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Temple tour

A journey on the Chao Phraya river

Photos by Varuth Hirunyatheb

The mighty Chao Phraya river, or Mae Nam, stretches for 327 kilometres. It begins its journey in Nakhon Sawan province and passes through many ancient cities and historic sites before eventually flowing into the Gulf of Thailand.

Of the many temples along the river, Student Weekly chose to spend half a day exploring Wat Pho, also known as The Temple of the Reclining Buddha, in the Phra Nakhon district of Bangkok. We also visited Wat Arun, The Temple of the Dawn, in Bangkok�s Yai district. We travelled up river aboard The Chao Phraya Express Boat, starting at the Oriental pier and disembarking at Tha Tien pier.

TEMPLES AND TOURISTS

From Tha Tien pier we walked past a small dried seafood market lining one side of the alleyway before crossing the road to the gates of Wat Pho. Wat Pho was traditionally a site for Thai medicine. There is still a school for traditional Thai massage there that welcomes throngs of weary travellers, eager to experience a soothing Thai massage.

Hundreds of ornate statues and decorations can be found throughout the temple grounds, but most tourists and visitors come to see and pay homage to the massive Reclining Buddha. Measuring 46 metres long and 15 metres high, this golden Buddha image was restored during King Rama III�s reign.

The detailed artwork of the Reclining Buddha is truly amazing. The soles of the Reclining Buddha�s feet feature Chinese and Indian designs with mother of pearl inlay as part of the decoration.

CLIMB TO THE TOP

After wading through crowds of tourists and nearly collapsing from the heat, we made our way back to Tha Tien pier. From there, we crossed over to Wat Arun in a small ferry.

After a nice stroll through the beautifully manicured grounds surrounding Wat Arun, we entered the gates of the temple. Once inside, we looked up in awe at the steep steps leading to the top of the Khmer-style tower, called a prang. Climbing up to the top of the second terrace wasn�t too difficult, but for those afraid of heights, the descent was a different story.

The view from the top was truly spectacular. We saw the boats plying up and down the river below and the city spread out as far as the eye could see. Wat Arun was built during the Ayutthaya period. The Emerald Buddha was kept here for a short time, before being moved to Wat Phra Kaew in 1784.

As the sun began to set, we left behind the peaceful backdrop of the temples and headed back to the hustle and bustle of the city.

	disembark (v): to leave a vehicle, especially a ship or an aircraft, at the end of a journey throng (n): a crowd of people weary (adj): very tired, especially after you have been working hard or doing something for a long time ornate (adj): covered with a lot of decoration, especially when this involves very small or complicated designs homage (n): something that is said or done to show respect for somebody massive (adj): very large, heavy and solid restore (v): to bring somebody or something back to a former condition, place or position wade (v): to walk with an effort through something collapse (v): to fall down, especially because you are very tired or sick manicured (adj): very neat and well cared for terrace (n): a flat area, especially outside a building, where you can sit and enjoy the view IDIOM hustle and bustle: lots of busy and noisy activity