It wasn't raining yet, but the sky had taken on a steely grey color, and I knew that although the monsoon season was nearing its end, it wasn't long before the rains started again. It was an early October morning on the outskirts of Bangkok, and as I stepped out of a little pink taxi at the Erawan Museum, I was immediately transfixed by this strangely tranquil garden surrounded by city blocks. This odd little shrine (museum is really a bit of a misnomer) is one of Bangkok's most unusual and least-known spiritual sites. It's not easy to get to. From Bang Na, the last stop on the BTS Skytrain, getting to the museum still requires a short taxi ride. As a matter of fact, it's technically outside of Bangkok at Samut Prakan.
It's hard to find, but you certainly can't miss the giant Erawan, the Thai name of Airavata, the three-headed white elephant that is said to carry the god Indra. The Erawan Museum, a seventeen-story tall bronze statue, was built to represent aspects of Thai culture through religion and spirituality, and was designed through the philosophy of Hindu Brahmanism. As I've written before, Thai Buddhism incorporates aspects of Hinduism in its spirituality.
The Erawan is hollow, and inside a polished staircase winds its way up through three different levels. The lower level represents the underworld, the main level represents Earth, and the upper level represents Heaven. Inside, the design incorporates aspects of several different religious traditions, and pillars are carved with imagery representing Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, and Christianity respectively.
There are numerous shrines honoring different gods and aspects of the Buddha throughout the Erawan. It's really not entirely accurate to call it a museum as there are no exhibits, nor is it a temple, at least not in the traditional sense. There are no monks or services. I suppose the term "shrine" would be more accurate, although honestly it seems most like a massive work of art.
During my visit to Erawan, I couldn't help the feeling that the place really didn't know what it was or what it wanted to be. I was the only visitor, and it was very quiet and peaceful inside the Erawan. Soft light filtered through the colorful stained-glass roof depicting a stylized map of the ancient world. Erawan is only a few years old, but it has a feeling of being both strangely ancient and modern.
Honestly, I've never seen anything like the Erawan Museum. I visited a number of traditional temples in Thailand, Hong Kong, and Vietnam, but this was something else entirely. In hindsight, I would have liked to have visited the place with a local to hear their interpretation and explanation.
Ideally you're supposed to meditate and reflect as you wind your way up to the upper chambers, but I mostly marveled at the insanely intricate interior.
The Erawan Museum is new and only got a tiny mention in my guidebook. I decided to check it out because it sounded so different from other things that I've ever seen. I've heard that an expansion of the BTS plans on building a stop there sometime in the unspecified future.
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| the Christian Pillar |
Erawan sits on several acres of jungle gardens full of statues, and I strolled around, but just for a few minutes, as the monsoons began again.
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