On your left is Wat Mahanop. It is one of 600 temples presently found in Bangkok. In Siam, wherever there was a community of reasonable size, you would find a Buddhist temple, known as wat in Thai. In the old days, almost all religious, social, and educational activities took place within the temple.

Building a wat is the first duty of the community. In rural areas, temples are usually built using money collected within the community. If resources are limited, the villagers build the temple with their own hands using whatever resources they can find. In the city, wat are mostly built by wealthy or influential individuals to mark a great achievement. For example, a victorious general returning from war might build a temple. Such an act is not only a fitting way to commemorate a military victory but it would also help offset the bad karma collected on the battlefield.

The Thai government classifies all temples in order of importance. They are grouped into two categories: common temples and royal temples. In Thailand, there are approximately 31,000 temples, of which only 200 are ‘royal’ which means they were built by, or dedicated to, members of the royal family.

Enter Wat Mahan on the North Side

Mahanaparam, the name of this temple, comes from a Sanskrit phrase meaning “the great abode of water.” This refers to the Sea of Samsara which, in Buddhist belief, symbolizes the cycle of birth and death that ensnares all beings.

Wat Mahan is a royal temple built by Prince Annop, a son of King Rama 3. The prince began construction on the temple in 1850. The King himself gave 80,000 baht to assist in the construction of the temple. However, it could not be finished until Rama 4 gave the Prince another 80,000 baht.

The first structure you will see is the bell tower. All proper temples will have a bell tower which is used to call the monks to morning and evening prayers and to important ceremonies. Each temple has its own unique pattern which announces to the community that the monks have performed their duties. Some believe that the temple’s bell is heard in all the 6 realms, and that all beings from heaven to hell will benefit from the sound.

On the right you will see a statue of King Rama 5. The statue was installed by locals to mark the 100th anniversary of Siam’s first public school for commoners which was established here in Wat Mahan. King Rama 5 hoped to set up a system of public schools like those he had seen in Europe. The first school was a simple affair with the purpose of teaching the general public how to read and write. All ages were welcome, and young and old could be seen learning here together.

Enter the Temple Courtyard

As you walk into the inner court you will see the ubosot, or bot, in front of you. Within most temples, the bot is the place where monks assemble for all religious duties and ceremonies such as ordinations and chanting. Thai ordination halls are always surrounded by a protective wall with 8 stone markers.

This bot is a simple design made from bricks and mortar without decoration. The entrance is colored with small ceramic tiles, with a Chinese dragon at the center. The door and window frames are in gilded black lacquer. The panels of the doors and windows are painted with various kinds of animals gilded with glass mosaic. Usually this bot is locked and you will not be able to see inside.

Behind the Wat Mahan Temple

Behind the bot you will find three large stupas, called chedi in Thai. These monuments are tall pyramids or cones supported by a round or square base. Originally, chedis like these were built to contain relics of the Buddha, but nowadays they are used to hold the cremated bones and ashes of kings or important monks, sort of like the pyramids of Egypt. It is also Thai custom to cremate the dead and then place the remains somewhere within the temple. The names and photos of those interred in the chedis can be found on ceramic plaques.

Just in front of the chedis is a Bodhi tree. This tree is supposedly a direct descendant of the tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment. It was brought here as a sapling from Sri Lanka by King Rama 5. Bo trees such as this one are also considered a form of chedi, as they represent the Buddha’s enlightenment.

Temples are also considered to be playgrounds, and you will often see kids happily running around Wat Mahan. This temple is a popular place for local boys to practice takraw, a game that involves a small bamboo ball. In front of the chedis you can see takraw courts painted onto the cement where you might spot a few boys kicking a ball around. There are several variations of the game, but the version played on this court is a blend of volleyball and badminton. The hands cannot be used, so the players take turns twisting and flipping across the court trying their best to keep the ball airborne. Wat Mahan is one of the few temples, if not the only temple, where devotees give takraw balls as offerings. Supposedly, their tightly woven rattan represents group unity and strength. You can usually see a few just within the viharn which you will visit next.

Enter the Viharn

The viharn is a standard feature of most Thai temples. The word means “abode” or “dwelling” in the ancient Indian language of Pali, a language similar to the one spoken by the Buddha. Buddhists believe that the viharn hall is quite literally the abode of the Buddha. In the centuries following the death of the Buddha, his followers did not allow images to be made of him. Instead, round pillars were constructed to represent his body. As Greek culture spread to the east, some began to craft images of the Buddha. Although controversial in the beginning, Buddha images were eventually accepted, and were housed in large halls to protect them from rain and sun. Until today, the viharns are used to house Buddha images.

