Tag Archives: temple

Wat Saket is something special. I can’t explain it, only feel it.

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Wat Saket dates back to the 1700’s and has an iconic structure named Golden Mount. This man made mountain has a winding staircase up to the prayer hall where followers can offer prayers, flowers and ask for divine guidance. Climbing up the very narrow and steep stair case to the roof is where you’ll find the golden stupa. The views and statues are really soothing to look at and when the breeze blows through, it feels refreshing and the dinging of all the wind chimes, adds to the ambiance nicely. Although it’s quite spectacular, the rest of the complex is really peaceful and serene too. If you want to see more photos of Golden Mount, you can check out my post HERE. If you need directions on how to get to Wat Saket / Golden Mount via public transport, I posted about that HERE. If you need a break on the way up, there’s a coffee shop on the way up I didn’t have time so I passed, it looks nice though!

I visited Wat Saket 2 days in a row because there was so much going on. It was Loy Krathong, the yearly week long festival (my post about it HERE). With all the festivities going on, I didn’t get any opportunities to get any pictures of the serene feeling premises. Maybe next time. Navigating was somewhat difficult as well because crowds got really big at times and not only were some entrances concealed by the crowds but once you’re in the mass, you really can’t go anywhere except with the flow of the mass. I actually had no idea where I was going and walked around the complex twice before actually getting to see any of the religious statues and things. Some buildings were closed when I got around to them and some I found totally by accident. Meaning I saw a bunch of people moving into something so I just went too. That’s how I found the starting stair case to get up to Golden Mount as well as a cave.

The man made cave houses a giant standing Buddha statue, that looks like it’s carved into the cave and smaller, free standing Terracotta like Buddha statues. Also within the cave are some pieces of really old looking paper with writing on it, but I couldn’t read it, looks important, though.

There is also cemetery that is part of the base of Golden Mount which doesn’t look creepy or anything and you’d probably pass it by not knowing it was a cemetery but look closely and you’ll see. What’s creepy, I think, is that I’m sure I took multiple pictures with my camera’s yet I can’t find any of the cemetery photos on any of them. What do you make of that? Anyways, there’s also a museum on the premises, with some more Buddha statues and history, if you’re interested in that. It was closed by the time I found it.

Then there’s the vultures. If I had not strayed off the path leading down from Golden Mount, I would have totally missed the scene commemorating those that perished from the cholera outbreak. This scene is known as the vulture scene. I took a picture of the commemorative plaque so you can have a read if you’re so inclined.

There’s also a few Buddha statues in enclaves that you can offer prayers too around this area. The main prayer hall isn’t that large but the plaza in front is quite spacious, providing plenty of space for worshipers to pray in front of the Buddha statue that is outside the hall. There’s an even bigger Buddha statue inside the hall. I didn’t get to see everything even though I went twice. I think, during non festive times, you could see it all in 3-4 hours if you’re just walking through. I’ll include a premises map so you can plan your trip 😎

I missed this whole section behind the building in the above photo, it may not even be part of Wat Saket (I think because it’s named a bit different) but it’s accessible from Wat Saket until closing time when the close the entry/exit gates. I think the people having a picnic beside red sign hopped the fence to get in because I didn’t see a way to get in there, lol.

Out of all the wats I’ve visited in Bangkok, Wat Saket is the one that resonated most with me. I “felt” something there, neither good nor bad, just something and for me that’s special. I later learned that there are Buddha relics (Buddha’s Teeth) at Golden Mount, enshrined in the golden stupa and enshrined in the 4 gold leafed statues in the circular shrine. If you need to satisfy your spiritual hunger and only have time to visit one wat in Bangkok, I would highly suggest Wat Saket over the more “touristy” wats. That’s my opinion, don’t roast me for it. 😃

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Wat Arun an experience to remember

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Wat Arun is easily amongst the top 3 of must visit wats in Bangkok, Thailand. Is it worth the hype? Depends on what you’re going there for, in my opinion. Let me explain in more detail in this post but first if you fancy getting here via public transport (as opposed to taking a taxi, Grab or tuk tuk) check out my post HERE.

