I started off with a tour of Phra Athit Road, where there are a number of old mansions that used to look out over the river. Today, Phra Athit Road runs in front of many of them and the mansions are now hidden from the traffic behind high walls. So, I was only able to snap this one decent photo.
At the end of Phra Athit Road is Phra Sumen Fort. According to the handy sign in front, it was built in 1783 as a city watchtower and is the only one, of 14 originally, still standing today.
One of the places I wanted to see was Thanon Khao San – the famous “Khao San Road.” (By the way, “khao san” means uncooked rice.) For decades, it was just another street in Bangkok. But in the early 1980s, the street was “discovered” by backpackers and became ground zero for everyone who was traveling through Bangkok on the cheap. Today, the street (actually, now an area) is more upmarket, but there were still a lot of people who seemed to be in their early 20s, having lunch and beers at one bar/restaurant after another. Lots of hotels and places to get t-shirts and tattoos and travel shops advertising cheap tickets and buses to Phuket, Ayutthaya, and the Cambodian border. I was glad to see the area, and glad to leave it behind too.
My next destination was Wat Bowonniwet – yet another temple. Frankly, I wasn’t expecting much since I have seen a lot of temples already here in Bangkok and this area is not that far from Wat Pho, which is spectacular. But, I was amazed by Wat Bowonniwet. For starters, when I arrived there was some sort of ceremony wrapping up. Of course, I didn’t have a clue as to what was going on, but even I could tell that the Buddhist monk who was leaving as I was arriving was important – he had someone following right behind him, holding an umbrella for him. And most of the people kneeled down as he went by. I asked a woman behind me if she spoke English and could she tell me what was going on. She replied that the ceremony was to honor “the birthday of the king of the Buddhas.” Not sure I got that right, but anyway you could tell it was a big event.
Once the “king of the Buddhas” left, we were able to wander around and go inside the wat. Maybe because there were all these people there, or maybe it was the wat itself, but the wat had very human, a very intimate feel to it. Lots of spectacular buildings, of course, but also lots of smaller scale statues and decorations. Many people were buying lotus blossoms and lighting candles and praying to the Buddha statues.
And because you have to take your shoes off before you can enter a wat, I decided to take this photo. This says "wat" to me almost as much as a picture of the wat itself.
I took a brief detour to the National Gallery – which truly was nothing special. The building itself was cool, but much of the art either was by the King or approved by the King. There were some beautiful old scrolls depicting various events in the life of the Buddha, but you’ll have to take my word for it since you’re not allowed to take photos inside the building. So, here’s the only one I took – on the lawn outside.
My final stop was the Amulet Market, which was very cool. I may have to go back and spend some more time there – by this point in the day, I didn’t have the energy to give it the attention it deserves. But it was fascinating – one, just the sheer number of amulets and two, because in typical Bangkok tradition, all the vendors congregate in the same one area so it’s just one table after another set up on the sidewalk along one street. And many of the vendors are selling the same things – they’re all images of the Buddha – for the same prices. I don’t understand how you decide to buy an amulet at this table rather than the next or the one after that – which is probably why I ended up not buying anything!
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