One Full Day in Bangkok

Thursday December 29, 2016
A Full Day of Sightseeing in Bangkok

I shall only be in Bangkok one full day. After breakfast tomorrow, I will finish packing and return to the Bangkok airport via the sky train and Airport Rail Link for the fairly short flight to Chiang Mai. with only one full day, there are two things I always like to see, Wat Pho with the large Reclining Buddha, and Wat Arun, the first significant temple in Bangkok. I would add to that Jim Thompson's House and Museum, but I am not sure I have time today.

Breakfast at the Intercontinental Bangkok

First, I get to return to the extensive breakfast buffet at the Intercontinental for a leisurely breakfast before heading out into the frenetic city. I was hungry - here is my breakfast: orange juice, coffee, water, fruit, cereal, a plate with apple danish, bacon, bell-pepper & cheese omelette, potatoes, and baked tomato. And I had another coffee and a cinnamon-raisin danish after all this. This is a very extensive buffet, and while I had a very western-style breakfast, there is food that people of many cultures will find familiar for breakfast.

Into the City

I took the sky train to the Saphan-Taksin stop, and on the way out of the station, passed a booth selling boat tickets. Since I needed to take the boat to get to Wat Pho and Wat Arun, I stopped, told the lady where I wanted to go, and bought an unlimited-trip ticket for about $5, allowing me to stop somewhere else if the idea came. I learned that this is a different boat than that I am used to taking. But it turned out better, because the pier at Wat Pho is being renovated. The ferry from that pier to and from Wat Arun is running, and had I taken the boat I was used to, I would have had to get off at the Grand Palace and walk over a kilometer to Wat Pho (not a terribly long walk, but being at the right place is even better). The boat for which I had bought a ticket stops at Wat Arun, so I could stop there, visit Wat Arun, then take the ferry to Wat Pho, visit Wat Pho and go back across the river on the ferry (4 Baht or about 10 cents each way) to catch the boat back to my starting point. sometimes things just work out.

Wat Arun

Wat Arun is one of the oldest temples in Bangkok. It is considered important in the Thai culture, and is one of the Royal Temples of the First Class. When the former capital of Thailand was overthrown in a battle with the Burmese in 1774, the king at that time was going to re-establish the capital in what we now call Bangkok. There had been a temple at this spot since at least the mid-1600s. The story is that the king vowed to restore the temple after passing it at dawn and seeing the sun reflecting off the large chedi (pagoda).The name Wat Arun or more formally, Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan, comes from the Hindu god Aruna, often personified as the radiations of the rising sun. For a time, the re-established palace was adjacent to Wat Arun, but was moved across the river by King Rama II in 1785.

The entrance to the Wat Arun temple grounds is guarded by these two large "yaks" or giant guardians. Each yak has a name and a story. They have very similar features and are artistically exuberant. The yak is one of my favorite Thai mythological beings.















The second, rightmost of the two yaks guarding Wat Arun's entrance. Very similar to the other, but very different.

















After wandering around Wat Arun a bit, I took a picture of the largest tower, called a prang (a Khmer-style tower), surrounded by four, smaller, but equally impressive prangs. (It is not entirely clear if these are chedi or simply towers. I believe a chedi holds the remains of someone of significance, and there is no indication that these towers hold remains, therefore that may be why they are not called chedi.) This is a very large structure, possibly up to 86 meters (282 feet) tall as indicated in some documentation. It is very tall, and scaffolding can be seen on one side where a massive, multi-year restoration is in progress.

Some detail of the tower in the previous picture from the same location.

When I first visited Wat Arun two years ago, my impression was not great...not bad but not great. I returned last year after learning that Wat Arun is very highly regarded by the Thai people. On closer examination, I came to like Wat Arun much more. And this year, I am very glad I returned, I am enjoying being here even more than last year.

Wat Pho and the Reclining Buddha

I went across the river on the ferry and followed the crowds to Wat Pho to see the Reclining Buddha. Wat Pho, or more formally, Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm Rajwaramahaviharn, is the first in the list of six temples in Thailand classed as the highest grade of the first class Royal temples. the shorter name, Wat Pho is a contraction of its former name, Wat Photaram. Wat Pho is always busy, and in spite of the crowds, I love seeing the Reclining Buddha. And every time I have seen it, I am surprised at how large it is, 46 meters long (150 feet or 1/2 the length of a football field). Because of the structure and the many people, it is difficult to get a good picture but I did get a few.

The head of the Reclining Buddha. The head alone is over 5 meters (16 feet) high.

A picture of much of the Reclining Buddha body with the toes at the end.
Before the toes is a covering in which restoration is taking place.

The bottom of the Reclining Buddha feet and one of the restoration workers.
The feet are 3 meters (10 feet) high and 4.5 meters long.

I enjoy wandering around the relatively extensive grounds of Wat Pho, and always see interesting things.

Here are what appears to be two wise men guarding one of the entrances instead of yaks.

A view of Wat Arun from the boat leaving the docks.
The scaffolding is very obvious in this picture as is the sheer size of the main tower.

Because I linger and observe detail, seeing just Wat Arun and Wat Pho with the time to get there and back consumed much of the day. I was back at the Intercontinental in plenty of time for my 5 PM 30-minute sea-salt body scrub and 90-minute massage. With my adjustment to the time change being slow, and the sightseeing, the spa treatment was very welcome.

Next: Bangkok to Chiang Mai