Wat Patumwanaram

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Wat Patumwanaram (วัดปทุมวนารามราชวรวิหาร) Wat Pathum for short is a Buddhist temple in Bangkok, Thailand. It is located in the Pathum Wan District, between the two shopping malls Siam Paragon and CentralWorld, and across the street of Siam Square.

The temple was founded in 1857 by King Mongkut (Rama IV) as a place of worship near his Sa Pathum Palace. At the time of its founding the area was still only rice fields, only accessible via the Khlong Saen Saeb. The temple is a third class royal temple of the Thammayut Nikaya order. The full name of the temple is Wat Pathum Wanaram Ratcha Wora Viharn (วัดปทุมวนารามราชวรวิหาร).
The ashes of Thai Royal Family members in the line of Prince Mahidol Adulyadej are interred at the temple - text from Wikipedia.

This was a Wat which I was introduced to and I would not have thought that there was such a haven so close to the centre of Bangkok and expensive places to go shopping!

This is the entrance to the gardens

Wat Patumwanaram is set with a complex of gardens and trees and this makes it even more special.

I have read very little about this temple  and can find very little on the Internet. However Wat Patumwanaram is recognised as one of Bangkok's most over looked temples? It is also recognised as a place where hurt people during the red shirt riots in 2010.

The serenity of the grounds is what I first noticed - peaceful...

Then there was the opportunity to walk in to the Ratchasattha Hall - which was certainly impressive.

   

Street Art - Bang Rak

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Alex Face

 I love Street Art  - just found a guide to some locations in Bangkok  - here are some at these locations.  

Bonus TMC

These photographs are on Charoen Alley Soi 32 -

 this is the Soi next to the Bangkok General Post Office.

Kult

Bangkok is worth investigating on foot.

Phai

Sakyai

 

Bang Rak Chinese Shrine - ศาลเจ้าเจียวเองเบี้ยว

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Bang Rak Chinese Shrine - ศาลเจ้าเจียวเองเบี้ยว  is somewhere that I came across when I as traveling to the Chao Phyra River.

As I was getting off the MRT I noticed that there was a Chinese Shrine in the heart of Bangkok. I slowly walked in - it was certainly a traditional Chinese Shrine as there were people at a table outside reading what I think were Chinese Newspapers.

The courtyard was large and the temple inside looked very dark - stepping in very carefully over the threshold I entered inside - it was peaceful inside.

The sun came into the Shrine in some places and created some beautiful effects - and then people came into the shrine to make a blessing and I had to stop.

The widow looked wonderful.

A wonderful Chinese shrine to visit...

Chatuchak Weekend Market

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Chatuchak Weekend Market is somewhere that you must visit if you visit Bangkok.

- the world's largest market
- 15,000 stalls
- more then 200,000 visitors a week
- been running for over 70 years

Here's a pdf map - http://www.chatuchakmarket.org/files/download-market-map-new.pdf



  Here's more information on Facebook.
And on Twitter.
And Instagram.

How to get there. Previous Visit - 2016

Sunthorn Phu, Kho Samet and Rayong

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There was a Thai poet called Sunthorn Phu (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunthorn_Phu) - often referred to as the ‘Shakespeare of Siam’ and he lived a life as captivating and fantastical as the stories he wrote. 

In Koh Samet there are statues of a flute-playing prince, a mermaid and a female giant (http://www.thaizer.com/tourist-attractions/why-are-there-statues-of-giants-mermaids-and-pipers-on-ko-samet/) and are all characters in the famous Thai poem Phra Aphai Mani - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phra_Aphai_Mani. 

But here is another state dedicated to the poet but I can find no more than this?  Gossip is that this is dedicated to one of his 'other women'? I stayed at the Kantary Bay Rayong to see this.

A tale full of battles, betrayals and magical transformations….

Here is the complete tale - http://sakchaip.tripod.com/bookworm/sunthorn/abhai_a.html

 

Sammakorn / ตลาดนัดสัมมากร Market

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Sammakorn Weekend Market is certainly a market with so many things to find - certainly very busy with all the local people from around.

It is a traditional market in the middle at the front and at the back of the market there is a plethora of food to buy. We normally split up but we always miss something. Sammakorn Market is small enough for you to walk up and down each row in a zig zag pattern - a wonderful trick.

Today I was focused on looking at the small things and there was a fascinating number of them - we thought that the Halloween toys were a nice touch.

But all these toy copies are  great - a lot cheaper...

Sometimes the clothes are not copies but simply cheap.

Torn jeans are in fashion again...

Tempted by some bits for the kitchen...

Boxes and bags for some people.

Then there are the belts - are they crocodile skin?

And of course lots of food...

Previous Visit

 1) May 2017