We met Brett and Brendon at Wat Pho or the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. It is considered a temple of the highest grade of the first class royal temples. Some of Rama I’s ashes are enshrined here. It is one of Bangkok’s oldest temples and existed before Bangkok was established as the capital. This complex houses the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand; is the earliest center of public education in Thailand; is the birthplace of Thai massage; and houses a school of Thai medicine. But what really draws visitors to this temple is the 150 foot long reclining Buddha. This image represents the entry of Buddha into Nirvana and the end of his reincarnations.
We waited at the gate for a few minutes to be allowed in. Since we were among the first inside the complex we headed immediately to see the Reclining Buddha before the crowds arrived.
It is impossible to get a photograph of the entire length of this Buddha. But we waited in line to snap our photo beside him.
Then we walked down to his feet, which are inlaid with mother-of-pearl and display the auspicious symbols which identify Buddha.
On the backside of Buddha there are 108 bronze bowls mounted onto the corridor which represent the 108 auspicious characters of Buddha. Containers of coins can be purchased for 20 Baht. I got a container of coins and dropped at least one coin in each bowl. It is believed that to do this will bring you good fortune.
Back outside I rang the large gong that sits in front of the Temple of the Reclining Buddha.
We walked on to explore the rest of the complex.
One of the things we noticed immediately is how many cats there are at this temple complex. There are litter boxes, food dishes and cats all around.
I was surprised to see a Merry Christmas sign inside a Buddhist temple complex.
I have been looking for an image of the smiling Buddha and found him here.
There are a couple different spaces where you can make merit.
We walked through the museum of Thai massage.
Melissa explained the edifice here called a stupa. Families build these to enshrine the ashes of their deceased family members.
The courtyard outside the Grand Hall was encircled by hundreds of Buddhas.
We entered the Grand Hall where a ceremony was in progress.
When we came back out there was a crowd gathering across from the Grand Hall. The Buddha in this building was being dressed. Scaffolding had been set up. Two men were on the scaffolding helping to place Buddha’s sash.
By then Yves (and the rest of us) were tired.
Brett and Brendon headed out to sample the wonders and tastes of Chinatown and the rest of us went to Central Rama III Mall. We are meeting more of Chinda and Melissa’s family. Our destination was Haidilao Hot Pot for lunch. (We did make a quick stop so Matt and Melissa could buy Yves a couple Thai children’s books.) Haidilao is a chain of restaurants based out of China. They are known for their exceptional service. This was a new experience for me. Four different soups of varying spice level were placed in the center of our table. We were all given aprons to wear. Raw pork, beef, shrimp, fish and duck intestine as well as cabbage, mushrooms, potato noodles and crispy tofu were delivered to our table. We placed whatever delicacies we chose into the boiling soup to cook and then pulled them out and dipped them in sauce.
Robots playing loud music delivered the meat and vegetables to the table. Suddenly the music got very loud and this dancer appeared. He danced with a fan and the color of his mask changed a dozen times before the last one was removed and we were able to see his face.
We returned to enjoying our hot pot meal and then out of the blue there was a noodle dancer at our table. Yes, you read that right….noodle dancer. He flung a long string of noodles in beautiful arcs all around our table and over our heads. It captivated Yves. I read that in August of 2023 Haidilao of Thailand hosted contestants from the twelve countries where Haidilao operates to compete for the title of best noodle dancer. I’m sorry I missed that contest!
Back to our place we all took naps. Matt and Melissa went out to dinner at North (a traditional Northern Thai restaurant) and Yves’ yai (Thai for maternal grandmother) and grandma stayed on duty. Chinda went down to the Indian restaurant we can see from our apartment and brought us back some naan and chicken. We talked and enjoyed each other until Yves awoke. He screamed for a while but finally calmed down and took his bottle. We felt like successful babysitters when Matt and Melissa returned to a sleeping, well-fed baby but of course, he started to call out when he heard their voices. There is just nothing quite as good as your own parents.
No comments:
Post a Comment