Wat Arun; What a Site/Sight

By Lee Jun-Elle

On the third day we rode a boat to visit Wat Arun, a Buddhist temple on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River, Bangkok. I suppose the benefit of not having looked up information and photos of the temple was having a burst of delight when Dr. Joel confirmed that those towering tiers of architectural magnificence was our destination to be.

See how little we look beside the "Temple of Dawn" -- which only makes more significant the building of this temple as a measure of our forefathers' patience and love for the art, and King and God.

My excitement however, dampened seeing tourists in poorly tailored rented costumes, posing for photos with hands in air and all. Donation boxes posted at every corner of the surroundings also peeved me off. But after crossing the gate to the temple with two statues of kings guarding entry, serenity and awe hit me again.

Wat Arun is also named The Temple of Dawn because the first light of morning reflects off the surface of the temple with pearly iridescence. It is surrounded by four smaller prangs decorated by seashells and bits of porcelain which had previously been used as a ballast by boats coming to Bangkok from China.

These pieces were colourful mosaic details on a tall and large temple but became orange, white and blue, and green flowers and leaves when inspected at closer proximity

There were no plaques explaining each detail of the temple but I was fortunate to have found a tour guide standing in a shaded area and learnt a few things before she had to rejoin her tour groups

As the guide explained, the half woman half bird statues carved in the base of that prang are images of mythical animals adopted from Hindu concepts.

The first tier of the temple held statues of demons wrapped around the bottom like a belt while the second tier had monkeys and the third, angels on elephant trunks. The temple in its entirety is supposed to represent the world of God with a shimmery gold seven-pronged trident at the very tip of the top, as the Trident of Shiva. The four surrounding prangs signify different regions and with the amount of careful handiwork, we noticed that each face of a statue representing the people of the particular region, were different.

Climbing the stairs up the main prang seemed doable up until a breeze rolled in which made me look to the point at which I started. It was then that I decided that having simply experienced sight from the first tier was enough of a thrill ride for me. A few of us did manage to reach the top but came down just as comedically as I did. They made it seem as though a magnetic force kept our bodies close to the steep flight of stairs and arms tight on the railings as we slid each foot to the next bottom step.

Other than the frightful descend but enthusiastic exploration of the temple at ground level, this temple left a lasting impression on me because I saw the motivation behind the creation of architectural grandeur in the sparkle that Thai people had. I saw their humility and pride, their activeness and calmness, and their warmth and respect. Though seemingly contradictory, Thais managed to find a balance between these qualities. It’s hard to pinpoint a reason for their admirable characteristics but I suppose the importance is not simply in the why. It gives me strength knowing that beauty in the world lies not only in beautiful works but in beauty within people that is exuded through their works.

Lee Jun-Elle, 21 is about to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Writing and Communication. She is very keen on visual stimulants and anything rusty with history.