A royal walkabout

While in Bangkok, between business commitments, we carved out half a day of sightseeing in Rattanakosin, one of the city’s most historic precincts. Established in 1782 when King Rama I transferred the capital from Thonburi to the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River, this district is most notable for the imposing Grand Palace and iconic royal temples like Wat Pho.

Our walking tour of Rattanakosin began with a short walk from Sam Yot station to Wat Suthat Thep Wararam Ratchaworamahawihan. It's an ornate 19th-century Buddhist temple renowned for its 20-metre red teak Giant Swing and an eight-metre bronze Buddha. As we approached the complex, a friendly local encouraged us to step through a side gate that took us through immaculately white-painted rows of housing used by the temple monks.

We removed our shoes and walked through the Ubosot of Wat Suthat. An ubosot is an ordination hall used for rituals on Buddhist sabbath days. This ubosot is said to be the longest in Thailand. It’s home to a seated Buddha silently worshipped by rows of ceramic monks. The inner walls of the ubosot are covered in detailed murals painted by craftsmen during the reign of King Rama III. The overlook effect is magnificent. However, the highlight for me was a row of fans by the entrance pumping out a refreshing breeze.

We then visited the main temple, a soaring white collonaded building surrounded by an inner courtyard encircled by a covered atrium. Inside sits another dramatic seated Buddha, and more incredibly ornate mural-clad walls. Here’s where we broke from tourist tradition and skipped a viewing of the Giant Swing. We decided that images of two crimson poles just weren’t worth the effort.

Instead, we walked 500 metres to Wat Ratchabophit Sathitmahasimaram Ratchaworawihan (please don’t ask me to pronounce these names!). In keeping with tradition, each Thai monarch constructs a temple within the complex marking his reign. The result is a series of temples reflecting the architectural influences of each royal era.

The complex was very photogenic, and we had it largely to ourselves.  However, I feel we'd have gained a lot more from our visit had we employed the services of a local guide or had access to a reliable guidebook. For now, I'll let my photos do the talking.

Another 700-metre walk led us to Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajwaramahawihan, commonly known as Wat Pho, or the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. The temple complex houses the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand, including a huge 46 m long reclining Buddha.

We spent more than an hour exploring Wat Pho. Our first stop was the ubosot, and its equally impressive Buddha seated high on an ornately clad tiered podium. It was then on to Phra Maha Chedi Si Rajakarn, an outdoor arena dominated by four incredibly ornate stupas. These 42-metre-high towers are dedicated to the first four Chakri kings of Thailand. Each is clad in ornate ceramic tiles, themed with a different colour palette. My photos don’t do them justice.

Our final stop in the complex was Viharn Phranorn, the hall that houses the temple’s famous reclining Buddha. Let’s just say this thing is huge! The figure is 15 metres high and 46 metres long. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of this Buddha is its feet. The soles are 3 metres high and 4.5 metres long and inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Garry and I patiently queued with other Instagram fanatics to capture its iconic perspective.

The far side of the hall was lined with 108 large brass bowls. Visitors fill these with alms for the temple monks. You buy a bag of small-value coins and then walk the line of bowls, dropping a coin in each. The practice is said to bring good luck to the donor. 108 is an auspicious number in Buddhism, so 108 bowls should improve your chances of good fortune. We saw these bowls in every temple. The sound of clattering coins was always incredibly mesmerising.

I was keen to give the royal bowl a go. However, the monk staffing the coin desk displayed a sign advising that there was no change when you paid for your coins.  I only had large Baht notes with me.  As much as I loved the concept, I wasn't keen to donate five times the value of the coin bags available for purchase. Sadly, there's no luck coming my way this year. 

We then finished our visit with a walk through the royal throne room and the nearby Crocodile Pond, an outdoor garden that once housed the royal crocodile. Sadly, the pond is now free of predatory reptiles. We decided to give the remaining grounds of the Royal Palace a miss and walked to the Chao Phraya River, where we caught a ferry across to Wat Arun, more commonly known as the Temple of Dawn.

This iconic complex on the river’s western bank is among the best-known of Thailand's landmarks. Its most prominent feature is a central tower, or prang, encrusted from top to bottom in colourful porcelain. This pagoda-like structure rises 86 metres above the surrounding complex. The prang is surrounded by four smaller satellite prangs, each equally ornately decorated.