Wat Arun has arguably one of the most iconic Thai structures and the complex dates back to the 1800’S. The cost for admission to Wat Arun was $50 Baht. Relatively inexpensive, right? Well, it’s probably because you’re only paying to get access to the Prangs, which are the spire/pyramid looking structures, the rest of the wat complex is free . At first, I thought the main spire was a chedi/stupa. I’m not entirely sure what the difference between a prang, chedi or stupa is, only that a chedi or stupa usually houses and a relic/artifact. So I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t a relic on the premises (that I could find or was aware of). Once you pay the entrance fee, you can choose to walk around the spire platform or you can head up the 5 or 6 steps to get onto the platform that the spires are built on. I then took a walk around the platform in between the central spire and the four smaller ones before heading up onto the central spire’s platform using the really steep stairs that have no hand rails. While walking around the central spire, you’ll find more really steep stairs going even further up, but sadly they are closed to the public.

All the spires are covered in mosaic type decorations. You will also find sea shells and small sauce dish type ceramics used in the décor. On each side of the spire, on the first platform are gated structures housing different Buddhist themed statues. For a centuries old complex, the complex is well upkept, you can some cracked sculptures and even find piles of broken off ceramic, that I’m guessing will be put back. Must be a huge challenge even for jigsaw puzzle lovers, haha. That’s about it, but having said that it was still a sight to behold for being centuries old, worth the $50 Baht entrance fee, once.

The rest of Wat Arun’s complex is free and in front of the spires is where you will find two viharns. One of which is where you can find monks to offer prayers and blessings. One of which has Thai amulets and a very knowledgeable attendant. This attendant spoke English and Cantonese better than I can. He told me he can speak Mandarin and 2 other Chinese dialects and his mother tongue is Thai. Quite impressive. What I found even more impressive was his understanding of Thai amulets, he was able to recognize the two I was wearing and offer me a variety of amulets that would complement my existing pair, in various styles, sizes, material and cost. In addition, we spoke of current affairs in various S.E. Asian countries as well as their economics. Very, very insightful chap!

The only other wat that I’ve seen amulets for sale (in Bangkok) is in Wat Pho. The selection at Wat Arun is by far larger and of higher material quality. My amulet from Wat Pho has tarnished very badly but my amulet from Wat Arun is almost as shiny as when I purchased it. Also, when I purchased my amulet from Wat Arun, they brought me and the amulet over to the monk “on duty” and he “blessed” it, performed a “renewal” chant on my existing amulets and said a prayer for me as well! An experience I’ve never had when purchasing amulets. I quite enjoyed it, I haven’t had a prayer session with a monk in ages.

Anyways, in front of the viharns and off to the right side, is the market place, all the usual souvenir shops such as food, clothes, trinkets, costume rental (for photos) etc. A few more steps forward is the river and the piers. Heading left there is the way to the ubosot where there is a larger prayer area and a large golden Buddha statue. Oh, I’m not entirely sure if what I’ve called the viharn and the ubosot is actually what they are, it’s just my best guess from seeing them and what’s inside.

Around the ubosot are other structures including more spires/chedi/stupa/prang shaped structures, not sure what exactly they are but they look interesting. As did the bells you can ring by hitting them with a stick (as opposed to the usual clanging them with the stick that dangles inside each bell. Other works of art on the premises are statues and wall murals all are really quite nice, some look dated too.

Overall, my personal feeling is that Wat Arun, as a temple, is how it should be, the religious parts are free for the people, supported by donations and having a ticket able venue (the prangs). I very much enjoyed the temple complex, not so much the prangs. Having said that, I think the prangs are best seen either at sunrise or dusk. A monk told me to come back at night when the lights are on, “it’s much more beautiful,” he said. Having seen Wat Arun close to sunset, I would tend to agree, but as usual, I didn’t have time to stay plus I think the view of the whole complex would be better from across the river.

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Golden Mount, I made it to the top!

