Day 3 - The first temples

Our friendly guide had marked three "must see" Wats on our map. The first stop was Wat Mai Amataros. This was up a typical Thai street, non of the tourist places that litter the famous Khaosan road. The first thing that strikes you is the attention to detail on the outer buildings. There are several buildings within the complex, each ornately decorated and its difficult to tell which is the main temple at first glance. Then the tranquillity of the place amazes you. Not 2 minutes down the road you couldn’t hear yourself think for the endless traffic noise. Walking in through the gates and you are greeted with a waft of burning incense. The only people about are a lone Thai man knelt in prayer and a monk dressed in traditional orange garb arranging the flower offerings.


Monk statue at Wat Mai Amataros.

We walked around to the main temple room. Our first glimpse of the Buddha. It was in the sitting position, sat on top of a throne which was decorated with smaller Buddha figures, candles and flowers. An equally impressive statue of a monk sat at the entrance to the temple.

Our next Wat was the impressively named Makutkasatriyaram, some 30 minute walk away. More tuk tuk and taxi drivers and assorted street hawkers to get past. This complex had a number of temple buildings. It seems that each building was the main prayer chamber for different groups. The main chamber with the Buddha statue was unfortunately closed. So we quickly headed off for the next stop.


Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall.

Crossing one of the many canals that shoot off from the main Chao Phraya river we walked along a large carriage way that was strangely devoid of any traffic. It looked like they were preparing for some event, maybe a feria, or maybe it was closed due to the demonstrations that have been taking place against the government. We walked along to be greeted by a lady who appeared to be setting up a drinks stall. She called us over and gave us two bottles of drinking water. The Thai people are really great. The wide empty carriage way lead to an impressive palace at the end, the Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall. Before approaching this palace we turned right heading for our intended target the Wat Benchambophit, also known as the Marble Temple.


Outside the Wat Benchambophit, the Marble Temple.

Here you pay a small entrance fee and for another small fee of 100 Baht (£2) we hired the services of a guide to take us around. We soon found out that our guide’s English was very poor and we had great trouble understanding him. Basically, he was trying to explain the materials that made up the buildings, the various Buddha poses and their significance, and that his son was a Thai kick boxer. Still, he was a very amiable chap who kept wanting to take photos of us.


Sitting Buddha at Wat Benchambophit.

The outside of the building is being restored and scaffolding is in place. The main chamber hosts the most impressive Buddha statue seen so far, another sitting Buddha. We took our shoes off before entering the temple, a required custom for visiting all temples in Thailand. After a quick look around we then sat down in front of the Buddha in a mermaid pose, feet pointing behind us to ensure we didn’t break another golden rule. Never point your feet towards the Buddha.


Guide tries to explain the significance of each Buddha stance.

The outside quadrangle is filled with different Buddha statues from all over the world in various poses and styles. Sitting, standing, walking, fat, skinny but never running our guide informed us. We thanked our guide and went to explore the gardens on our own. The heat and humidity were beginning to take their toll. We would have a quick look at the palace and then get a lift back to the Hotel.


We must go on a diet!

Taxi or tuk tuk? Well we wanted to get in as many forms of public transport as possible on our trip so it was to be our first tuk tuk ride. We soon flagged one down and negotiated the fee of 100 Baht. I felt this was a bit steep before Monica pointed out it was only 2 quid and we couldn’t walk another step. The experience of weaving in and out of the traffic as our driver plotted his course through the city was unique. The smog fills your lungs, you grip on for your life and the only sights you see are the fellow cars, buses and tuk tuks that are way too close to you for your liking. We managed to get to our hotel in one piece. Time for a quick bite and a lie down for 10 minutes before putting on a pair of trousers and doing it all again.


First tuk tuk ride.