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  Buddha: " Whenever you see things, just see. Whenever you listen, just listen. Whenever you know, just know."The Golden Mount Temple, Wat Saket, BangkokThe Golden Mount Temple, Wat Saket Ratchaworamahawihan, Bangkok
Many of the trees in the grounds are labeled with tags showing their scientific and common names. This was part of a self planned walking tour that included viewing : The Golden Mount, Wat Saket, King Prajadhipok Museum, Mahakan Fort, Loha Prasart, The Democracy Monument, City Hall, The Giant Swing, The Ministry of Defence, City Pillar Shrine. |
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We visited the Buddhist temple - The Golden Mount Temple, Wat Saket in November 2007 as part of a self planned walking tour and found that the temple rightly deserves the ranking as one of Bangkok's outstanding icons.
Wat Saket was constructed during the reign of Kings Rama III, IV and V on a man made mound reaching the height of around 235 feet high. The glittering gold coloured chedi or prang on the summit can be seen from miles around. The temple directly below the chedi enshrines Buddha relics.
The stairway, with shallow steps, up to the main temple winds around the mound with an occasional landing area displaying temple bells in a row. As you rise above the treeline great views of Bangkok open up at every turn. 
Once you reach the main temple, remove your footwear and enter the central shrine, where, after you have paid your dues (10 Bht 2007), you can step into the inner sanctum and walk in a clockwise direction around the golden container that holds the Buddha relics. Moving back into the temple area you will see various dieties around the inner walls.
In one of the corners there is a sign inviting you to climb another flight of stairs on to the viewing platform and base of the huge golden chedi, surounded with offerings of breadfruit. The views from here are right across Bangkok and many of the cities landmarks can be easily picked out.
The chedi is swathed in red cloth each year in late November after the ordination of new monks, the cloth is made available for worshipers and visitors to write their names (in felt tip pen) upon, for good luck in the coming year.
Items annotated (TAT) |
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