Vedic Architecture of Thailand

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Vedic Architecture of Thailand

Architectural wonder

http://www.bangkokpost.com/en/Horizons/10Jul2003_hori52.html

A new guidebook tells visitors how to explore Bangkok's religious

landmarks on foot and get a taste of the rich cultural diversity

provided by China Town and Little India

 

Story and pictures by THANIN WEERADET

 

 

A visitor is attracted to a fortune teller at Yaowaraj

 

Walking through the congested streets of China Town requires all the

steel one can muster.

 

Wat Suthat temple, located next to the Giant Swing, is elegantly

built based on Hindu cosmology. _ PEERAWAT JARIYASOMBAT

 

The Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book, is kept in an air-

conditioned room.

The Grand Palace and the Temple of Emerald Buddha are not the only

cultural and architectural attractions in Bangkok but also Wat Suthat

temple, next to the Giant Swing, which has been there for as long as

I remember, but only recently did I take the time to go there and

find out what I had been missing. It was late morning on a Saturday

and even though it is not the No.1 attraction in the city, I saw a

lot of visitors at the temple, many foreigners among them.

 

With me was Mr Kusol of Sarakadee Press which recently published a

guidebook highlighting city landmarks and temples and how to explore

them on foot.

 

Construction of Wat Suthat began during the reign of King Rama I and

was completed when King Rama III came to the throne. The royal chapel

houses Phra Si Sakya Muni, the principal Buddha image, brought from

Sukhothai. It is said that the temple was built based on Hindu

cosmology where the royal chapel is Mount Meru, the centre of

universe and the abode of deities, and the ordination hall,

Jumbudvipa, representing the world of humans.

 

By choosing to build the temple there, King Rama I effectively made

the temple site the heart of Bangkok.

 

All architectural decorations are derived from Hindu cosmology. At

the facade of the roof of the royal chapel is an image of Indra

mounted on three-headed elephant Erawan. The chapel is the heavenly

abode lying on top of Mount Meru. Visitors can note figures of deer

at all corners of the chapel. The wildlife represents forest in Hindu

mythology.

 

We moved on to another section _ the ordination hall. Kusol said the

ubosot hall is considered the most elegant in Thailand. Built during

the reign of King Rama III, the hall is over 32 metres long, the

longest of its kind. 68 pillars support the four-tiered roof. Inside

is housed a Buddha image put together around the same time. On the

eastern facade of the hall there is an image of the sun seated in a

royal chariot pulled by a lion. Kusol explained that the sun is

regarded as god because it provides light and energy for life on

earth during the day. The western facade has a carved image of the

moon seated in a royal chariot pulled by a horse. The moon is also

regarded as god because it provides light at night.

 

At the northern end is an elaborately carved Chinese-style seat made

from stone called keng. Originally, it was placed in the temple in

front of the principal Buddha image, but King Rama VIII had it moved

to where it lies today in order to create more room in front of the

Buddha image.

 

Surrounding the hall are 28 six-tiered hexagonal Chinese-style

pagodas called Tha created to represent the heavenly abodes around

Mount Meru. Wat Suthat gained prominence during the reign of King

Rama VIII.

 

 

A bowl of Mee Grob (Crispy Fried Noodle) is a popular dish at Chotjit

Phochana Restaurant on Tanao Road

 

The tall white building is the Gurdwara, or Sikh temple, in Bangkok's

Little India, Phahurat.

To the king, Wat Suthat represented the centre of the universe, as

envisaged in Hindu cosmology, Kosol briefed me. Across the street is

a Brahmin shrine based on a similar philosophy complementing the

existence of the temple. We moved to the shrine at noon. The air was

thick with smell from burning incense sticks, marigold wreaths were

neatly laid out in front. The shrine was built at the same time as

the Giant Swing. It has an image of Lord Shiva. In another building

next to it are five images of Ganesh, the god of success. His

followers wear Ganesh's amulets around their necks. In the building

next to Ganesh's is Lord Narayana accompanied by two consorts.

 

We stopped for lunch at Chotjit, a well-known restaurant in the area.

Mee Krob is one of the popular dishes there. We were able to sample

several kinds of fried rice. After the meal, we hit an ice cream shop.

