christianpfc
March 4th, 2012, 02:16
23.12.2011 Bangkok Wat Thammamongkhon (continued from here: http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=25255&start=0)
tags: Wat Thammamongkhon, jade Buddha, Thai boys, Chakran Sauna
The inspiration for this trip came from Mini Siam, where I saw this model of Wat Thammamongkhon (р╕зр╕▒р╕Фр╕Шр╕гр╕гр╕ р╕бр╕Зр╕Др╕е), there highest wat in Bangkok (about 95 m high), with a hair of Buddha and a Buddha made of 14 tons of jade (1) from Canada:
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j412/christianpfc/Mini%20Siam/DSCN3183.jpg
My friend A comes by taxi in the afternoon (after several calls and misunderstandings about time of departure and time of arrival). I pay the taxi he took (i.e. the driver was waiting for payment when we met in front of my hotel, it took me a moment to understand, the first time someone pulled this stunt on me тАУ coming by taxi and not having the money to pay it). We take MRT and BTS to Punnawithi (Sukhumvit Soi 101, not that clever of me: he came all the way from On Nut by taxi, and now we are going back by MRT and BTS).
You can see the wat from the BTS station, but not from the ground (the view is blocked by houses apart from a few gaps). ItтАЩs about 500 m by air, but on the ground you have to take a detour which is about 1 km. From Punnawithi station either to the east, Sukhumvit 101/1, and then sub-soi 5, or to the west, Sukhumvit 101, and then the sub-soi that has a sign with the watтАЩs name. The wat is built in the style of Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, India. Here you can see, the base is a truncated pyramid:
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j412/christianpfc/wat%20thammamongkhon/DSCN3408.jpg
Above ground level, there is an area around the wat and a side building which has a geodetic dome:
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j412/christianpfc/wat%20thammamongkhon/DSCN3409.jpg
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j412/christianpfc/wat%20thammamongkhon/DSCN3410.jpg
This building houses the jade Buddha (? not sure, there is another one in the main building), notice the carving in the dome as well:
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j412/christianpfc/wat%20thammamongkhon/DSCN3412.jpg
and a statue of Guanyin (Goddess of Mercy):
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j412/christianpfc/wat%20thammamongkhon/DSCN3413.jpg
View to the wat from this side building (the area you see is about 1st floor level):
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j412/christianpfc/wat%20thammamongkhon/DSCN3415.jpg
We enter and take the lift/elevator. It doesnтАЩt go to the highest floor, so we have to take the stairs. After two floors, a security guard tells us that itтАЩs closing time (16:30). So I will have to come back to go to the very highest accessible floor. Here two pictures I took from higher floors:
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j412/christianpfc/wat%20thammamongkhon/DSCN3417.jpg
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j412/christianpfc/wat%20thammamongkhon/DSCN3418.jpg
After descending, we walk around inside on lower floors, and there is another Buddha in the first floor of the main building (here mostly hidden by the flags):
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j412/christianpfc/wat%20thammamongkhon/DSCN3419.jpg
This leaves me to wonder: which one is the 14 tons jade Buddha, or is there even a third one in the chedi on top?
On our way back to Punnawithi station, my friend tells me that he has to work in the evening, so he canтАЩt come with me. (My mistake, I violated a basic rule: тАЬfuck first, talk laterтАЭ (2) - he was at my hotel, all I had to do was to invite him to my room тАЬfor a drinkтАЭ). We agree to meet after work (he finishes at midnight).
I take BTS directly to Aree station to go to Chakran Sauna, which has an advert тАЬgroup masturbation showтАЭ on Fridays at 9 pm. I am in Chakran from 18:50 to 21:40. I think I get pickier with every visit. In July/August, there were 3 boys who were my type, this time none out of about 50 customers. Around 9 pm, there is a fuck show (between swimming pool and jakuzzi). I think the perfomers are from X-Boys.
Later at night, I meet (several phone calls and half an hour late) a just friend B at Balcony. Music in Soi 4 is too loud, we have to shout at each other. Shortly after midnignt, I call A. Even at the very end of Soi 4 it is too loud, my limited Thai and his limited English make communication impossible. But my just friend B can understand him: he cannot come.
We return to Sathorn and have a drink in a restaurant near my guesthouse. A cute boy comes in and disappears in the kitchen. I knew him from before, we had a few short chats and he now lives in Europe with his boyfriend and is back in Thailand for holiday. I wonder what he does in the kitchen, half an hour later I go to check: he has left through the back entrance! I resign: I will not get laid this night!
(Two days later, I enquired with a waiter: the boy is looking for very rich Farang, I do not qualify!) It gets late (4 am), I wonder how my just friend will be able to perform at work 8 am to 6 pm. He calls his Thai boss and takes a day off! To save time, he stays with me over night.
Some links that I used to prepare this post:
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/p/m/1333fe/
http://temple-thailand.blogspot.com/200 ... gkhon.html (http://temple-thailand.blogspot.com/2007/07/wat-thammamongkhon.html)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phra_Khanong_District
(1) I recently learned about different kinds of jade:
http://bangkokbois.wordpress.com/2012/0 ... erial-gem/ (http://bangkokbois.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/jade-the-imperial-gem/)
all I found for this Buddha was this information:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=351595
No idea where the mock jade Buddha is. FWIW......British Columbia jade is
nephrite and true jade is jadeite.
B.C. jade lacks all the qualities that make 'jade' a valued stone. Similar
to comparing a Big Mac with the phrase 'good food'.
