Bangkok: Exploring Monarchy and Buddhism

One of the first museums we went to in Bangkok was an interactive "discovery" type museum on the history of Thailand back to the Stone Age. Bangkok has been the capital of Thailand for over 200 years and there is a lot of wonderful history here that we've been exploring through visits to temples (which are called "wats") and to the Grand Palace. It's clear that the Thais love their King as there are images of him all throughout the city. The current King of Thailand, Rama IX, no longer lives at the Grand Palace and the place is crawling with tourists. We were struck by the interesting blend of architectural styles, culminating with the Thai roof that replaces the typical dome.

The most sacred of Buddhist temples in Bangkok is Wat Phra Kaew, Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Interestingly the Buddha is actually made of jade, and it has three different outfits which the King dresses the Buddha in; seen here is the winter outfit. It was over 100 degrees there when we visited, so we expect the winter robe isn't really necessary.

 

Nearby is Wat Pho, Temple of the Reclining Buddha. The over 150 foot long statue is truly impressive. 

 

Wat Pho was the first public university of Thai medicine, and is over 400 years old. This is a photo of Thai massage techniques which were painted on the exterior walls, which are still taught at this temple. We enjoyed two types of massages while we were here: one hour foot massage and two hour whole body massage. Thai massage is deliciously intense, where the masseuses put us into contortions (kind of like yoga poses) while using their whole body to deeply massage us.

The Wat Pho complex contains more than 1,000 Buddhas and counting, as wealthy Thais can pay to have one installed as a way of bringing merit to their family.

Across the river is Wat Arun, Temple of Dawn. It was the tallest building in Bangkok (over 250 ft high) until the advent of skyscrapers, and features extremely steep steps that are like climbing a ladder with 12 to 16 inch rungs. The exterior is decorated in with Chinese pottery shards, which we heard were ballast in Chinese ships that were traveling to Bangkok to buy rice.

We also visited Wat Traimit to see the 13,000 pound solid gold Buddha. It was created in the 13-14th century in Ayutthaya, the capital of Siam at the time. In the 18th century Ayutthaya was under siege by Burma, so it was covered in plaster and painted in disguise. When Bangkok became the capital, the statue was moved here, still covered in plaster. In 1955, an attempt to move it resulted in the ropes breaking and the statue falling, which cracked the plaster to reveal the golden Buddha.   

Spirit houses are commonly built in Thailand, as well as in Burma, Cambodia and Laos. When a new building is constructed, the spirit houses are built to appease the displaced spirits, as it is believed that they inhabit the land. Priests will often select the location of the miniature house, and it's important that the full size building does not cast a shadow on it. Offerings made regularly that include food, drink, incense, and flowers.

 

The above spirit house was from the Jim Thompson house. He was an American who was part of the OSS (precursor to the CIA) towards the end of WWII. While he was stationed in Thailand he grew to love the culture. After the war, he settled in Bangkok and built an amazing house that is modeled on Thai historical architecture. He furnished it with antiquities from Thailand and Burma. These views are of the garden (as we were not allowed to take pictures inside the house).