Wat Mahan houses the famous 500 year old Luang Pho Ruang Buddha image. Prince Annop brought this Buddha to Wat Mahan from the old Siamese capital of Sukhothai. And many Thai people come here to pay their respects to the image and make offerings. You might see some devotees placing sheets of gold leaf on the images in front of the large Buddha image. This is a common Thai practice that often leaves the original image looking like an unusual golden blob.

Chinese immigrants have lived in Bangkok for over three centuries. Most settled near the river where they traded goods with foreign ships passing north to the former capital city of Ayutthaya. When King Rama 1 moved the capital to Bangkok, the Chinese community was relocated to make way for construction of the Grand Palace. Many moved here, and this area is now home to one of the largest concentrations of Chinese immigrants in the old city. These immigrants have played a key role in shaping the city. A perfect example is the Chao Por Seua Shrine.

Although a Taoist temple, the Chao Por Seua Shrine has become one of the main places of worship for Thai Buddhists. This shrine is considered by many to be one of the top 10 places of worship in the city. In fact, just a few years ago, the King urged the Thai people to worship here with the hopes of counteracting the supposed ill effects of a solar eclipse.

Chao Por Seua was built in 1834. At that time it was located on nearby Bamrung Muang Road. However King Rama 5 demanded that the shrine be moved to make way for a new row of shophouses. This upset the Chinese residents and prompted a local shaman to threaten that anybody who attempted to move the shrine would face the wrath of the gods. In response, the King announced that anybody who made predictions against the plan to expand the road would face the wrath of the King. Without delay the shaman decided that the gods could accept the king’s proposal, and the shrine was moved here in 1870.

Chao Por Seua is dedicated to the spirit of a tiger who once lived in the jungle surrounding this area. Legend says that the tiger once killed and ate the only son of a widowed old woman leaving her lonely and destitute. The tiger later regretted his actions and pledged to protect and provide for the old woman. In front of the gate, there are a couple of stone tigers who still look after this place.

Over the gate there is a black stone plaque with carved golden Chinese letters “Sein Tein Zang Tee” the name of the god of the north stars. Chinese worship this deity twice a month. Also on the special occasion of his birthday, thousands of people come from all over the city and the crowds spill over into the street outside. At the far end of the shrine is an altar decorated with embroidered Chinese silk. Sein Tein Zang Tee is in the middle of the altar, and he is guarded on the left and right by images of other Chinese deities. Worshipers will stack these alters with flowers, fruits, and cookies. You will also see a good deal of pork, rice and eggs, which are the favored foods of the feline tiger gods that guard the shrine. The shrine is also a popular place for barren couples to make offerings of sugar tigers, with the hope that they might soon be blessed with a child.

In front of the alter you might see worshipers rattling cans full of wooden sticks. The can is shaken until one numbered stick falls to the floor. The number is then taken to the back of the hall where a corresponding fortune printed on a paper sheet can be found. You can also see worshipers throwing wooden blocks across the floor. Depending on how these blocks fall, the thrower can divine answers to pressing questions.

The shrine is very active and festivals, operas, and puppet shows are held here year round. During certain festivals so many patrons crowd the temple with incense sticks that it is sometimes quite difficult to breathe. Fans and ventilation tubes are mounted on the old wooden beams above to help clear out the smoke. A couple of staff members are also on hand to extinguish and throw out burning incense immediately after it is lit.

The incinerator located on the north end of the main chamber also contributes quite a bit to the thick air. Visitors to the shrine use this furnace to burn paper offerings for the dead. Next to the furnace is a small turtle pond with another pond located on the south side of the hall. In the past, locals would come to feed heaps of morning glory to the turtles in the ponds. They believed these good deeds would bring them merit and good luck. The overfed turtles have long since been removed, but the tanks remain full of water to be used in case of any accidental fire.

Actually, fires were quite common in this neighborhood. In 1958 and 1967 there were large fires outside the shrine that destroyed all of the surrounding homes. Only the shrine was left untouched. Some attribute this miracle to the protection of Sein Tein Zang Tee who provides his devotees with protection from fire, others attribute it to the short concrete wall that used to surround the shrine.

With all Bangkok’s traffic, shopping centers, discos, and expressways, the traditional Thai lifestyle is hardly visible in Bangkok anymore. But through the congestion there are a few places where you can sense what life was like in the past. For example, just ahead there are three tiny communities which have managed to preserve the unique atmosphere of Siam during the reign of Rama 5.

