Wat Arun, Bangkok

Next up on our agenda was to visit Wat Arun temple, which had to be reached through a short ferry ride from the jetty. After grabbing a quick bite to eat outside Wat Pho we made our way down the road toward the Jetty.. All along the way there are hawkers selling everything from fresh fruits, fruit juices and there was a row of shops selling souvenirs of all kinds - magnets, bookmarks, caps, bags, key chains and much more.. It was a riot of colours. You buy the ticket for the Ferry which is 3Baht per ride per person and made your way down the wobbly path to the boat. 

A boat arrives, we jump in, find a spot to sit and get set for the short ride across. The Wat Arun Temple looms large across the river against the blue skies. 

Wat Arun, locally known as Wat Chaeng, is situated on the west (Thonburi) bank of the Chao Phraya River. It is easily one of the most stunning temples in Bangkok, not only because of its riverside location, but also because the design is very different to the other temples you can visit in Bangkok. Wat Arun (also called the temple of the dawn) is partly made up of colourfully decorated spires and stands majestically over the water. The spire (prang) on the bank of Chao Phraya River is one of Bangkok's world-famous landmarks. It has an imposing spire over 70 metres high, beautifully decorated with tiny pieces of coloured glass and Chinese porcelain placed delicately into intricate patterns.

You do need to pick up a pass to enter the temple campus, it costs 100 baht. If you are not wearing the right kind of attire [ hands and legs covered for girls, then you can hire a sarong or shirt for a small deposit] The temple is open daily from 08:30 to 17:30 and the last boat ride I think is at 6pm.

We said a quick prayer before entering the temple premises. the steps leading to the top towers are quite steep, to say the least. I managed to climb up two flights but the third was tricky, almost vertical.. and it was super crowded, so taking your own time getting up was out of the question. The view from the 2nd was breathtaking, you can see the entire river winding around and Wat Pho as well. Apparently, if you go all the way up you can see Grand Palace as well. 

History

Wat Arun was envisioned by King Taksin in 1768. It is believed that after fighting his way out of Ayutthaya, which was taken over by a Burmese army at the time, he arrived at this temple just as dawn was breaking. He later had the temple renovated and renamed it Wat Chaeng, the Temple of the Dawn. It used to be the home of the Emerald Buddha, before the capital and Palace was moved to the other side of the river. This can now be seen at the Grand Palace.

The central prang was extended during the reign of Rama III (between 1824 and 1851), and is now one of the most visited sites in Thailand. It was also Rama III who added the decoration of the spires with porcelain, so that they glimmer in the sunshine.

We spent a good hour or hour and a half here and made our way back to the jetty to catch the boat. It was one memorable day indeed. The only place was the Grand Palace, which we set aside for another day! 

Attire that is available for hire, wear and take a picture :) 

Stay tuned for more... 

Thursday Challenge.. Spring is in the air...

The theme for today is "SPRING" (Fresh Leaves, Baby Animals, Warm Weather,...)

Clicked this when walking out of a cafe in Bangalore after a meeting that had me nothing but pissed off.. An ex client called to meet and I went, only to be attacked by her & her so called boss for an hour on MLM funda... jeez!! 

This I clicked outside a store in Jaipur. We were there for about 5days and went to this place twice, only to find it shut. But we did not give up. Went back again another day and it was open. An over the top pricey store it turned out to be.. 

Skywatch Friday... Summer is here~

With the temperature soaring, we are all melting down and gearing up for the days to come. The sun shows no respite~!! 

For more beautiful skies, visit Skywatch Friday ...

Kundrakudi Murugan temple, Kundrakudi

The day we landed in Karaikudi, we made a list of places we wanted to see in and around here. Among the places were two temples, one being Pillayarpatti Pillayar temple and the other was the Murugan temple. We hailed a cab and the cabbie told us we can do both in half a day and figure out plan for the rest of the day as we go along. 

We agreed, and proceeded towards the Pillayar temple. Once done there, we headed towards  Kundrakudi. Along the way, again, the driver and my friend went on about the movies this temple was featured in, including one that I knew of- Emdan magan starring Bharat, Nasser, Saranya and vadivel  where in one scene Saranya pretends to do angapradharshanam around this temple to cover up a lie she told her husband Nasser who lands at the temple to check on her.. quite a hilarious scene that is. 

 Coming back to the temple, as we got out of the car, I noticed the temple was atop a small hillock and there were steps carved in the hill painted red and white. Near the bottom of the hill was a small shrine for Lord Ganesha [ Muruga's brother]

We climbed up, pausing here and there to click pictures. The view of the town below was beautiful- there was plenty of greenery all around. The day was busy, there was quite a crowd making their way up the steps with us. 

The temple houses Lord Murugan Temple with his wives Lord Valli and Deivanai. The Murugan statue is set up with six faces and hence here Lord Murugan is called as "Lord Shanmuga", the meaning is Lord Murugan with six faces.  Another thing we noticed here was that the Navagrahas were placed differently. usually they face the direction they are meant for, but here they were all facing the Main statue of Lord Muruga.

We spent a few minutes enjoying the cool breeze and lovely view before making our way down. Also housed near the bottom of the hill, on the right side was another temple, where Lord Muruga is called Lord Palani Murugan. In this Palani Murugan temple the main statue is not fixed on floor, but is set on a table of sorts. Apparently, this Idol is taken to Palani every year during the Thaipoosam festival.   

Some of the work on the pillars and atop the temple was beautiful and so colourful as well. As we bid adieu to God and made our way towards another new place, we could feel the sun blaze on our back..