A visit to the giant reclining Buddha, and a pleasant surprise.

One of the most popular tourist things to do in Thailand is to visit a bunch of Wats. A Wat is a Buddhist temple or monastery and there are tens of thousands of them in Thailand. In our quiet neighborhood of Lat Phrao, just a 2 minute walk from our apartment, lies Wat Lat Phrao. We came across it accidentally when our taxi driver took a short cut on the way home one evening. The next day we strolled over to check it out. It was amazing. Amazing not only because it was so beautiful, but it was so close to our place, and there were no tourists there. This place is not on any tourist’s radar or list but it should be. I found it to be a quiet, calm, and relaxing setting. We’ve been here a few more times as we literally walk through it when we go for coffee or to the grocery store.

We’ve been alternating days of venturing out to explore and hanging around the apartment. Some day trips can be exhausting. First of all, Bangkok, Thailand is the hottest place on the planet. We didn’t know that before arriving. It has an annual mean air temperature of over 82 degrees. This time of year it’s 95 degrees with 90 % humidity. The heat index has been between 105-107 degrees most days. Then there are the crowds. Not the Thai people but the tourists. I’ve quickly become accustomed to enjoying the reserved, orderly and respectful demeanor of the Thai people, so I tend to get agitated when I’m surrounded by thousands of pushy, mindless tourists. It has really tested my practice. Trying to maintain equanimity in an extremely hot and sweaty environment with hoards of people has proven tough but not impossible.

This week we took the subway (MRT) to the train station and rode 2 hours North to Ayutthaya. This is one of those “must see” places everyone talks about. One of our new friends living in Thailand recommended we rent bicycles. We did. We rode around Ayutthaya, locked the bikes, and wandered around the ruins. It was HOT. We slathered on the sunscreen and rode on. I found Ayutthaya to be somewhat uninspiring, even over-rated. We got sort of lost on the bikes and spotted a cafe. We popped in for a latte, cooled off in their air conditioned refuge, and headed back out.

We stopped again and added another layer of sunblock. We pedaled onward. It seemed like half a day but was more likely an hour or 2 total. I looked at the map and noticed we were almost back to our starting point. We turned in the bikes and talked about how to get back to Bangkok. We decided to ditch the train and take a minivan – 45 cents vs. $1.80., or 2-3 hours vs. an hour. We had to walk about 15 minutes to catch it. On our way to the minivan we walked through giant local market areas, covered with makeshift roofs. It was seemingly cooler not being directly in the sun. We caught the minivan and headed back to Bangkok. Once we were back at our apartment we took a dip in the pool. Ah, the pool. We counted our blessing that we were not the least bit sunburned.

A few days later the next outing was to the Grand Palace and Wat Pho. We took the MRT to the big river and then a boat ride up to our destination. The Grand Palace is a gigantic 2.3 million square foot complex of buildings in the center of Bangkok. I believe it’s the top tourist destination in Thailand and carries a hefty $16 entry fee. It was hot and crowded and huge. It’s really glitzy and ornate. There are so many buildings and halls and statues and courtyards and history it deserves it’s own National Geographic issue and maybe a Ken Burns show.

The most challenging thing for me about the Grand Palace was not the heat but the crowds. It was almost impossible to take decent photos capturing the beauty of the place because there were people everywhere.

We headed back out to the streets and found a place for lunch that had vegetarian options – Pad Thai (no fish sauce), french fries, and spring rolls. The next stop was Wat Pho, home of the giant reclining Buddha. It was just around the corner. From Wikipedia – Wat Pho is of the highest grade of the first-class royal temples in Thailand and also the birthplace of traditional Thai massage which is still taught and practiced at the temple.

We got to see the giant reclining Buddha (see image at top post) and continued to explore, walking around the grounds of Wat Pho. It was a little less crowded and there were some areas of shade where we could take a break. We entered Phra Ubosot, the most sacred structure in this complex. Laurie and I decided to do our meditation practice here and sat with our eyes closed in this wonderful hall.

One of the most enjoyable finds and features of this complex was the series of Khao Mors, or small rock gardens, filled with small statues depicting different Yoga positions. I noticed most of them were different from the Yoga positions we’re familiar with in the West. There was definitely a familiarity but totally different variations and alignment. The poses were spread put over many of the rock gardens and I took time to photograph them. I cropped them and used a standard Palma filter. Here they are below. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.