These three communities are collectively known as “sampraeng” which in Thai means ‘three junctions.’ As you walk through these three communities you will see many attractive shophouses built by King Rama 5 to house servants of his court and members of his enormous royal family. Today, these areas have become vibrant communities, each with a character of their own. These charming neighborhoods are regularly threatened with demolition or alteration, but locals who have fought hard to protect them, and have so far managed to hold back the powerful surge of urbanization and commercial development that has claimed most of the old town.
The first junction is Praeng Sanphasat which used to be the entrance to one of the three royal palaces that stood in Sampraeng. The palace entrance is marked by an arching brick gate in European style. At the top of the gate is a statuette of a torch-bearing Greek goddess. This gate was restored by the Fine Arts Department in 1976 and is all that remains of the palace.

Rama 5 planned this neighborhood shortly after his return from a trip to Europe in 1887. The lane had a noticeable European feel to it and many influential Siamese built large fancy homes along this street. The most famous resident of Sanphasat Road was Phibul Songkran, one of the two leaders of the 1932 coup that brought democracy to Siam.

The palace was built in 1906 by Prince Sanphasat, who was the Chief of the Military Engineers Corps during the reigns of Rama 5 and Rama 6. The Prince was also a Royal Gold Smith, so this area became well-known for its gold. Many goldsmiths lived in this community and worked for a German businessman named Grahlert who had a large company shop that once stood on the left. Most of the Grahlert goldsmiths lived in a small street nearby which is still called Company Lane. With so much gold being melted here, gold dust and gold scraps could be found scattered about. Whenever there was a fire in this area, scavengers would rush to sift through the rubble of the homes hoping to strike it rich. Gold scraps were so common that it was not unusual to see people panning for gold in nearby canals. One former resident even went to the trouble of flooding the soil underneath the floor of his home which used to be occupied by a goldsmith. He was able to sift out 45 grams of gold, enough to make a small golden amulet.

Just a few meters down the street on the left you can see a kind old man in a wheelchair making hats. Mister Gim Fong has been making handmade military caps for 60 years. Many top officials, including the Crown Prince, have bought his hats which take approximately two days to make.

Surprisingly, this seemingly innocent neighborhood used to be one of Bangkok’s most active redlight districts. It is rumored that back in the day the going rate was nothing more than one cigarette, making it one of the cheapest brothel districts in town. Locals were often annoyed by male patrons who would wander up and down the street looking for bargains. This problem became more severe during WWII. Local residents were so troubled by the constant flow of lonely American soldiers through their street that they eventually put a banner at the main junction declaring that the area was indeed a redlight district, but that foreign soldiers were not welcome.

Prince Sanphasat died in 1919, 13 years after he built his palace. Shortly after he passed away, his children sold the property to land developers. In 1967, the palace and all the surrounding homes were devastated in less than one hour by a large urban fire. Fires in this part of the old city were common. The open flames would leap from one wooden home to the next destroying everything in their path. Fires were so frequent that many people would dig pits under their homes that could be quickly filled with valuables and sealed to keep them from the flames. The fire that consumed the palace was supposedly started by careless children who had accidentally set a mosquito net ablaze. However, some guess that it was actually part of a scheme by urban developers to clear the land for construction. In any case, the palace has been replaced by these large, and rather boring, concrete buildings, a few publishing houses, offices, and small businesses.

The 3-story yellow building you see here is the only palace left standing in Sampraeng. The palace was built in wood and masonry during the reign of King Rama 5 by Prince Nara, a younger brother of King Rama 5. The interior is decorated in finely carved Golden Teak. On the second floor of the palace there is a spiral iron staircase that runs up to a shrine room on the top floor where Buddha images and family urns are kept. You can see that the building is not in good condition now and needs to be restored.

Prince Nara loved the performing arts and so decided to build a big beautiful theater in the open court behind this palace. This was Thailand’s first Western theater and opera house. The theater was quite elegant and very popular among Bangkok’s elite high society. Prince Nara himself adapted many Western plays like Madame Butterfly and also Chinese and Indian plays were rearranged to be enjoyed by a Thai audience. The storylines and musical melodies closely followed the originals, but the characters and settings were distinctly Thai. These unique dramas were called “lakorn preedalai,” and groups within the community still perform Prince Nara’s preedalai on occasion.

Unfortunately, Prince Nara made some bad investments in a failed railway and tramline and he was forced to sell the property to pay off his debts. Portions of the palace were subsequently rented out to a law firm, which still operates on the far west end.

beep… Now, turn left on Praeng Nara.

This road was cut during the reign of Rama 6, after the palace had been built. At this time the European rowhouses you see were constructed along both sides of the road. There are about 100 2-story units which are still in good condition and are presently being used as commercial shops and residencies. They are under the ownership of the Crown Property Bureau, which manages all the properties owned by the Royal Family.

