We decided to start the day off with a good walk so that I could observe and absorb, but after about 20 minutes, we realized that the distance we had set out on was much further than we expected. Crossing one of the busy Bangkok streets, we were met by a “journalist” who recommended that we alter our path and take a tuk tuk. I use quotes here as we learned later that day that few people in Bangkok were completely who they presented themselves as. This gentleman was very nice and helpful to us, so I believe he was telling the truth. On his advice, we took off on a tuk tuk motorcycle taxi for the Royal Temple which is most famously home to a solid gold Buddha statue – one of the few in Thailand. Interestingly, the Thais didn’t realize they had a solid gold Buddha until they were moving was they thought was concrete Buddha statue and the concrete cracked and the gold Buddha inside dropped straight out. They suspect that during a time of unrest that a town’s people encased the Buddha in concrete for safe keeping but the owner’s of that secret must have passed away before divulging it to the world. Who knows how many other hidden treasures are out there?
Our tuk tuk and driver.
The streets of Bangkok were a blur to us on the fast-moving tuk tuk.
Acting on perhaps our only honest advice of the weekend, we entered the Royal Temple which was comprised by three large buildings that we could see and was largely absent of visitors. While inside the temple with the Golden Buddha, we met a very nice gentleman who was living Australia but home visiting and purchasing goods for a Thai restaurant he ran there. After a long and insightful conversation, including great detail about a gem and jewelry outlet that he and the journalist both recommended, we set about exploring the rest of the site and met our first reclining Buddha statue.
The temple with the Golden Buddha.
The Golden Buddha.
I have seen now it seems so many Buddha statues, but am each time amazed at the variety of interpretations. In the West, it was always my impression that there was one Buddha icon – chubby and happy – but in reality, there are many, many Buddha representations, each representing a historical interpretation and adaptation of the local culture and society. In Thailand, the Buddhas were skinny, but I will go into that more later. The reclining Buddha is a very popular pose for the Thai, and one that for some reason was often represented in larger than life fashion. Meant to capture the Buddha just before he reached enlightenment, the reclining figure portrayed for me a bit more relaxed satisfaction that I am used to in icons like it.
After taking off our shoes at the door, we entered the doorway of a building that may have been built around the figure with which we were met. At a height of more than 12 feet and a length that I can only guess must have been 50 yards, this reclining Buddha was massive. An elderly gentleman held watch over the place and asked us for a donation and to my surprise proceeded to hand us back a basket full of small coins. He had apparently just broken our donation into smaller denominations and was asking us to participate in the rituals appropriate. The coins were meant to be placed one or two in each of the metal bowls that lined the “bed” of the reclining Buddha, and we think these bowls represented the monks that were associated with the Royal Temple. The sound of metal was soft and entrancing was we made our deposits and slowly worked from mid-section to feet. The next ritual was that of offering gold. This was perhaps my favorite as it really makes you feel like you are forever a part of a place. Our elderly guide provided us each with a piece of gold leaf paper which we could step forward and actually place onto a Buddha statue. A hard press and moment of disbelief later and our marks were apparent. It is an amazing thing to be included in a ritual, especially one as participatory as this once.
Eric making a deposit with the reclining Buddha in the background.
Eric placing his leaf on the small Buddha statue in front of the reclining Buddha.
This temple is closed to non-Thais most of the year, and it was only our luck that we were able to enter and explore. In the space of the morning, I had met more random people on the street than I have met in all of our time in Hong Kong. It was very striking.
