Page 46 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Bangkok

44 ❯❯ The Top 10 of Everything

Buddhist Temples

Wat Bowoniwet
Wat Suwannaram
1 4
On the Bangkok Noi canal in
Built in 1826, this temple has
gained significance for being the Thonburi, near the Royal Barges
place where Thai kings are ordained museum, this Ayutthaya-style
and as one of the main bases of temple was built during the reign
Buddhism in Thailand. The murals of King Taksin. Step into the main
inside feature some unusual themes, building of the temple to see some
such as horse racing in England of best temple murals in the country,
and Dutch windmills (see p72). including depictions of Westerners
from the Ayutthaya era (see p98).
Wat Mahathat
5
MAP B3 • Mahathat Road • (02)
221 5999 • Open 7am–8pm daily
Prince Mongkut was a monk in
Wat Mahathat for 12 years before
he became Rama IV (see p40).
Mahachulalongkorn Buddhist
University and a medi tation center
are housed in the temple complex.
Wat Saket and the
Wat Suthat’s bronze Buddha 6
Golden Mount
Wat Suthat
2 Built by Rama I in the late 1700s, this
One of the most important
temple has some excellent murals
temples in Thailand, Wat Suthat was and a peaceful atmosphere. The
built in the early 1800s to house the main attraction, though, is the view
26-ft- (8-m-) tall bronze Buddha of the Old City from the Golden Mount,
image from Sukhothai, which sits in a 250-ft (76-m) high man-made hill
the wihan, surrounded by murals. inside the temple (see p70).
The galleries around the wihan hold
Wat Benjamabophit
over 150 Buddha images. The tower- 7
ing Sao Ching Cha, or Giant Swing, MAP E2 • Nakhon Pathom
once used in a Brahmin cere mony, Road • (02) 282 7413 • Open 8am–
stands in front of the temple (see p71). 5:30pm daily • Adm
The last major temple built in
Wat Traimit
3 Bangkok (between 1899 and 1911),
This gleamingly rebuilt temple
this is commonly known to West ern
located in Chinatown is firmly fixed visitors as the Marble Temple
on the tourist trail because of the because of its extraordinary Carrara
Golden Buddha, a 10-ft- (3-m-) marble bot. The ashes of Rama V
high Sukhothai-style are buried beneath the
image made of solid temple’s golden
gold (see p76). Buddha image.
Wat Benjamabophit

Eyewitness Travel – Top 10 series LAYERS PRINTED:
Two-column, 8.5pt grid “UK” LAYER
(SourceReport v.1.9)
044-045_Top_10_Bangkok.indd 44 22/05/2017 12:13
Date 24th June 2015
Size 100mm x 191mm