After the 1932 revolution, Prince Nara’s palace gained new life as the Talaphat Suksa School. This was a private school for children in the neighborhood. The wooden desks and chairs used by the students still remain inside the palace, stacked in piles on the veranda.

beep… Return to Tanao Road and turn right. Walk a few meters and then turn right onto Phraeng Phuton.

Thanks to the efforts of the local community, this is probably the best preserved heritage neighborhood in Bangkok. Recently, the residents within Praeng Phuton decided to restore their community and improve their landscape. With some government support and donated paint, they brought the community back to life. They have created an open public space in the center of the square which they use for community plays and festivals, just like in the old days. Things look pretty much the same today as they did during the reign of King Rama 5.

A royal palace belonging to Prince Phutaret, a son of King Rama 4, once stood here. After the Prince passed away, the land was purchased by King Rama 5. He built this road and constructed these row-houses. On this block there are 145 rooms decorated with beautiful fretted wooden works, typical of the neo-classical European design favored by Rama 5. Most of the ground level rooms have been converted into offices and shops. Many of these are restaurants known for their excellent Thai cuisine, including one of the most famous Thai restaurants called Chote Chitr which, in spite of its simple homely appearance, boasts a menu of over 400 of Bangkok’s most tasty dishes. It is located on your left just as you enter the community.

As you walk further along the road you will notice a number of Austin cars. These are a part of a private collection owned by a local businessman. The owner, named Vichian, has over 16 Austin cars, one of which he sold to the Crown Prince. Inside his autoshop he keeps 2 or 3 older Mercedes Benz cars inside his autoshop on the right side of the street, the type that would have been seen in the early 1900s when cars were first introduced to Siam. This autoshop was one of the first in Siam and also served as Bangkok’s first Driver’s License Bureau. Those few Siamese citizens who could afford cars would come here to register them and to get their driving permits. Many of Bangkok’s first drivers had to go round and round in this circle to demonstrate that they could drive. Conveniently, the Red Cross health clinic was here to treat anyone who couldn’t.

Sukhuman Health Clinic

Its easy to spot the clinic as it is the only building standing in the community square. This is Bangkok’s second Red Cross dispensary. Its construction was the dying wish of Queen Sukhuman, one of Rama 5′s chief queens, before she passed away on July 9th, 1927. Inside the clinic you can see a large photograph of Rama 5 with Queen Sukhuman.

This Red Cross station was built using donations collected during the Queen’s funeral ceremony. The total cost of construction was 17,712 and 21 satang. The clinic is partly maintained using interest accrued from remaining donations which are kept in the bank.

The clinic still functions as a Red Cross dispensary. Patients arrive at the clinic as early as 5 am to queue in the benches set on the patio of the clinic. Patients are treated by any of the 16 medical staff members that live upstairs in the clinic, and two visiting doctors from Chulalongkorn University. According to the security guard, most injuries can be treated here, and a fair amount of people come in for stitches following street brawls or minor injuries suffered the night before. The plaque mounted on the front wall reads: “May these facilities be used as the Queen wished and may those who made contributions for its construction be successful in gaining their wishes.”

In 1911, one military group called “Kana 130” made secret plans to assassinate King Rama 6 who, at that time, had only been on the throne for two years. The government discovered the plot before it went down, and captured all those involved. One of them was living here in Phraeng Phuton at the time. A small gathering of local residents looked on in astonishment as the police raided his home and took him into custody. All the involved conspirators in the Kana 130 assassination plot were found guilty and sentenced to death. However, Rama 6 forgave them and reduced their punishment to life imprisonment. Later, Rama 6 released them all despite the fact that they had once plotted to kill him.

Bangkok may be full of shopping centers today, but 100 years ago this street was all there was. Bamrung Muang Road is the location of Bangkok’s first western-style shopping mall, and it was at one point the most diverse shopping and commercial zone in Bangkok. During the Reign of Rama 5 the shophouses lining the street held 19 sewing shops, two watch-repair shops, five carpenters, 73 textile shops, 25 stores selling ceramics, crystal, gold, brass and silver, five hardware stores, nine pharmacies, 19 stationers, one bookshop, three cosmetic outlets, three food shops, 29 pawnshops and 49 grocery and coffee houses.

Siam’s first barber shops were opened on Bamrung Muang, undermining the traditional traveling barbers that would pass from door to door with their mobile haircutting salons. Siam’s first laundry services were also located here, and became enormously popular with royal court staff who were not familiar with the intricacies of washing and ironing the western pants and shirts they were required to wear on duty.

