Tuesday 19 November 2024
Full Day in Bangkok 4 – Wat Saket

Wat Saket the Golden Mount Temple

I have been to Wat Saket on one of my first winters in Thailand (about 11 or 12 years ago). I remember well not feeling a strong connection when I visited then. It is a Royal Temple of the Second Class, so considered rather important in the Buddhist Religion in Thailand. Being a 15-minute walk from Wat Suthat, I decided to take the walk and give Wat Saket another look.

Wat Saket History

The temple dates back to the Ayutthaya era. When Bangkok became the capital, King Rama I (1737–1809) renovated the temple and gave it its present name, roughly translated as “wash hair.” It was believed that on his return from the war, the king stopped to take a bath and wash his hair here, before entering the inner city.

King Rama III (1788–1851), decided to build a chedi of huge dimensions inside the Wat Saket temple grounds, but the chedi collapsed during construction because the soft soil of Bangkok could not support the weight. Over the next few decades, the abandoned mud-and-brick structure acquired the shape of a natural hill and was overgrown with weeds.

During the reign of King Rama IV, construction began of a small chedi on the hill. It was completed early in the reign of his son, King Rama V (1853–1910), and sanctified by being covered in a layer of gold. The surrounding concrete walls were added in the 1940s to stop the hill from eroding. The modern Wat Saket was built in the early 20th century using Carrara marble and a stairway was added with 344 steps spiraling up the mountain.

Walking up the Golden Mount

The entrance to the Golden Mount Temple:

I was attracted to this statue with the blue, almost purple hair. I think this would be a “thewada” which is an “angelic being that lives in the heavenly realm.” (Or in western religions, an angel.) More likely though, given its posture and dress, it might be an artistic Buddha image. Love the hair.

Turning left (and paying the 50 baht entrance fee), the steps up the golden mount started. Clearly, the sign is targeting tourists, English only, no Thai.

About a third of the way up there was a very large gong I just had to strike. A German man took my photo and then I took his.

The walk up the mountain was not particularly inspiring. The steps are shorter than normal steps, about 2/3 of normal height, so my feet often almost missed a step, it was a slow walk. Once at the top, inside a pavilion was a gold model of the mountain. The spiral staircase can be seen in this photo:

On the other side of the pavilion was the Buddha statue less than 1 meter tall (not including the base or the backdrop), not as large as I expected, but quite nice.

I made my way down the Golden Mountain, equally as uninspired as ten years ago. It just seemed a little too “touristy.” And now I am in a part of Bangkok far from the BTS Skytrain or MRT Subway. I located the closest BTS stop on a map, and luckily, a tuk-tuk was dropping off visitors to Wat Saket, so I got him to take me to the BTS. From there, I headed back to my hotel to clean up and consider a late lunch.

Next: Full Day in Bangkok 5 – Pad Krapow at Ped Mark