By Lai Pei-xuan | Photos by STEPHEN TSAI
When you visit Thailand, you can take a small boat up the Chao Phraya River to enjoy the beautiful scenery along the riverbanks. Along the way, you’ll see the iconic Wat Arun reflected on the shimmering water, making you fall in love with this ancient and mysterious structure. That’s why Wat Arun is also known as the “Eiffel Tower of Thailand.” Its silhouette at sunset often graces Thai postcards. It is not only the oldest building along the Chao Phraya River but also the most visited temple.
Wat Arun (Wat Arun) boasts magnificent architectural features and a long-standing cultural history, as if all the stories are preserved within this temple. Wat Arun was built to commemorate King Taksin the Great, also known as King Daming, and is the largest Mahayana stupa-style pagoda in Thailand. Legend has it that King Taksin was the only ethnic Chinese emperor in Thai history. His father came to Thailand via Guangdong at an early age, married locally, and gave birth to King Taksin. During the Ayutthaya period, King Taksin drove out the Burmese army and led his troops to establish Thailand’s third dynasty.
Located on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River, Wat Arun is also known as the “Temple of Dawn” or “Temple of the Rising Sun.” The central Mahayana stupa stands 67 meters tall, flanked by four smaller Khmer-style towers at the corners and four square towers on each side. There are four stairways leading to the top of the stupa, which is adorned with colorful broken ceramic pieces that shimmer brilliantly in the sunlight. The stupa is also decorated with statues of monkeys, garudas (mythical bird-like creatures), and apsaras (heavenly nymphs).
- 1
- 2