Bamrung Muang, which in Thai means “the road embellishing the city,” is one of the oldest roads in the city. Since the very first days it has served as the main footpath from the river to Wat Suthat. The bridge at the beginning of this road was made of brick and strong enough to hold elephants. For this reason elephants would often be seen walking up and down Bamrung Muang which itself is reinforced with one meter of stacked brick underneath. The road was modified in 1863 when Bangkok’s first sewer system was installed, something we can all thank King Rama 5 for.

Small wooden shops once lined the entire length of Bamrung Muang. After King Rama 5 returned from Singapore in 1870, he razed the wooden shops and built rowhouses resembling those he saw in Singapore. These were the first concrete buildings in Siam. When people first saw the thick walls and arched gates, they were awed and astonished by their beauty and uniformity. This style became quite popular and was used through the reign of King Rama 6.

All these arcade buildings once had an arched walkway where customers could walk through the entire row of buildings, but later the owners closed the entrances between each room. To this day there is no proper footpath on Bamrung Muang, so take care as you walk along.

Monk Accessory Shops

Nowadays the western-style stores are no longer, and Bamrung Muang is the largest Buddhist artifacts thoroughfare in Siam. In an unusual reversal of Bangkok’s trend toward modernization, scores of stores selling foreign products and luxury items have been replaced by ma and pa shops producing and selling traditional Buddhist accessories. These shops are called sanghaput in Thai, a word which literally means ‘things for monks.’ According to the Buddhist canon there are 8 specific items that a Buddhist monk requires: an under robe, upper robe, outer robe, alms bowl, straight razor, needle, string belt, and water strainer. In the past, shops such as these only sold these bare requisites, but later they added more accessories. Today, all items for Buddhist practice can be found here.

Explore the shops and you will find all sorts of curious things: there are bells made from spent bomb casings from the Vietnam War; human-sized sculpted wax candles as well as life-like wax monks and forest hermits; colorful ceremonial fans; spirit shrines in the shape of popular temples; triangular pillows; gongs and wooden drums. There are heavy-duty monk bags for forest monks who live and meditate in the jungle, and the umbrella-shaped tents that they meditate within. There are thousands of shining Buddhas of all shapes, styles and sizes stacked in rows. Many of them wrapped in sheets of cellophane to protect them from corrosive car fumes. Amongst all the shining images you can see the laughing Buddha and Guan Yin from China, as well as replicas of images unique to Thailand such as the famous Emerald Buddha. There are also statues of famous Siamese kings such as Naresuan, Taksin, and Rama 5 seated on a horse.

But most common are the monk buckets. After performing rituals, monks are usually given a donation of supplies. Traditionally these were offered on ornate ceremonial pedestal trays, but these days it most often comes in a plastic bucket. Colored saffron like the robes, the monk bucket has become the symbol of urban Thai spirituality, sometimes called fast-food Buddhism. Buckets contain all the monks need for daily living: things like soap, incense, candles, matches and flip-flops. They often contain things that no monk would ever need, such as bullion cubes, canned milk, and stale biscuits.

Ideally, Buddhist monks are not to buy or ask these supplies, instead they were to take everything they needed from corpses in the cemetery or from scraps found in the forest. In earlier times, people would often leave robes and assorted accessories hanging on trees for the monks to take and use. Thai Buddhists, in a symbolic gesture, continue to place offerings on fake plastic trees called Thot Phra Pha. These novelty trees are loaded down with modern conveniences such as toothpaste and laundry detergent, things that monks in the Buddha’s time surely never stumbled across in the jungle.


Buddha Image Foundries & Workshops

Not only are all Buddhist accessories sold here, but most are also manufactured and produced on location behind the scenes. In the small alleys behind the row buildings you can find craftsmen sewing monk robes and belts, ceremonial fans, and pillows.

Near the end of the sanghaput thoroughfare, in the small lane to your left just behind the Brahmin Chapel, are some foundry factories where Buddha statues are made. If you walk down the lane you can see the images being sanded, painted, wrapped in orange cloth and loaded into pickup trucks for delivery. In some workshops the craftsmen work deep into the night, and you may watch them.

King Rama 1 intended to make his new capital of Rattanakosin as grand as Ayutthaya; he started by calling on architects from the former capital to build a temple as grand as Wat Phanon Choeng which was Ayutthaya’s largest temple.

Wat Suthat was intended to not only mark the heart of Bangkok, but also to mark the center of the universe. In fact, the name “suthat” denotes Suthatsa Nakhon, the celestial city of Indra which sits at the top of the mythical Mount Meru. The temple halls and other structures clearly resemble the traditional pattern of the Buddhist universe.

Precise planning from the beginning earned it praise as “the most finely proportioned temple.” Wat Suthat also contains some of the most excellent examples of Thai Buddhist art and architecture outside of a museum.

