The Golden Mount

On Saturday morning, Tony (a Californian and one of the few other guys with us) invited me to go out and meet Joey, one of the Chinese teachers. I've had a great time with the whole group so far, but I was ready to see some sights. Basically, all the girls have just wanted to shop every weekend so far, and I'm not super interested in shopping. To be fair, they need to put a lot more effort in dressing in the colors of the day than I do. I have six shirts, one for each color plus one white one, and several ties. That's all I need. Besides, I'm quickly running out of money; we get paid at the end of the month, and have to get by on one week's salary until July.

Joey is working at the school teaching Chinese, and is in a very similar situation to us. He is a recent graduate from Beijing, and has been working at the school for a year already. We left our apartment around 11 to go meet him. The Chinese teachers live in a different but similar apartment to us, a little closer to downtown. We took the MRT, and caught a taxi to take us to his building. 

Joey teaches at Prathom, so I hadn't met him yet, but he and Tony have become pretty good friends in the past two weeks. He had gone to Big C before we arrived and bought a big bag of mangosteen that we ate while he explained what we were going to do.

1991 - the Year of the Goat

He told us he would show us one of the most famous temples in the city and then take us to eat the best food in Bangkok. After that we would head to a dock on the Chao Phraya River where we would meet up with the girls. From there he was planning on taking us all to the famous Night Market.

So Joey, Tony, Me, and another Chinese teacher caught a bus to take us downtown to the historic heart of Bangkok. Our first stop was the Golden Mount, which stands tall in the city center. It's pretty prominent, and is even on the back of the golden 2 baht coin. To get to the Golden Mount, you have to walk through a pretty big temple complex. Joey is Buddhist, and he was a great guide.

me at the temple complex with the Golden Mount behind me

We stopped into a smaller temple on the grounds before we went up the mountain. Joey said a quick prayer, and pointed things in the temple out to us, explaining their significance. Soon, we heard chanting; a group of monks were singing their daily prayers. I was surprised. I thought that the Golden Mount would be kind of touristy, but there weren't that many tourists around. It was really quiet and peaceful, and we got to watch and listen to for a little while.

it was a really great day, sunny and not too hot!

a large Buddha inside one of the small temples

The Golden Mount is a man made mountain temple in the heart of Bangkok. The ruins of a much older temple collapsed at some point in the past, and the area became overgrown, eventually becoming a large natural hill. King Rama V constructed Wat Saket, the Temple of the Golden Mount at the top in the 19th century. The peak of Wat Saket supposedly has the best view of the city. To get to the top you have to wind your way around, walking through what feels like thick jungle, up hundreds of shallow steps. Tony and I had to pay 20 baht apiece; since it's a holy place it's free for Thai. We were obviously farangs though, and we stood out. Joey didn't have to pay. "Asian face", Joey joked. Still, 20 baht is less than a dollar, and I don't mind paying for something like this. It seems fair since I'm not Buddhist.

Tony, Joey, and me about to head up the path

In the heart of the city, being surrounded by so much green was literally a breath of fresh air. Walking up, you could forget that you were in one of the worlds' biggest cities. It was quiet and cool, and the plants were so thick you couldn't see the city or hear the cars passing nearby.

ring the bells to let Buddha know you're on your way up

Occasionally, we would pass by rows of big iron bells. Joey told us that people ring each one of them to let Buddha know they're on their way to the top, so that he can listen to their prayers.

nearly there!

more bells, getting closer to the top

It's not a long walk to the top; it probably took twenty minutes, and we were walking slowly to take in all the views and shrines along the way. It wasn't the hottest day we've had, but it was early afternoon, and definitely warming up. At the top, we got a yogurt drink to cool off a little bit. There is a little building on top, and inside there were several small shrines where people were praying. I thought that it was the very top, but Joey told us that we needed to go up higher before we could really enjoy the view. He led us up a narrow staircase to the summit of the temple. The golden peak of the mountain stood in the middle, and people were walking in circles around it praying.

great view from the top!

at the summit of the Golden Mount!

We stayed at the top for a while looking out over the city. Joey's friend, Cici, pointed out the Grand Palace out to me. Even from a distance you could see how big and impressive it was. She also pointed to a green patch in the distance. At first I thought it was a park, but she told me it was Chitralada Palace! It was windy at the top. That was the first real wind I've felt since coming to Bangkok, and it was great! Finally, fresh air and wind that's not from a fan or air conditioning!

We were supposed to meet the other girls at six, and it was getting close to four. We were about to head down when we got a message saying that a few of them weren't feeling well, and the others were too broke and they wouldn't be able to join us this time. Tony was relieved, he wanted to have guy time anyway. That meant that we didn't really have to hurry any more. Since we had time, Joey told us that he would take us to see the Black Temple next before we went to have dinner.