Laurie’s Travels: Bangkok: Which Wat is What?

2020!!! Happy New Year. In Bangkok and what a great way to start the new year. Had a terrific New Year’s Eve day visiting temple after temple, observing the locals praying for fortune and peace in the new year. At times it was like a frenzy and very chaotic as people jostled to buy and place lotus flowers, candles, gold flakes, etc. on their favorite Buddha statue. Paul and I donated 20 baht and received a hand bracelet and prayer from a monk. Ok, he more or less told us “Good Luck”. I’ll settle for that. LOL. It was like a Disneyland of temples with over-the-top ornate architecture, mini temples gleaming from the gold gild trim, Buddha statues galore and Hindi god statues like the monkey Hanuman. We started at the Golden Mount (Wat Saket) where it was a festive event complete with mist being sprayed out for coolness and atmosphere. After receiving our prayer from a monk, we climbed up to the “Mount”. As we climbed the many steps to the top, we rung a series of prayer bells for good fortune in the new year. Must have rang a hundred bells – hope it pays off. Bells and jingles from delicate metal chimes hung from the roof tops, serenaded us as we approached the top for yet more opportunities to pray at various Buddha statues of all shapes, sizes and positions. Each prayer was accompanied by an offering (flower, etc) bought nearby. Then we went to the City Pillar Shrine and finally, Wat Suthat and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew) on the grounds of the Grand Palace. Like Paul said, you couldn’t swing a dead cat without hitting a Wat in Bangkok. Really enjoyed the Wat Suthat as we sat in a prayer session. A monk sings and participants sing along with a song book in hand. People kneel and approach the monks for a blessing. All very interesting. I loved that the temples are open to tourists and that they didn’t mind photos. The highlight was Wat Phra Kaew. The complex of many ornate temples was absolutely stunning in size and scope, and the tiny emerald buddha was small and perched high on a pyramid of ornate levels of statues. We were overwhelmed to say the least. Its just impossible to describe. We saw the best of both worlds, the night before temples that were practically empty and then New Years Eve, full with thousands of people praying with the monks and making their New Years wishes.