 

By afternoon we were struggling in a crowded lane in Yaowaraj, the

heart of Bangkok's China Town. It took some effort to walk in that

crowd as the sun beat down mercilessly and the air thick with

pollution and the blaring of car horns. The much-needed escape came

in the form of Wat Leng Neui Yi, a Chinese temple and a quiet retreat

in this otherwise bustling business district. Later on, we walked a

less congested section of Yaowaraj and were immediately rewarded with

some startling discoveries. Shops plied their wares, some unique and

some not known to us before. There was no systematic segregation of

wares as we see in posh shopping malls. A glass box of precious gems,

whether genuine or imitation we didn't know, stood out among the

piles of vegetables and other wares on display. Although China Town

is a jumble of everything, it is an oasis for food connoisseurs.

After an exhausting hour's walk, we stopped for a cold drink made

from lotus root before moving on to a completely different world _

the Little India, in Phahurat.

 

A colourful collection of clothes and dresses was our first

impression of Little India. It was far cosier here than in China

Town. We walked through a maze of cloth and accessories shops

leisurely. Although the articles on display failed to draw money out

of our pockets, the walk was easy and the sight fascinating.

Merchants, men and women, were all smiles, inviting us to have a

look. Our guide, Kusol, led us past the ATM Shopping Mall into a lane

where people of Indian roots converge on weekends to indulge in their

favourite activities _ to chew betel nuts and sample authentic Indian

food and movies. Indian music and songs permeated the air. We stopped

at a cafe called Panjabi Sweets to have tea made from milk.

 

Our guide told us that initially Thai people were hesitant, some even

fearful, of making contact with Sikh Indians because they looked

rugged supporting beard and wearing turban. Sikh-Indian shop owners

and vendors broke the ice by giving their premises affectionate

names, such as Nai Lek Chai Dee, (Nice Mr Lek) etc, etc.

 

We ventured further down the lane next to the ATM mall and reached a

tall white building which we thought was an office or commercial

building. We couldn't be more wrong. This was the Gurdwara, a Sikh

temple. We met Suthep Suriya-amarit, secretary of Siri Guru Singh

Sabha _ a congregation of ethnic Thai Sikhs. Before we went up the

temple's upper floors we were provided with a piece of cloth and told

to cover our head with it.

 

The Gurdwara was built in 1932, its design based on the Golden Temple

in Amritsar, India, the holiest of Sikh shrines. The Golden Temple

has four doors denoting that people are welcome from all directions,

but the one in Phahurat only has three doors because of lack of

space. On the top floor we saw the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy

scripture of Sikhs, kept in an air-conditioned room.

 

>From there we moved back to Phahurat market, it was busier now.

 

 

 

Travel tips

 

Wat Suthat (02-224-9845, 222-9632) is on Bamrung Muang Road next to

the Giant Swing. It is open from 8am-9pm daily. Across the Din Sor

Road are Brahmin shrines (02-222-6951), open from 9am-5pm daily,

except Thursdays and Sundays from 10am-4pm.

 

Chotjit Restaurant (02-221-4082) on Tanao Road serves Thai food from

10am-9pm. It's closed on Sundays. Opposite is a noodle shop called

Nai Kim Thong which is open from 11am-3:30pm. It's closed on Sundays

and public holidays. On Tanao Road not far from Chojit is Gaw Phanit

eatery (02-221-3554), that opened during the reign of King Rama VIII.

It serves sticky rice with coconut milk. Nattaporn ice cream shop (02-

221-3954) is located on Phraeng Phuthon. It's open from 9am-5pm and

closed on Sundays.

 

Yaowaraj: Visit the 40-year-old Yim Yim Restaurant (02-224-2203, 224-

2205). It serves Chinese Taechew cuisine.

 

The Bangkok Sikh Gurdwara (02-224-8097-8) is open daily from 7am-

5:30pm.

 

Sources of information: Bangkok Walking Tour Guidebook; Ja Sue Sa

Yang (Shopping Guide distributed in Sampheng, Yaowaraj, Phahurat-

Saphan Han, Khlong Thom-Fai Chai); and Haw Jieh Yaowaraj (Eateries in

Yaowaraj). All entries are produced in Thai language by Sarakadee

Press and available at leading bookstores.