Buddhism in Bangkok

Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist country and Bangkok is a city that celebrates this on what appears to be almost every corner. Temples, shrines, statues and monuments are dotted so frequently around the city that you can worship almost anywhere. Or, as a non-Buddhist, you can simply look and admire. Because Buddhism is a beautifully decorated religion.

This is very typical architecture for a Buddhist temple

Some of Bangkok's most famous tourist attractions are temples, the most impressive being Wat Phra Kaew (don't ask me how to pronounce this!), Wat Pho and Wat Arun - Wat means temple, in case you didn't guess. We visited them all and although the architectural style of the temples is similar at all of them, you don't become acclimatised or immune to the beauty, because they are all just so stunning. Most are decorated with mirrored glass mosaic, all pieces hand-cut and hand-placed onto the walls. It must have taken an absolute age to complete and the effect is simply incredible. I couldn't capture it in a photo but they look like they glitter.

Within each temple complex are different buildings, which house different statues and/or shrines. These are situated very closely to each other but can be all differently shaped and sized, depending on the importance of what it houses. The more important a statue, the grander its home.

Statues of Buddha are erected at every opportunity and often grouped together or lined up in a row. It seems that the rule is 'the more, the merrier' within most temples!

Most depictions of Buddha are of him sitting in the lotus position, but we saw a few of him reclining or standing. One statue stands at 100ft tall (and is appropriately named 'Big Standing Buddha') and at one point in history could be seen from a lot of the city; now, many buildings block his view but he's pretty impressive up close, particularly his big shiny gold toes...

You can visit some of the temples at night to see them all lit up. We cycled through one and our guide told us about the demons that stand guard outside each temple to ward off bad spirits and keep them away from Buddha. The green one below is the king of the demons, with one of his sidekicks.

I really enjoyed seeing the intricacies of the religious decoration, having never visited a Buddhist country or even really been exposed to it before we got to Bangkok. I suppose it's similar to Catholicism in the way it makes the house of worship itself a beautiful and significant place. We will be heading to Siem Reap next to visit the ancient Hindu city of Angkor Wat so I am looking forward to seeing some Hindu architecture soon!

Kim and me at Wat Phra Kaew