The Long Walk to the Marbleous Marble Temple

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My Finnish friend and I met up with a plan for the day: visit a wat, eat, lounge by the pool, eat again. For a holiday, this is as good as it gets.

We took the ferry to pier 15. From there it's nearly a straight shot down Phitsanulok Road with a turn and then you've arrived at Wat Benchamabopit Dusit Ratchaworawihan, otherwise known as the Marble Temple. But, of course, something so simple wouldn't make for a good story. This is an account of which road to NOT take to the temple.

We were walking down the street and I realized it looked familiar. I then recounted the story of the last time I'd been walking in Dusit back in 2011, and had accidentally managed to not only wander into a protest, but also the police headquarters. But that's a story for another day. (So you know, I did receive permission to walk through the police headquarters. I'm certain they thought I was the dumbest tourist alive.) My friend and I kept walking and noticed a street was blocked off to cars. I wondered if some high ranking official was in the area. We kept walking, noticing Thais going through the closed road; the army guys said nothing to us.

Now, at the point that we saw the tires, sandbags, and razor wire, it would have made sense to turn around. But we saw people on motor scooters coming through, so we figured perhaps it was just a little mess not yet cleaned up from the protests a month or so ago. (There is razor wire still up in other parts of the city.) And last I had read online, everything had been cleaned up. But, no. This easy route was not to be. (I suggest you approach the temple from the north--not the south--instead.) But we were determined to get to the temple, even if it took some rerouting. My friend said if I got us to the temple she'd be proud. I said if it was open I'd be overjoyed.

Finally, we arrived. It was open. And as spectacular as we'd hoped.

We walked around admiring all the different Buddhas. Each Buddha is modeled or copied from a famous one in a different city or country. The buildings surrounding the main building were also beautiful but, sadly, closed. We finally took off our shoes and made our way into the main building, the actual marble temple. It was small inside, but beautiful. Stained glass windows with golden images of Buddha gave the space a warm glow. The large, golden Buddha smiled down on us. It was quiet, peaceful, and serene.

Finally, relaxed and at peace we left. We opted to take an air conditioned taxi back before looking for lunch. As we were leaving I commented that this was in fact where I'd met those nice police officers a few years ago. I do wonder if my next trip to Dusit will be eventful, too. Third time's the charm, right?

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Photos

Door
I love cool doors.

Window
Did you expect another door?

Vietnamese Coffee and spring rolls
Mmmmm, lunch!

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Bangkok
So many beautiful doors. I must have a hundred photos.