There has been a sacred site here since at least 1688. Like many of these sites it had seen renovations, expansions and new additions. In 1767 when a major renovation was undertaken and the name changed from Wat Makok to Wat Chaeng. In 1851 the main prang got a huge upgrade, increasing its height from 16 meters to 82 meters. The scale of the monuments is very impressive. Of course we saw folks in traditional dress taking photos. We saw tourists who did not know about the dress code. these folks were wearing the complementary red shawl that is lent to women who have their shoulders exposed or have too much cleavage. Men who show up in short pants are sporting the "quick purchase" elephant print pants. We arrived prepared. I put on a pair of over the knee exercise shorts (known as the lady pants) and pulled up my socks so I was temple ready. This temple complex has a multitude of huge buildings, so many that it was a a bit overwhelming. Pagodas, prangs, stupas and more!
Wat Arun is the name of the entire temple complex.
It contains stupas, pagodas, prangs wats and other buildings. A stupa is a dome or bell shaped object used as a monument. It could contain sacred relics or royal remains and usually has no entrance.
Riverside crocs!
This is a prang. A Thai version of a Khmer temple tower
The staging area for the traditional costumes
The pagoda evolved from the stupa but it can be entered
An amulet is imbued with special power. Since there was no explanation of the powers I decided to skip this one
Orchids
We are outside looking in
An infinite level of detail, below is a row of giants holding up the prang and then a row of monkeys are holding up the next level
From far away the detail blends in
Nice warrior
Bacon!
The layer of giants holding up the building
Layers and layers
Wat Arun
Holding up the world
This place is huge
Every square inch is decorated
Every once and a while a head pops up
82 meters tall!
Parasol
Picture time
This hat presents a difficult balancing act
A heavy load
Left holding the bag!
Very long fingernails
These birds really sang!
Men also wearing the costume
The flowing skirt picture
Wowzers
This kid was the bag holder for six women
Very lively
Laying down the law
Caught by the ear!
A large paper display
Old pictures
The detail is mesmerizing
An access ladder
Water lily
Sweet!
YMCA!
A pagoda
A monk about his day
Serious gong!
The ferry back to the house
A big ferry and AC too
A unique building
