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khiemtranFrom Wat Pho, it's easy to catch a local ferry across to Wat Arun, known in English as the Temple of Dawn.
Wat Arun is often considered the definitive landmark of Bangkok. The towers are prang, Khmer-style spires, tracing a line of ancestry back to small Hindu temples in the Khmer Empire. You can see how they still have a resemblance to the famous spires of Angkor Wat. The central prang is interpreted as a representation of Mt Meru. The entire surface is decorated with pieces of Chinese porcelain.
It's also very, very tall. Tourists can only access the second balcony, but that's still a long way up.
It's a feature of these Khmer style towers that even though the buildings may be huge, they're not designed to hold large numbers of people. Neither are they particularly accessible.
Up the spire we go, past monkeys and demons.
Each tier represents a different cosmological realm.
This is one place where I wished I had studied more beforehand. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about Buddhist cosmology to know which level was which.
Escaping the earthly realms is hard work! Especially when it's over thirty degrees celsius and about a hundred percent humidity. Make sure you bring plenty of water.
Up to the second tier now, and those stairs are steep!
That's the Hindu god Indra you can see above you, riding on Erawan, the three-headed elephant. When we reach the top balcony, we should be in Tavatsima, where all desires are gratified.
The view from the first level, which should be the Traiphum, representing all realms of existence.
Whew! Vertigo!
At the top tier now. Above, there is only Devaphum, representing the six heavens. Somewhere way at the top is the Trident of Shiva, which you can't actually see from the Prang itself.
Angels and demons...
And a close-up of Erawan. Or at least as close as I could get.
The view from the top is certainly spectacular, if slightly vertiginous (I guess this is what it must be like for poor Erawan, looking down over the multitudinous planes of existence all day). The only problem is getting down again without losing your footing. Back to the earthly realms for me!
Wat Arun is often considered the definitive landmark of Bangkok. The towers are prang, Khmer-style spires, tracing a line of ancestry back to small Hindu temples in the Khmer Empire. You can see how they still have a resemblance to the famous spires of Angkor Wat. The central prang is interpreted as a representation of Mt Meru. The entire surface is decorated with pieces of Chinese porcelain.
It's also very, very tall. Tourists can only access the second balcony, but that's still a long way up.
It's a feature of these Khmer style towers that even though the buildings may be huge, they're not designed to hold large numbers of people. Neither are they particularly accessible.
Up the spire we go, past monkeys and demons.
Each tier represents a different cosmological realm.
This is one place where I wished I had studied more beforehand. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about Buddhist cosmology to know which level was which.
Escaping the earthly realms is hard work! Especially when it's over thirty degrees celsius and about a hundred percent humidity. Make sure you bring plenty of water.
Up to the second tier now, and those stairs are steep!
That's the Hindu god Indra you can see above you, riding on Erawan, the three-headed elephant. When we reach the top balcony, we should be in Tavatsima, where all desires are gratified.
The view from the first level, which should be the Traiphum, representing all realms of existence.
Whew! Vertigo!
At the top tier now. Above, there is only Devaphum, representing the six heavens. Somewhere way at the top is the Trident of Shiva, which you can't actually see from the Prang itself.
Angels and demons...
And a close-up of Erawan. Or at least as close as I could get.
The view from the top is certainly spectacular, if slightly vertiginous (I guess this is what it must be like for poor Erawan, looking down over the multitudinous planes of existence all day). The only problem is getting down again without losing your footing. Back to the earthly realms for me!
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Date: 2012-09-30 07:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-09-30 07:56 am (UTC)