Despite its reputation as one of Bangkok’s finest temples, the temple has yet to become a popular tourist destination. Nevertheless, Wat Suthat remains one of Bangkok’s four most important temples; it is in the highest grade of first-class royal temples and has been under royal patronage since Bangkok’s founding. The temple school trains and supplies priests for many important royal ceremonies. The compound is enormous, covering almost 45,000 square meters, that’s over 10 acres of temple. It boasts Bangkok’s tallest temple hall as well as Bangkok’s largest ordination hall. It is also home to the largest bronze Buddha image in the country, a Buddha image made entirely from used opium containers, and one of Thailand’s oldest Buddhist engravings.

Construction on the temple began in 1807 and took 40 years to complete, from the first to the third reigns. Rama 1 installed the main Buddha image and laid the foundation for the grand viharn that was built up around it. King Rama 2 continued work on the viharn by adding all the ornamentation, he then started work on the ordination hall behind it. It was left to King Rama 3 to finish the entire construction according to the original plan. He added many more buildings all over the temple compound and gave names to all the Buddha images inside. He was also responsible for naming the temple itself.


Terraces of Wat Suthat

A gallery encircles three terraces with the grand viharn in the middle. 156 Buddha images in meditation are placed in a row along the walls of the gallery which is lined with murals depicting the life story of Rama. The lowest terrace is a wide courtyard filled with odd cement statues of scholars, sailors and warriors which were brought as ballast in rice boats returning from China. On the second level are twenty-eight Chinese pagodas signifying the 28 different Buddhas born on Earth.

In each corner of the terrace stands a bronze horse, all of which were cast and installed in 1855 and have since turned green with age. The enclosed upper terrace holds four small pavilions. They are small-scale wooden replicas of the image hall, with each pavilion housing two Buddha images.

Viharn Exterior

You should now be standing in front of Bangkok’s tallest viharn.

The Chinese stone pavilion in front of the main hall was formally located inside the temple hall, but was placed here during the eighth reign so that the public could get an unhindered view of the presiding Buddha image.

This image hall was intentionally built to predominate and be a landmark like Suthatsa Nakhon atop Mount Meru. The base was specially made to stand 6 meters high in the concept of a heavenly abode. The image hall itself is a structure with a two-tiered roof and front and back porches, the roofs of which are also two-tiered. On the gable of the roof is an exquisite wood carving with colored glass of the god Indra atop Erawan, a mythical 3-headed elephant.

Climb the staircase onto the frontal porch This porch was added in the fourth reign, to reduce the distance from the main gate to the main temple hall. The porches are of the same construction as the viharn, but instead of Lord Indra on the gable you will find Lord Vishnu.
beep… You are requested to take off your shoes before entering the viharn. As you do this please take a look at the large wooden doors leading into the hall.

Viharn Wooden Doors

These door panels are superb examples of Thai wood carving and are considered to be the most important art pieces of the period. There are three panels on each side in front and at the back. Each is a single thick plank of teak wood about 1 1/2 meters wide, 5 1/2 meters tall, and 16 centimeters thick. Each is individually carved in five layers of different depths, with the deepest layer at 15 centimeters. The carved designs are of squirrels, monkeys, and hermits living in the mythical forests surrounding Mount Meru.

The carvings on the original front doors were partially the work of King Rama 2, himself a noted artist. But these were moved to the National Museum after one door was partially burned by incense sticks in 1959. The original doors were replaced by the doors from the backside of the temple. Supposedly the tools and molds used to carve the originals were thrown into the river so that these works could never be copied.

Sri Sakyamuni Buddha Image

The first thing you will see after entering the hall is Phra Sri Sakyamuni, the name given to the oldest cast bronze image from Sukhothai. The image used to be called Phra Doh meaning “Big Buddha” because it is one of the largest metal Buddhas in Thailand.

The image was cast in 1361. It was later found in the crumbling ruins of Mahathat Temple in Sukhothai where it had been exposed for over 4 centuries to rain, sun, and forest fires. King Rama 1 hoped to salvage the image and had it floated down the river to be installed here. It landed in Bangkok in April of 1808, and festivities were held for three days to celebrate its arrival. But the Big Buddha, at over 8 meters tall, was so large that it could not pass through the pier gate, so a part of the city wall had to be torn down. Rama 1, even though terminally ill, assisted in pulling the image through the hole in the wall and across town to Wat Suthat. It is said that after Rama 1 personally hoisted the image into place, he whispered to his assistants that his work “was now done.” He died later that week.

Behind the throne there is a gilded limestone-carving of the 8th century Dvaravati period, two and a half meters in height. The upper portion tells the story of the Buddha teaching his mother in the heavens. The lower portion portrays the Buddha performing the miracle of the mango tree with which he shocked his rivals into submission by projecting multiple apparitions of himself into a mango tree. This bas-relief is one of Siam’s great masterpieces and one of the oldest Buddhist artifacts in Southeast Asia.