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After Travelfeed.io’s meetup at the Wanderlust bar in Thong Lo, I had the pleasure of tagging along with the awesome guys and gals to Golden Mount. It was awesome (Thanks, @Travelfeed!) but I didn’t get a chance to stick around and make the hike to the top. Both because it was really crowded due to the Loi Krathong festival and my prior arrangements that I was already late for.

I very much liked the overall “feel” of this wat and felt I needed to come back and check out the summit and the rest of the complex. So I went again the next day even though the festival was still going on. It was less crowded despite being the last day of the festival and the journey to the summit was free. I didn’t even know it was a ticketed venue…I just followed the crowd and went straight up. It was only after walking around later at night that I saw the signage regarding ticket prices. Getting up to the top was a fairly easy walk up the gradual stairs. The steps felt really oddly spaced apart and shorter than normal (for me) and I ended taking two steps a stride. There are places to stop and rest on the way up if needed as well as bells you can ring, lots and lots of bells differing in age, material and size.

Once at the top there are Buddha statues in the room as well as a semi enclosed circular structure/room with four major Buddha statues inside that you can offer your prayers/donations to. The walkway around this circular “room” is very narrow, barely enough room for one person to walk so it can get congested very, very quickly.

Before you continue up to the roof to see the golden stupa structure, you can to get your fortune read by shaking a bamboo tube full of sticks on which there is something written and you go and get it translated/explained. I didn’t really get to see where to go as it was getting pretty crowded very quickly. Oh there are water vendors in there (not sure if its only for the festival though.

Also interestingly enough, you don’t have to take off your shoes up there. Making your way up to the roof you will have to climb some narrow stairs with a low entry arch. If you’re taller than 5’10, you’ll hit your head if you’re not paying attention.

The golden stupa is covered with red sheets on which people can write things on it. The sheets are at the base of the stupa and when it’s full it, gets wrapped around the stupa. It’s a nice view up top but hard to get to the edges as people stand and sit in front of it. I bet the view would be even better at sunrise or sunset. But I didn’t have the luxury to stay so long nor space to set things up so down I went to check out the rest of the wat.

If you’re every in Bangkok you should come visit Golden Mount and Wat Saket, even if your Google search for top wats/places to visit doesn’t return Golden Mount. I feel it’s well worth it! I would never have found Wat Saket and Golden Mount if I hadn’t attended Travelfeed’s meetup. If you’re at all interested in travel, you need to check out Travelfeed.io.

Here’s some Travelfeed.io links:
Travelfeed.io website
Travelfeed.io’s Steemfest presentation
Travelfeed.io android app

Consider following me for updates to find not only my other travel bloopers, blunders and shenanigans but also photography related news/reviews and the occasional contest entry.

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Taking Bangkok’s public transport to Wat Pho and Wat Arun

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Following my fiasco of an attempt to get to Wat Pho, I decided to do some research and try to get there again. You can read about what I went through last time, if you want a chuckle, in my post HERE.

As you can see from the photo above, this trip includes a boat ride. So if you get seasick, take your motion sickness meds. I get motion sickness quite easily and I didn’t take any meds for this ferry ride (I didn’t have any and was too lazy to buy from the pharmacy). Luckily, the actual ride itself was ok, roughly 30 min. The boat goes fast enough that I didn’t feel sick. It’s only when the ferry is idling (waiting for for embarking/disembarking and waiting for boat traffic to clear when leaving/arriving at the piers) that I felt queasy.

I started this journey on the Sukhumvit Line (light green BTS line), making my way to Siam BTS station. Alight at this station and switch to the Silom line (dark green line) where you’ll be heading towards Bang Wa Station BUT alighting at Saphan Tak Sin station. The direct way is to go down the escalators to the platform with the train going the correct way. However, I found that the easiest (less crowded) way is to walk directly across the platform and take the train to National Stadium (it’s on the Silom Line). This will take you in the opposite direction to where you’re supposed to be heading BUT it’s only 1 stop away and the train terminates there. Just change trains and you’ll be headed in the correct directions, without having to mess with the crowds at Siam Station (which is almost always crowded) plus most likely you’ll get a seat for this roughly 6 station ride. Up to you which way you wanna take, I can’t wholeheartedly tell you which way is better because the crowds can differ greatly at both stations depending on the day of the week and time of day.

