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Undoubtedly the most spectacular Chinese temple I have seen in
Thailand is Wat Boromracha Kanchanapisek Anusorn in Nonthaburi Province
just north-west of Bangkok. I would say it also rivals anything I saw
even in China during my three month trip around the country. Parts of
the temple reminded me of the Forbidden Palace. This temple, in Bang
Bua Thong District, took over ten years to construct and cost hundreds
of millions of baht. It was built to celebrate the 50th anniversary of
the King's reign. And it certainly lived up to its promise.
The temple is a photographer's paradise with so much detail in the
engravings on the walls, floors and ceilings. I was there for over two
hours and could easily have spent longer. I will be going back for sure
and I reckon that I will find things that I didn't spot during my first
visit. You really have to keep looking all around you as there is so
much to see. I was there early in the morning when the sun was behind
the main building. The entrance faces south-west and I reckon if I go
next time at the end of the day, I should have some good colours from
the sunset. At the weekend, the temple closes at 6 p.m.
It is quite a large complex with various interconnected buildings
with three or four levels. Make sure that you explore everywhere so
that you don't miss any of the highlights. For me I think it was this
room which had at least 12,000 little Buddha images covering all of the
walls. There could be more but I lost count after a while. The
advantage I found in going early (I arrived before 9 a.m.) was that it
was easy for me to park and there weren't people blocking my
photographs. By the time I left, shortly before noon, there were
literally thousands of people there and no more parking spaces. People
had to park on the street outside. However, despite the crowds, I
didn't see any other foreigners there at all.
The main hall contains three very large Buddha statues made of brass
and weighing 18 tonnes each. When I was there, there were several dozen
novices and monks who were taking part in a ceremony. I should have
taken along my sound recorder as the sound was mesmerizing and so
different to chanting at Thai Buddhist temples. On each side of this
building there were statues of 18 Buddhist saints. On the walls were
large wood carvings. On the third floor is the Goddess of Mercy which
was carved with Burmese teakwood (see picture above).
The fourth floor is the Meun Buddhasukkhavadi Buddhakset Hall with
the thousands of small Buddha images. There was a great breeze from the
hallways outside this room. Make sure you take a close look at the roof
tiles as you will spot little monk images and mystical animals on the
roof ridges. From here I went down several floors where they were doing
another ceremony for the Vegetarian Festival. They were also preparing
krathongs for the Loy Krathong Jay ceremony which they did later this
afternoon. To enter this area you need to wear white clothing which
luckily I was. However, you won't miss much if you don't want to dress
in white. However, if you go there during the "gin jay" festival, then
you will be able to have free vegetarian food for lunch.
I drove to Wat Boromracha Kanchanapisek Anusorn this morning. From
Samut Prakan it was quite simple. It only took about 40 minutes driving
along the Outer Ring-Road. I turned off for Bang Bua Thong and just
followed the sign for the temple which was also in English. I
understand you can catch bus 177 from Victory Monument which can take
up to two hours. When I drove back it only took 30 minutes to reach
Sanam Luang via the Phra Pinklao Bridge. So, if you don't have your own
transport then I would suggest you go by taxi.
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