 The solid gold Bhudda at Bangkok's Wat Traimit Photo courtesy Tourism Authority of Thailand Wat TraimitWhen: Daily Where: Wat Traimit Opening Hours: 9am-5pm Rating:  The extraordinary story behind the Temple of the Golden Buddha (Wat Traimit), the highlight of a visit to Bangkok's Chinatown, is almost as amazing as the three-metre high Buddha made of more than five tonnes of solid gold! In 1957, a stucco Buddha that had been stored for some 20 years was hoisted by crane to move it and, to the horror of all concerned, crashed to the ground. Extraordinarily, it didn't smash, but under the stucco shell a Buddha of pure gold was revealed. It has resided in Wat Traimit, now known as "the Temple of the Golden Buddha", ever since.
Thought to have been fashioned in the 13th century, the gold Buddha (said to be worth, in bullion alone, upwards of £10 million) is a fine example of Sukhothai style, and its covering in plaster is assumed to have been a (successful) attempt to disguise it from Burmese invaders. Later, not realising its hidden value, the statue was moved to Bangkok on King Rama III's orders and installed in a temple near where the Oriental Hotel is today. That temple was completely abandoned around 1931.
Outside Wat Traimit, there are fortune-telling machines on the terraces. Inserting a coin instigates a sequence of lights flashing in a circle (just like a wheel of fortune), and eventually they drop your fortune in a marked box below. Forecasts are printed in English as well as Thai and Chinese!
Tourist OfficeBangkok Tourist Division
17/1 phra Athit Road, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok, 10200
Phone: +66 (0) 20 2225-7612, 3 & 4
Fax: +66 (0) 20 2225 7615 & 6
E-mail: , info@bangkoktourist.com
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