Bangkok Wat Rakhang Temple

Another Bangkok Temple, this time in Thonburi, so it was time to visit Wat Rakhang, got the river boat down the Chao Phraya River at some low ridiculous price and missed all the road traffic jams and being robbed by tuk tuk drivers, those boats are a bargain on the river.

View of the Temple from a boat on the Chao Phraya.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...kok_Temple.JPG

So it was get off the boat at Wat Rakung Pier and there is the temple, no fees to get in, can't imagine a reason they could charge a fee really as it is a pretty normal temple, albeit a bit old and built in the Ayutthaya period.

In the ordination hall are some lovely mural paintings, didn't get a photo of them though.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...ang_Temple.jpg

Note the golden statues hidden away in the arches?

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...Rakhang_05.JPG

Plenty of the great unwashed visiting to have a little pray and pay their respects, most hoping to have more money than they have at the moment, if they spent as much time working as they did wishing they were rich, they probably would be rich, a mans got to have dreams though I suppose.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...Rakhang_03.JPG

Buddha looks quite cool and calm here. Maybe likes his flock so to speak.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...Rakhang_04.JPG

Wat Rakhang Temple translates to Temple of bells, this was due to finding a great big bell there, the temple was then upgraded by King Taksin to a Royal Temple.

A couple of nice big bells outside this building.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...Rakhang_01.JPG

Yep, thats a big pair of bells.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...Rakhang_08.JPG

They say if you ring all the bells you will get good luck, probably as much chance of that as you have got praying to Buddha to win the lottery, still, it can't hurt to have these ridiculous beliefs I suppose.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...Rakhang_06.JPG

Nice selection of decorative bells, some don't look too bad actually, but you can imaging the noise that would cause if you started a small collection in your house, every Thai visitor would be ringing them till you were jailed for murder, may get away with manslaughter if your lucky.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...Rakhang_07.JPG

Being a monk and collecting money is a dangerous job, is that an armoured monk or just a robot type monk that is collecting the dosh?

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...Rakhang_09.JPG

Lots of newly gold leafed statues, quite a bit of money on that money tree also.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...Rakhang_10.JPG

Fresh gold leaf is quite evident on this statue.

https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...Rakhang_11.JPG

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dirtydog

Wat Rakhang,


https://teakdoor.com/Gallery/albums/u...Rakhang_08.JPG

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Rakang ( ระฆัง ) meaning bell in Thai.....hence ' The Temple of Bells '

Wat Rakang Kosittaram(Temple of the Bells, formerly known as Wat Bang Wa Yai), is one of the 32 temples in Bangkok Noi District and is one of the most significant.

The temple was built during the Ayutthaya period, later it was reconstructed and upgraded as a Royal Temple by King Taksin.

The main features of the temple is the bell tower, because of those bells give the name temple “Rakang” (in Thai mean Bell).

The temple was named "Temple of the Bells" due to the discovery of a huge bell at this temple in the reign of King Rama I (The bell was moved to Wat Phra Kaew by King Rama 1 while got 5 new bells as the replacement.

These bells are hanging in the Bell Tower in the southeast of the compound ,but now are hanging in Wat Phra Srirattanasattadaram (Wat Phra Kaew).

The bot of this temple was registered as national heritage site since 1949. There are several small and large chedis around the bot.

Wat Rakhang located on Arunamarin Road can easily be reached by taking the ferry from Tha Chang pier to Wat Rakhang pier. The front of the building is right on the bank of the Chao Phraya River, and beautifully lit at nighttime.

This significant second category Royal Temple was the residence of many supreme patriarchs of the Rattankosin period, including Somdej Toah, a highly respected monk in the reign of King Rama V.
Things of note are the beautiful mural paintings in the ordination hall, the image hall and the bell tower. Outside is a row of bells lined up. It's said that ringing all of them in a row will bring good luck .

https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif

Nobody does idolatry quite like the Thais.