It is nearly impossible to walk around Bangkok or anywhere in Thailand for that matter without stumbling across a temple. For us, we were taking a long tour for the day and decided to make Wat Hua Lamphong be our temple for the day.
Wat Hua Lamphong
Chamchuri Square
After our visit to Bangkok’s Snake Farm, we made our way to grab a bite to eat from Chamchuri Square just down the road. We needed some food before continuing on to Wat Hua Lampong. Chamchuri is an interesting little shopping center.
The food court is in the basement where I got a delicious yet spicy Tom Zap Moo. As you go up the floors, the food gets steadily more expensive. Unfortunately, there are vegetarian options. Briana had to settle on pretzels, fries from KFC, and Dairy Queen.
Once we’d finished our lunch, we made our way directly across the street to Wat Hua Lamphong. The temple is a Royal Buddhist temple, third class.
Entering Wat Hua Lamphong
The complex is quite large and seems to get many visitors. We first came upon a prayer hall, where you could get joss sticks or candles for a donation. The air hung heavy with the smell of incense, and there was a low buzz from the murmur of prayer.
We walked down an alleyway within the complex, past numerous beggars and vendors to find a large pavilion with numerous shrines. Here we found many golden Buddhas and statues of elephants. These are dedicated to important Thai Buddhist figures and a few Hindu figures as well.
We wandered around for about ten minutes, exploring the crowded grounds. The temple underwent renovation to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ascension to the throne of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1996.
Climbing to the Main Temple
Briana’s feet began to ache, and seeing a price to explore the main temple set her in a mood of not wanting to climb the staircase. Considering we were already here, I decided to go ahead and pay the entry for myself. 40 Baht (~$1.10) to see the main part of the temple. The ubosot, viharn, and chedi are all on a one-story platform above the rest of the complex.
A spent a few minutes here, observing the goings on within the main temple itself, as well as admiring the intricate craftsmanship of the temple. The late afternoon sun gave a serene brilliance to the tile roofs, gold ornamentation, and cool marble. Many bells lined the edges, to which I had to resist the urge to ring. From my perch, I could make out the monks quarters, which you are not allowed to wander through.
Gold Leaf and Orange Robes
Many statues start off as a bronze cast, and worshippers will purchase small amounts of gold leaf. They will then take the gold leaf and rub it onto the statue of their choosing until the statue becomes completely gold covered. Generally, this practice is done for locally revered monks, bodhisattvas, and deities, not the Buddha which will generally sit in the center of the main temple hall.
The interior hall contains gorgeous murals depicting the creation of the universe and Buddha. Gold adorns everything and is lit with fantastic chandeliers.
A few minutes later, I came back down the marble steps and found Briana awaiting my arrival. After spending around 30 minutes at Wat Hua Lamphong, we made our way to our next destination – Lumpini Park.
Wat Hua Lamphong is pretty easy to visit – located on Rama IV Road. It is across the street from Chamchuri Square with Sam Yan Station directly in front of the compound. You will only need to allow yourself about an hour to see the temple in full.
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