Alight at Saphan Tak Sin and follow the signs that lead you to the Chaophraya express boats. At exit 2, the pier is about 2 minutes walk from the station. You can pretty much see it once you get out of the station at  exit 2.

Once you reach the signage below, you’ll have to make a choice.

Here’s the differences:

“Ferry Boat” costs $100 Baht per person and that’s where most people will go because they’re unfamiliar with the other two options. Like us, we just followed the crowd, lol. These boats are slimmer than the express boats, carry less people and seated space only (as opposed to the larger ferries that may have standing room and some are bicycle friendly). These ferries have life jackets for you to wear as well (I didn’t notice anyone on the other ferries wearing life jackets but that doesn’t mean they’re not available. I just couldn’t see any). Luckily for us, the crowd all got into the previous boat, leaving us with a boat almost entirely to ourselves!

“chaopraya express Boat” may cost as little as $15 Baht depending on what color flag the boat is flying. Not all boats operate on the same days or even time/frequency, which accounts for the differences in price.

” chaopraya express Tourist Boat” costs around $40 Baht but has an English speaker on board to talk about stuff as you pass them. Next time I’ll take my seasick meds and take this boat,  it sounds more interesting.

There are little kiosks with an attendant at which you’ll pay your fare, if not you’ll have to pay as you get on the boat (less ideal option but if you know roughly how much your ride should be, you’d be fine, I guess). Some boats have an all day pass too, if you’re planning on taking the ferry multiple times. There’s very little splash so you don’t have to worry about getting wet. If it’s raining however…I can’t say as I didn’t notice any rain covers (but that could just be me not paying attention).

The pier names are a bit weird, some have numbers, some don’t. Wat Arun pier is called just that, “Wat Arun Pier” (no number). Wat Pho’s pier is number N8 and named “Tha Tien Pier.” N stands for North. The numbered piers are the older ones and the newer ones are the ones without numbers.

For Wat Pho, alight at Tha Tien Pier (N8) and walk towards the end of the alley. Once you reach the end, turn left and keep walking until you reach Wat Pho. You can’t miss it.

If you don’t go into Wat Pho but keep walking instead, the street ends and you can turn left here. Head down this alley and you’ll get to the pier that’ll take you to Wat Arun for a fee of $4 Baht. It’s a short trip, almost exactly on the opposite side of the river from Wat Pho.

When you alight at Wat Arun Pier, you’re basically on the premises already. Find the ticket booth and pay the $50 Baht entrance fee.

Consider following me for updates and to find not only my other travel bloopers, blunders and shenanigans but also photography related news/reviews and the occasional contest entry.

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Crackdown on Thai amulets and Buddha themed items in Thailand?

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Over the past couple years, I’ve been to Thailand multiple times, I love the culture and the relatively inexpensive yet high quality dentistry (I posted about my dental experience HERE). It is only this most recent trip (to Bangkok) that I’ve noticed the signage regarding the “respecting of Buddhism”. The various signage that I’ve seen, seem to indicate that having the Buddha image as tattoos, t-shirts designs and such are prohibited as is the export of such items. At first, I didn’t know what to expect, as in how this is actually going to be enforced because I’m still seeing t-shirts, carvings, statues, artwork etc depicting Buddha in the shops albeit not as abundantly as before. Note: I’m interpreting, “Buddha image” as anything depicting the likeliness of Buddha (in any form/medium).

Frankly, I didn’t think anything of it, even though I had my heart set on acquiring a Thai Buddhist amulet. I had asked some Thai friends where I could acquire an “authentic” amulet and was told amulets are readily available “everywhere”, there’s even a street specifically selling such items but they advised me to get one from within a temple, those should be authentic. This amulet market, I was told, is near Wat Pho and a ferry terminal, I couldn’t miss it. Well, I walked from the Grand Palace to Wat Pho and visited 2 ferry terminals, I couldn’t find this amulet market. Maybe most of the shops were close since it was raining? Or maybe the crackdown is really happening? The most probably reason why is because I’m just an idiot and couldn’t find it, lol.

