It was a mild morning in
Feeling smug about my unexpected find, I went back to my room to secure my backpack. I was heading out of the city to a place called Nakhon Pathom. Not familiar? It should be! After all, this is allegedly
As a rule, I am uncomfortable with Bangkok tuktuks. Why a noisy motorbike ride when there’s the reliable cheap taxi? But with the suggestion of my hotel’s “concierge”, I hailed a tuktuk (70 baht or $2 from Indra Regent) to take me to the
Next tack: Ask! I was looking for mini-buses, but I wasn’t sure how these mini-buses look! When you are looking for something, you should know what you to look for! After a couple of directions, I found a branch of Big C – the department store! Right in front of it is a makeshift table selling tickets (60 baht or $1.75) to the mini-bus to Nakhon Pathom! The vehicles turned out to be A/C “vans”. There were 4 other people inside the van, waiting for our departure. But as soon as my butt sunk into the chair, the engine hummed to life and we left. Two hours later, I found myself somewhere unfamiliar. Haha. All the other passengers have gone off. The driver deposited me in front of a convenience store.
Victory Monument (อนุสาวรีย์ชัยสมรภูมิ, Anusawari Chai Samoraphum) is a large military monument in Bangkok, located in Ratchathewi district, northeast of central Bangkok, at the center of a traffic circle at the intersection of Phahonyothin Road, Phaya Thai Road, and Ratchawithi Road. The monument was erected in June 1941 to commemorate the Thai "victory" in the Franco-Thai War, a brief conflict waged against the French colonial authorities in Indo-China.
I went inside the store to ask if I was indeed in Nakhon Pathom, and if they could tell me where Phra Pathom Chedi was! I was greeted with blank stares; I might as well ask if I was in the vicinity of Uranus or Pluto! Little did I know that if I was to walk straight ahead for 2-3 more blocks, I’d snag into a roundabout where Nakhon Pathom Chedi was!
Nakhon Pathom’s claim to fame is Phra Pathom Chedi.
Phra Pathom Chedi is actually a temple complex built in the 6th century by Theravada buddhists, under the leadership of Khmer King Suryavarman I of Angkor (
The central sanctuary (called the boht) is a circular structure (building), surrounded by enclaves of Buddhas in different poses, forms and colors. Opposite the boht is the
Parking outside the complex was spacious and very clean but unremarkable. I headed up a short concrete stairs; the surrounding walls were immaculate white. Once in the main complex, I saw a prayer hall to my left – an ongoing monotone of chanting was overheard. A peek inside revealed a full house of monks inside a smoky room. Noticeable at the smoky main altar were photos of the well loved King and Queen. Incense wafted out. To my left was the Museum. I headed forward to get to the central sanctuary (boht).
There were 6-7 foot bells that people had to hit 3x with a stick – to summon luck! I was delighted with the variety of forms of the Buddhas, each one with Lotus flowers and incense offerings right under. We walked around the grounds to find another “altar” of sorts with a huge standing Buddha gleaming with gold, and people were scurrying around to touch its feet or offer flowers. There were monks facilitating and blessing the crowd – and I noticed that practicing buddhists had to kneel down or position themselves lower than a monk’s head! Otherwise, it will be misconstrued as a sign of disrespect. There was a queue of brass and silver cups that people had to ceremoniously deposit coins to; a huge red scroll of paper where the faithful can write down “intentions”; some money tree. It was an interesting time to observe how the locals practice their faith! If truth be told, Catholicism’s rites somehow parallel to what I have seen so far.
The whole “tour” lasted for a little over an hour, and I had spare time to walk out of the temple complex and rotund to somehow see Nakhon Pathom outside the temple grounds. Turned out to be more than I expected! Before I left, I held the beating stick and gently banged the bell 3x. Malay mo, I might get lucky!
This is the Eye in the Sky!
Location: Nakhon Pathom - 56 km west of
Vocabulary: chedi – (noun) is a mound-like structure or a bell-shaped tower containing buddha relics. This term is interchangeable with “stupa”, or even “pagoda”.
Next post: Part 2 of Nakhon Pathom – More buddhas and more photos here - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2009/07/images-from-phra-pathom-chedi-nakhon.html
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