Wat Sukhothai Traimit
WAT SUKHOTHAI TRAIMIT, BANGKOK, THAILAND – Since were were only spending two full days in Bangkok, we were determined to see as much of the city as possible. Our day began at 9AM with us meeting our tour guide. We all piled into the van and headed off into the city.
As we pulled out on the street in front of our hotel, we quickly realized that we had made a great decision in choosing a tour guide. Traffic in Bangkok is a nightmare. It took us about an hour to make it into the downtown Bangkok, when it should have only taken a half hour. Traffic is stop and go and it doesn’t help that there are people on scooters weaving in and out of all of the cars.
When we finally made it into the city our first stop was Wat Sukhothai Traimit or the Temple of the Golden Buddha. The temple is located in the “old town” of Bangkok. The Golden Buddha is approximately 700 years old. It was originally encased in plaster to protect it from invaders. No one knew that it was gold until in 1955 when chunks of the plaster began to fall off. The temple that the Golden Buddha now sits in is relatively new. The Golden Buddha originally sat at the Wat Phrayakrai. The temple was abandoned in 1931 and the East Asiatic Company moved the buddha to its current home.
The Golden Buddha is 15 feet 9 inches tall, 12 feet 5 inches in diameter and weighs 5 tons. It was valued at 28.5 million pounds (approximately $45,205,435.19 USD) and is a national treasure of Thailand.
Wat Sukhothai Traimit
Side view of Wat Sukhothai Traimit
Front View of the Wat Sukhothai Traimit
The Golden Buddha
Buddhism:
There is a different Buddha for each day to the week
Monday – standing
Tuesday – sleeping/reclining
Wednesday – standing
Wednesday Night – sitting
Thursday – sitting
Friday – standing
Saturday – sitting
Sunday- standing
The Lost Traveler 