Garry and I were amused by one popular tourist activity here. Apparently, the thing to do here is dress in traditional costume and have your photograph taken at spectacular viewpoints around the complex. We saw couples everywhere modelling their best outfits. Later, after leaving the complex, we stumbled upon an entire street of costume vendors and costume rental stores touting these outfits.

In case you're wondering, we didn't rent a costume. Honestly, the humidity was extreme. We were dripping in sweat, wearing shorts and a T-shirt. The thought of piling on ornate robes, pants and headgear wasn't the least bit appealing.

We spent almost an hour wandering the grounds, climbing steep stairs on the prangs, and exploring narrow marble-clad tiers offering spectacular views of the complex and bustling river below. Garry also took time out to receive a special blessing from a local monk. The experience clearly moved him as kept the charm bracelet the monk tied onto his wrist for the remainder of our time in Thailand.

It was a lovely way to finish our walking tour of Bangkok’s royal district. We then tried to find the river pier to catch a ferry home. However, we discovered that Google Maps wasn’t our friend. We ended up taking a sweaty, 15-minute walk to the nearest metro station after our recommended route led us straight to the security gate of a military base. Definitely not a shortcut we were keen to try.

By the time we reached our hotel, we’d walked almost 5km. I can confidently say that I’ve now seen the best of Bangkok. It’s taken me nine years to finally explore the city after our failed attempt nine years ago. I really enjoyed our time in Thailand. The food was awesome, and the sights were unique. I’ve seen plenty of Buddhist temples over the years in India, China and Japan. However, none compared to those we saw in Thailand. It was well worth the wait!

Hidden Bangkok

Garry’s decided to extend his time in Thailand. He’s booked a two week fitness and well being retreat in Koh Samui. As a result, I found myself alone in Bangkok for a night before flying home. Even better, I’d already cashed in some Amex loyalty points and booked us into the spectacular Peninsula Hotel, overlooking the Chao Phraya River.

I decided to fill my final hours in Bangkok with a few traditional Thai experiences. First, shortly after arriving at the hotel, I booked a 90-minute traditional Thai massage at the hotel spa. Our room booking included a USD100 in-house voucher which instantly made the indulgence more affordable.

For the next hour and half I had the most dainty Thai woman pummel, stretch and knead my limbs and knotted muscles into submission. It was an extraordinary workout that reminded me just how much tension I’ve carried for the last year or so.

The following morning I booked a small boat “hidden canal” tour. This involved a two hour cruise through some of Bangkok’s oldest canals watching the locals go about daily life. There were only three of us on the tour, plus our guide, making for a wonderfully relaxed excursion.

Our guide explained that local temples owned much of the land along the canal. As a result, people living there rarely owned a title to their home or the land it resided on. Likewise, privately owned tracts were expensive to buy and maintain. He explained that access to a site was generally by water. This meant that you had build a home and a pier, buy a boat, rent space for your boat at a land-side pier and purchase a land-side lot to house a car.

We made one stop for half an hour to explore the grounds of the colourful Wat Khuhasawan Worawiharn temple complex, and wander laneways in the surrounding “artist’s village”. However, unexpected highlights of our tour were the catfish, literally dozens of them, enjoying the morning sun in a side canal, plus numerous metre-long water monitors swimming across the canal. 

Our tour carried on past Wat Paknam Phasi Charoen, famous for its giant golden bronze Buddha statue, and the neighbouring Wat Khun Chan, with its own giant gilded Buddha and other oversized deities. Wat Paknam Phasi Charoen is currently in the final stages of restoring its iconic 69 metre high Buddha. As a result, his body below the shoulders was still hidden from view by scaffolding. However, the partially covered statue was still an impressive sight.

Wat Khun Chan was an unexpected highlight. Its more modest Buddha (a mere 32 metres high) sits on a trio of giant white elephants. It’s also one of three towering statue within the temple complex. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Buddha posed atop an elephant. Interestingly, it was built in 1927, unlike its larger neighbour which was only completed in 2017.

Our tour concluded with a short ride up the Chao Phraya River, past the iconic Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan. I then caught a local ferry boat back down the river to Iconsiam, a massive multi-storey mall complex. Plenty of Prada handbags on offer, along with a myriad of other designer wares.

In the photo below, the white building is the Peninsula Hotel. My room is four floors from the top in the dark band of windows that’s second from the right. As you can it offers an uninterrupted view of the river. I’ve been watching long barges (controlled by a tugboat at either end), ferries and tour boats darting around all morning.