Now what is the big deal with Thai Amulets? Well, supposedly they have spiritual powers (if you’re so inclined to subscribe to that notion and belief system). Authentic amulets are the ones that are hand made by monks and have been “enchanted” through prayer. The more famous the wat and monk, the higher the “power” and worth/price the amulet will be. Some amulets cost in the 100’s of thousand US dollars range! There are different amulets covering different aspects of “life issues”. For example, luck and or success in your career or school, love life charms, warding of bad spirits, omens, calamities etc. Much like the plethora of different charms sold at the Japanese temples (Shinto temples, I think they were). Unlike the Japanese charms, you don’t have to return/recycle them after a year (I’ve seen big drop boxes at these temples for you to drop your old charms into. Instead Thai amulets (again this is what I’ve been told so I don’t know exactly how accurate this info is) are given out on loan and the monetary amount you pay is the rental/donation fee. Once your “crisis” has been averted and/or you feel better, you’re supposed to return the amulet. When I acquired my pendant from Wat Pho (first image of this post), I didn’t see any signage regarding the “rental” practices and I tried to ask but the language barrier was to great I think. So I have no idea if this is true and if so where to return the amulet to. What happens if I lose the amulet etc.

This is the one I got from Wat Pho (I picked the least expensive one that I felt “comfortable” with, the charm inside is suppose to be 22k gold foil). I also bought the stainless steel necklace for the charm at $100 Baht the charm itself set me back $400 Baht. Expensive or not, in my mind, the dollar amount that I’m relinquishing goes towards something I subscribe to, at a place that’s absolutely stunning plus authentically religious with historic significance and it gives me peace of mind (it can’t get much more authentic than this, right)?

Anyways, sorry for the lack of photos in this post, I really didn’t intend to post on this topic. So why am I? Well, I’ve always had a Buddhist pendant on me since childhood, so I never thought twice about the “warning” signage and although I’m not a full fledged follower of Buddhism, I’m still a believer in most of the teachings that I’m aware of. So these signs don’t pertain to me, right? Well, apparently not.

I had forgotten I had my new amulet on (I put it on at the temple and haven’t taken it off). So at the at the airport security screening I place my bag on the xray machine and walked through the metal detector, which didn’t beep but the guard beckoned me over, so I assumed the position, legs spread and arms out to the side. The usual waving of the wand, then he waves it up and down just below my chin, I thought he wanted to see the tattoo on my chest (it’s happened before at LAX they made me take off my shirt so they can full body scan me). He shakes his wand from side to side and says, “no” (when I showed him my tattoo) and uses the wand to point at my neck. I think I gave him a funny look cuz then he starts wiggling and pointing the wand at my neck, it’s then I realize he wanted to see my necklaces/pendants. I reach into my t-shirt to pull out my necklaces/pendants for him to check out. Which he does by leaning in for a closer look and then waves me off with the wand. Much ado about nothing?

I have been wearing this one for at least 3 years.

And my new amulet’s casing is showing quite a bit of tarnish. Maybe I was let go because of the state my pendants were in? Maybe they look inexpensive/fake etc? I don’t know but I’m not complaining. Note: some amulets you can purchase without a case so you can find/purchase higher quality ones..

Having told my story to my Thai buddies, who had a big laugh, they related to me some instances in the news where some people were fined/jailed for having tattoo’s of a Buddha image, taking photos at religious places in “disrespectful” poses, standing/sitting on things that people normally wouldn’t etc. I have no idea what would have happened if the guard took offense to my amulet and pendant but it is something to think about, wouldn’t you agree?

Consider following me for updates and to find not only my other travel bloopers, blunders and shenanigans but also photography related news/reviews and the occasional contest entry.

All the photos (unless otherwise noted in the post) were taken by me and are available for sale. If you’re interested in buying an image or three, 😃 please don’t hesitate to contact me for more details. Thanks in advance!

Comments & Critiques are always welcome, as are upvotes and resteems.

Thanks for viewing and best wishes!

PS. If you want to check out my other ‘works’, you can find them here:

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