Just under the throne, lie the ashes of King Rama 8. The young king had studied at Wat Suthat and wished that his ashes would be interred here. They were placed underneath the image on the 4th of April after his untimely death in 1950. A life size statue of Rama 8 was installed outside in the northeast corner of the courtyard by his brother Rama 9, the present King. Every year on June 9th the King holds a memorial service for his brother here.
Mural Paintings

Inside the viharn you will see murals on all the walls. These murals were painted during the reign of Rama 3 portraying amazingly intricate details of celestial palaces with deities, unusual creatures, and lotus ponds. Guardians are painted on the window panels and in between the windows are murals telling the life stories of the 28 Buddhas. On the 8 inner columns are beautiful mural paintings depicting the 3-worlds of Thai Buddhist cosmology.

The murals of Wat Suthat are considered to be the most beautiful of the Rattanakosin period. But by the 80s they had deteriorated significantly. At that time there were over 1000 bats nesting in the rafters overhead, and their dripping dung was damaging the murals. Eventually a chemical with a horrible smell was used to drive them all away. Once the bats had been evicted, the German Embassy funded a major renovation of the Wat Suthat murals. The restored works were unveiled in 1985.

The Vishnu Shrine is a 25 year old temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, one of the members of the Hindu trinity. The predominant feature of this shrine is a brightly colored statue of Vishnu above which a cobra protectively spreads her hood. The shrine is maintained by Indian priests and is under the administration of the Hindu Association of Thailand which also manages a school and temple just down the street from here. The atmosphere around the shrine is especially fascinating in the evening around 7 o’ clock when Thai Buddhists and Indian Hindus gather together here to chant hymns.

Lord Vishnu

Lord Vishnu is popularly regarded as the preserver of the universe. He is depicted frequently in human form with four arms: One hand holds a lotus; a second holds a conch; a third holds a discus; and the fourth carries a mace. The petals of the lotus are believed to symbolize the unfolding of creation; the conch is said to symbolize that from which all life originates.

Occasionally, the balance of power is upset in favor of evil, and then Lord Vishnu is believed to descend to earth in a mortal form to save humankind or the world. Ten such avatars are commonly recognized, of which Lord Rama is the most important in Thailand. Rama has been used as a title for the Thai kings since the sixth reign, and the former Siamese capital of Ayutthaya was named after the city in India where Rama ruled.

Vishnu is often seen riding a huge creature, half bird and half man, called Garuda in Thailand. Garuda also happens to be the personal emblem of the King of Thailand, who is believed to be a reincarnation of Vishnu. So each vehicle of the King — whether Rolls-Royce, royal barge, train or plane — becomes Garuda. And every vehicle carrying the king will sport a hood ornament in the form of Garuda. Garuda’s image also graces all official government documents, highway marker posts, banks, and all coinage and currency.

It has been struck by lightning, set on fire, relocated, and twice threatened with demolition, but the Giant Swing still stands tall, and has for over 222 years. Yet still, even though the wooden monument is one of Bangkok’s oldest and most recognizable symbols, very few people know its history.

According to ancient Thai law, giant swings were to be built in every major city in the kingdom. Although there is no physical evidence of them, some scholars guess that there were giant swings in all important cities throughout Siam including Sukhothai, Ayutthaya, and Nakorn Si Thammarat. So naturally, when Rama 1 built a new capital here in Bangkok, Brahmin priests advised him to immediately build a Giant Swing. On April 8th, 1784 construction was completed on the Giant Swing.

The original swing was 42 meters tall, nearly twice the height of the present swing. And in those days it stood directly in front of the Brahmin Chapels. It was later moved to its present location by King Rama 5 to make room for a tank to hold the kerosene used to light the Grand Palace.

Giant Swing Ceremony

The Giant Swing ceremony originated in south India, but oddly enough, there are no swings found in India. According to the legend, following the creation of the earth, Brahma sent Shiva down to observe. Unsure that the earth would be solid enough to support his weight, he tied a giant sea serpent to the peaks of two mountains and, taking hold, swung down from the heavens. After testing with one foot whether the ground was firm enough to support his weight, Shiva descended from his giant swing, and took his first steps on the newly created world. The swing is a representation of the swing used by Shiva to descend to earth; the two pillars symbolize the mountain peaks while the circular base symbolizes earth and ocean.

According to Brahmin belief, every new year Shiva and Vishnu revisit the earth to bless the fields and the crops of Siam. And for at least four centuries Brahmin priests have been performing rites to greet them.

