I really enjoyed wandering through the temples in Bangkok. The architecture is quite vibrant and colorful. Bangkok is a fairly recent construction, so the temples aren't very old. They are, however, really quite groovy.
The picture above is from Wat Arun (the Temple of Dawn). This is where I spent the morning of New Years Day. It's the tallest temple in Bangkok, and provides a nice view over the river and surrounding buildings (the river shot up top the page was taken here)
The doorway at the end there is 2-3 times the average height of a human. This gilded Buddha is enormous. Somehow, though, building an enormous gold-plated statue would seem to me to be contradictory to the Buddha's message of simplicity and breaking away from attachments. But what do I know about religion?While on the subject, building cathedrals over the grave of St Francis in Assisi also seems contradictory to his message of simplicity and servitude. Does anyone ever really listen to these people?
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