stop of the day, Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn), sits across the Chao Phraya River from the Grand Palace and Wat Pho. It is accessible by taxi boat, costing only 3 baht ($0.10USD) per trip. The main feature of this temple is a central tower, with two flights of stairs leading to an upper walkway. The stairs are rather steep so if you're scared of heights, then hold on tight and don't look down. I found the amazing views from the top platform to be well worth the climb, you can even get a glimpse of the Grand Palace grounds from across the river.
Having completed our full day of temple tours, we made our way back to Penpark place via a tuk-tuk. I'm not quite sure how we managed to squeeze five people into the tiny vehicle, but I'm really glad that we all got to experience our first tuk-tuk ride together! Whizzing through the streets of Bangkok and squeezing through lanes of traffic, we thankfully made it back to our hostel safe and sound! We ended our adventure filled day relaxing near the river, satisfying our starving stomachs with some delicious Thai food!
The temple tour continued as we made our way over to Wat Pho, a Buddhist temple conveniently located down the road from the Grand Palace. This temple, most famous for the image of a giant reclining Buddha, is surrounded by intricately designed chedis (stupas) and monastery halls. If you have time, I would recommend exploring the outer temple grounds as they are rather peaceful and enjoyable. It's apparent that most of the visitors only stop here to see the reclining Buddha, as that hallway was the only one packed full of visitors. Standing at 15 meters in height and 45 meters long, the reclining Buddha is a definite must-see for Bangkok travelers. Also located in this hallway are 108 bronze bowls, lining the length of the hallway. These 108 bowls represent the 108 auspicious characters of Buddha. For 20 Baht (~$0.65 USD) you can purchase a bowl of coins, dropping the coins into each of the 108 bowls. It is believed that this will bring you good fortune and help the monks maintain the temple.
Our final stop of the day, Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn), sits across the Chao Phraya River from the Grand Palace and Wat Pho. It is accessible by taxi boat, costing only 3 baht ($0.10USD) per trip. The main feature of this temple is a central tower, with two flights of stairs leading to an upper walkway. The stairs are rather steep so if you're scared of heights, then hold on tight and don't look down. I found the amazing views from the top platform to be well worth the climb, you can even get a glimpse of the Grand Palace grounds from across the river.
Having completed our full day of temple tours, we made our way back to Penpark place via a tuk-tuk. I'm not quite sure how we managed to squeeze five people into the tiny vehicle, but I'm really glad that we all got to experience our first tuk-tuk ride together! Whizzing through the streets of Bangkok and squeezing through lanes of traffic, we thankfully made it back to our hostel safe and sound! We ended our adventure filled day relaxing near the river, satisfying our starving stomachs with some delicious Thai food!
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