Wat Arun is on everyone’s travel must see list, if you actually step foot in the temple or not. It is possibly the most iconic temple in Bangkok because it sits on the river, has an amazing glow at sunset, and lights up the night sky after dark. You can’t miss it if you tried.
Wat Arun, also known as the Temple of Dawn. The origin of the temple can be traced back to the late 16th century when it is found in documents as Wat Makok.
After the fall of Ayutthaya, King Taksin made Thornburi the new capital (other side of the river from Bangkok) and after seeing the sunrise over the temple, he renamed the temple ‘Wat Chaeng,’ which means “Temple of Dawn.”
Later, King Rama II and III expanded the temple, and King Rama V adorned the prang with colorful porcelain and seashells which give it the glittering appearance.
The central prang is said to represent Mount Meru, the center of the universe in Buddhist cosmology. The temple’s layout is designed to reflect the journey towards the enlightenment.
Wat Arun is another very busy place. I would say we hit the 3 most popular stops on the hop on, hop off bus tour, and probably in the city.
This was on day 2 of our hop off experience, and the only stop we made because… honestly, tired, hot, sore. You get the idea.
But the reason I did not fully absorb this temple is because as we were entering I got an email from the US government.
I signed up for the STEP program, which is for Americans traveling abroad. If anything of interest might happen, say an earthquake, tsunami, or increased level of awareness needed due to threats against something, they send out an email for everyone who is enrolled in the program and in the country.
All of the emails I have gotten from them to date were ‘your subscription for xxx country has ended;’ or ‘you will now receive…’
Generally, I glance and ignore, but as we were entering the Wat Arun, and the very nice man was handing us free bottles of Wat Arun drinking water, the message was about terrorists.
Apparently, the Thai government had deported a group (I think they were Chinese, but cannot remember the exact term used) the day before, and the US consulate wanted me to know that and to be on an ‘increased awareness level” especially in high traffic tourist areas.
Well, if that doesn’t change your awareness and attitude toward something, I don’t know what will.
Apparently, the last time there was a deportation of this particular group, there was a retaliation where they blew something up, killing 20 people and injuring 125 more, and the governments were concerned something similar might happen again.
I’m glad I got the warning because I did not know anything about any of that, but it also upsetting. I doubt anything will happen, but it is good to be aware and alert. I had been lulled into the constant reminder that Thailand doesn’t have crime, or very little crime. Thailand is a perfectly safe place where people don’t even lock their doors. Traffic accidents are more likely to cause harm than anyone going nuts. It is not the United States, after all.
I guess they might not have crime, which I questioned from the beginning, but they do have terrorism, and we were in the biggest spot for potential attack, entering a very crowded and popular tourist site.
What the hell. What else am I going to do? Run screaming into the river? I’d be hit by a barge and victim of a traffic accident.
It did not help that as soon as we entered the temple area, there are messages recorded on repeat saying to guard your valuables. Zip up your bags and wear them on the front of your body. Be aware of pick pockets. Do not pause to take pictures, use the certified photo takers wearing the vests with numbers on them.
Yes, I know that was probably promotional, and those photographers are usually very good because they take the same shots, but it was another upsetting moment of timing. Terrorists, pick pockets, thieves and prescribed photo people.
The whole entry did not sit well with me, and again, it was very busy. So, Wat Arun, not my favorite, but I tried.
It is a thing here in Thailand to rent traditional clothing and have a photographer follow you around and pose you for perfect Instagram shots. There were a lot of people participating in this activity at this temple today. A freaking lot.
Everyone was ignoring the ‘don’t take photos thing, so I took photos. I don’t know that I got any of the important pictures, but I did follow a couple of the photographers around for a bit to see how they were posing and framing their shots.
Did not do what most of them did, but I did take pictures. Even some selfies to prove I was there. In case someone blows up the temple or something, which is now an odd but very real possibility in my head.
It would not be a real wat if they did not give you the opportunity to climb something. Or at least the visual that you should climb something even if they did not want you to.
So, I climbed up the knee high stairs to see the view. You can get about half way up where you can walk around the center part and try not to fall off the edge.
The hardest part of the whole climb was trying to stay out of other people’s photos. And they were taking a long ass time to pose their photos. I finally gave up and came back down.
I sat down and scooted down the steps, and will admit to having a hand on the wall even though I will go to hell for that according to the signs. I wanted to not go to hell today by falling down the stairs, so I took my chances with future fate, although I did consider that for a long time given the mood of the day.
In an inspired moment when I got to level ground, I found the opportunity to provide the world with a Public Service Announcement.
The above picture shows you elephant pants. I am so glad I did not purchase the elephant pants. I knew they would not fit me, but even to bring home for anyone. They look very comfortable, but nothing in this country screams tourist as much as the elephant pants. I scream tourist with my big camera, backpack and American clothes, I do not need to add the elephant pant exclamation mark to my resume. It was bad enough I was wearing a wrap skirt that doesn’t wrap all the way around so I can wear shorts the rest of the day. I will be passing that skirt on to the skinny people at home at my first opportunity.
But the point is. Elephant Pants. Tourist. When you know, you know.
On the way out, there was this random (to me at least) sign. No idea why anyone would stick this sign in my path today, but there it was. It isn’t wrong.
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