(2) тАЬFuck first, talk laterтАЭ inspired by тАЬshoot first, ask questions laterтАЭ, fuck here used for sex in general. I lost count of how often I went out with a friend for drinking, eating, sightseeing, where I postponed sex for the time after return, to learn that time was up or friend needs key or too drunk.
tags: Wat Thammamongkhon, jade Buddha, Thai boys, Chakran Sauna
The inspiration for this trip came from Mini Siam, where I saw this model of Wat Thammamongkhon (р╕зр╕▒р╕Фр╕Шр╕гр╕гр╕ р╕бр╕Зр╕Др╕е), there highest wat in Bangkok (about 95 m high), with a hair of Buddha and a Buddha made of 14 tons of jade (1) from Canada:
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j412/christianpfc/Mini%20Siam/DSCN3183.jpg
My friend A comes by taxi in the afternoon (after several calls and misunderstandings about time of departure and time of arrival). I pay the taxi he took (i.e. the driver was waiting for payment when we met in front of my hotel, it took me a moment to understand, the first time someone pulled this stunt on me тАУ coming by taxi and not having the money to pay it). We take MRT and BTS to Punnawithi (Sukhumvit Soi 101, not that clever of me: he came all the way from On Nut by taxi, and now we are going back by MRT and BTS).
You can see the wat from the BTS station, but not from the ground (the view is blocked by houses apart from a few gaps). ItтАЩs about 500 m by air, but on the ground you have to take a detour which is about 1 km. From Punnawithi station either to the east, Sukhumvit 101/1, and then sub-soi 5, or to the west, Sukhumvit 101, and then the sub-soi that has a sign with the watтАЩs name. The wat is built in the style of Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, India. Here you can see, the base is a truncated pyramid:
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j412/christianpfc/wat%20thammamongkhon/DSCN3408.jpg
Above ground level, there is an area around the wat and a side building which has a geodetic dome:
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j412/christianpfc/wat%20thammamongkhon/DSCN3409.jpg
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j412/christianpfc/wat%20thammamongkhon/DSCN3410.jpg
This building houses the jade Buddha (? not sure, there is another one in the main building), notice the carving in the dome as well:
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j412/christianpfc/wat%20thammamongkhon/DSCN3412.jpg
and a statue of Guanyin (Goddess of Mercy):
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j412/christianpfc/wat%20thammamongkhon/DSCN3413.jpg
View to the wat from this side building (the area you see is about 1st floor level):
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j412/christianpfc/wat%20thammamongkhon/DSCN3415.jpg
We enter and take the lift/elevator. It doesnтАЩt go to the highest floor, so we have to take the stairs. After two floors, a security guard tells us that itтАЩs closing time (16:30). So I will have to come back to go to the very highest accessible floor. Here two pictures I took from higher floors:
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j412/christianpfc/wat%20thammamongkhon/DSCN3417.jpg
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j412/christianpfc/wat%20thammamongkhon/DSCN3418.jpg
After descending, we walk around inside on lower floors, and there is another Buddha in the first floor of the main building (here mostly hidden by the flags):
http://i1084.photobucket.com/albums/j412/christianpfc/wat%20thammamongkhon/DSCN3419.jpg
This leaves me to wonder: which one is the 14 tons jade Buddha, or is there even a third one in the chedi on top?
On our way back to Punnawithi station, my friend tells me that he has to work in the evening, so he canтАЩt come with me. (My mistake, I violated a basic rule: тАЬfuck first, talk laterтАЭ (2) - he was at my hotel, all I had to do was to invite him to my room тАЬfor a drinkтАЭ). We agree to meet after work (he finishes at midnight).
I take BTS directly to Aree station to go to Chakran Sauna, which has an advert тАЬgroup masturbation showтАЭ on Fridays at 9 pm. I am in Chakran from 18:50 to 21:40. I think I get pickier with every visit. In July/August, there were 3 boys who were my type, this time none out of about 50 customers. Around 9 pm, there is a fuck show (between swimming pool and jakuzzi). I think the perfomers are from X-Boys.
Later at night, I meet (several phone calls and half an hour late) a just friend B at Balcony. Music in Soi 4 is too loud, we have to shout at each other. Shortly after midnignt, I call A. Even at the very end of Soi 4 it is too loud, my limited Thai and his limited English make communication impossible. But my just friend B can understand him: he cannot come.
We return to Sathorn and have a drink in a restaurant near my guesthouse. A cute boy comes in and disappears in the kitchen. I knew him from before, we had a few short chats and he now lives in Europe with his boyfriend and is back in Thailand for holiday. I wonder what he does in the kitchen, half an hour later I go to check: he has left through the back entrance! I resign: I will not get laid this night!
(Two days later, I enquired with a waiter: the boy is looking for very rich Farang, I do not qualify!) It gets late (4 am), I wonder how my just friend will be able to perform at work 8 am to 6 pm. He calls his Thai boss and takes a day off! To save time, he stays with me over night.
Some links that I used to prepare this post:
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/p/m/1333fe/
http://temple-thailand.blogspot.com/200 ... gkhon.html (http://temple-thailand.blogspot.com/2007/07/wat-thammamongkhon.html)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phra_Khanong_District
(1) I recently learned about different kinds of jade:
http://bangkokbois.wordpress.com/2012/0 ... erial-gem/ (http://bangkokbois.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/jade-the-imperial-gem/)
all I found for this Buddha was this information:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=351595
No idea where the mock jade Buddha is. FWIW......British Columbia jade is
nephrite and true jade is jadeite.
B.C. jade lacks all the qualities that make 'jade' a valued stone. Similar
to comparing a Big Mac with the phrase 'good food'.
(2) тАЬFuck first, talk laterтАЭ inspired by тАЬshoot first, ask questions laterтАЭ, fuck here used for sex in general. I lost count of how often I went out with a friend for drinking, eating, sightseeing, where I postponed sex for the time after return, to learn that time was up or friend needs key or too drunk.