Since this is a ceremony to thank the gods for good crops, the King often asked the Minister of Agriculture to organize the event and represent Shiva as the Lord of the Swing. The ceremony would start early in the morning with the Lord of the Swing putting on a special ceremonial robe, white hat and white cloak. Hundreds of Brahmin court astrologers would then carry him on a wooden plank around the walls of the city to Wat Suthat. Should the master of the swing be a highly affluent person, the procession would be a great and elaborate event. While a parade under a lesser-known person would usually be less than spectacular.

When the parade reached the Giant Swing, the Lord of the Swing would take a seat on a piece of bamboo, keeping his right foot on his left knee. He was to maintain this posture throughout the entire ceremony. Should he fail, he would forfeit his 80 baht payment for conducting the ceremony.

During the ceremony, three teams of four men take turns on the swing. Three men in the middle would rock the swing back and forth. A fourth man, standing in the bow, would attempt to bite a bag of coins off a bamboo pole raised next to the swing. There were three different heights at which the pole was fixed — one for each of the three teams. Surprisingly, the money from the lowest position was the most difficult to get. After this, the second, medium-height pole is put into position, and lastly the highest one, from which it is said to be the easiest to seize the bag of money.

Many men lost their lives trying to snatch the bags which contained only 1 to 12 baht each. The swing ceremony was repeated in the morning and afternoon for two days every year. After the Lord of the Swing had seen the swing contest, he would move to another stage to watch actors dressed as gods, spirits and sea serpents dance and throw water in a celebration of Shiva’s descent.

The ritual was intended to instill confidence in the minds of the people and to assure them of the new capital’s strength and the country’s stable economy as sponsors spent large sums of money on the event and accompanying festivities. A related ceremony is still performed by the Brahmins on the 5th day of the waxing moon in the second lunar month with a miniature swing in the main building of the Temple of the Court Brahmins accompanied by the chanting of hymns.

Fate of the Giant Swing

Although the red swing is now one of the most famous landmarks in Bangkok, it has not always been so popular. During the reign of King Rama 5 there was a debate about whether the ceremony should be abolished and the swing knocked down to make room for development. One side argued that the swing ceremony was based on Brahmanism, not Buddhism, and should therefore be terminated. Others argued that the swing festival was an old and harmless tradition. Finally, King Rama 5 decided to maintain the festival, if only to give the people a chance to enjoy once a year. The council decided to move the swing to its present location.

The swing ceremony was held for several more decades until it was canceled in 1935. With the ceremony finally abolished, there were some in the city government that were determined to knock down the swing. But since it had already been registered as a historic site, only the Fine Arts Department could grant permission for its removal, which they refused to do. There were actually plans to revive the swinging ceremony itself in 1979, but nothing came of them. Today the Giant Swing is protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

There used to be yet another royal mansion located here. But it was pulled down during the reign of King Rama 5 and this area was converted into one of Bangkok’s biggest markets as seen in the picture on the inside flap of our tour map.
The Saochingcha Market consisted of concrete row buildings built around a public square. Craftsmen here were very good at making brass look like gold, and the market became renowned for its quote unquote “saochingcha gold.” Jewelry made in the Saochingcha Market was especially popular in the rural areas where few people were able to distinguish the differences between brass and gold. The market also had a number of gambling dens that were open only during business hours between 7am and 5pm.

Saochingcha market was eventually paved over to make this boring concrete square. Musical and dramatic performances are often held here on holidays, but for the most part this is just wasted space. However there is some good news for you, underneath Kor Tor Mor Square is a large underground parking lot with comfortable public toilets. Drop by if you need.
Just in front of the square you can see a giant granite plaque with the proper name of Bangkok inscribed in Thai characters. The intention was to place the plaque here so that tourists could stand in front of it and take their photos. But most visitors to the square are unaware of what the plaque says as it is in Thai language and there is no explanation provided. The full name of the city is, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the longest place name in the world. So be patient as we officially welcome you to:

“Krungthepmahanakhonamornrattanakosinmahintharayudthayamahadilokphopnoppharatratchathaniburiromudomratchaniwetmahasatharnamornpimarnawatansathitsakkathattiyawitsanukramprasit.”

Roughly translated this is: “The city of angels, the great city, the eternal jewel city, the impregnable city of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarn.”

Don’t feel bad if you can’t say the whole thing properly. Most Thai, even though they are taught it in school, cannot recall the full name of their capital city. The language used is so archaic that most Thai find it incomprehensible and difficult to remember. So most just shorten it to Krungthep, or the Thai initials Kor Tor Mor. However there are a select few that can recite it thanks to a popular song that takes the full name for its lyrics.