Beyond the City Wall

The walking adventure into Dusit took us to parts of the city I had never known of before, despite having worked in the district for five years!

Wat Ratchathiwat is another Buddhist monastery with a very important royal lineage.

exploring a temple in Dusit

The temple itself dates back to Ayutthaya times, but it rose to prominence during the early reigns of the Chakri Dynasty.

The monastery is designed in a style inspired by Khmer architecture, and is the forest monastery where both King Rama I and King Rama II were ordained.

In the 1830s, a young Thai prince named Mongkut established the Thammayut order of Thai Buddhism. This movement led to the development of the Thai Forest Tradition of Theravada Buddhism. Prince Mongkut was a monk for 27 years before circumstance forced him to ascend the crown. He would become King Rama IV (best known in the West for hiring a certain English governess named Anna to serve in his court).

Bangkok's Khmer-style temple

En route to our next destination, Noi led us on a small detour along a small alleyway and back towards the Chaophraya River where several ornate barges were docked.

two views of the same moment

These boats are a part of the upcoming Royal Barge Procession. The ceremony was scheduled to be held this coming week, but unfortunately due to lots of rain and an unseasonably high and rough river, it's been delayed to December. I was hoping for the chance to see this extremely rare ceremony, but I'll be back in the USA during the new date.

Royal Barges docked at the river

The Royal Barge Procession is an ancient religious and civil ceremony dating back over 700 years! 51 historical Thai barges rowed by over 2000 oarsmen will escort the Royal Barge from Dusit past the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew all the way to the Temple of the Dawn (Wat Arun) in a graceful procession. The Royal Barge is the only barge built during the reign of King Rama IX; all of the other barges date back at least 70+ years.

the Royal Barge Ceremony will be held soon

When I say it's a very rare ceremony, I do mean it! In the entire 70-year reign of HM King Rama IX, the procession only occurred 16 times! This procession is a part of the year-long ceremony marking the coronation of HM King Rama X.

a pair of monks were excited to see the barges too

Next up: Immaculate Conception Church.

The first Christian missionaries arrived in Siam in 1567, and King Narai of Ayutthaya granted the Portuguese some land along the Chaophraya River in Bangkok to build the first church in the kingdom in 1674.

In Thai, the church is called Wat Khamen. As the first church in Thailand, there wasn't a Thai word for church yet, so it was granted the honorific title "Wat", meaning "temple".

Immaculate Conception Church

The church is a powerful example of Thailand's longstanding religious freedom and tolerance. Although the country is 95% Buddhist, the monarchy has always been friendly towards Christians in the kingdom.

the grotto at the church

The church has been rebuilt several times. The current building was finished in 1847. Although the church does have some distinctly Portuguese features, it also looks a lot like some of the Vietnamese churches that I visited last year. This reflects a bit of the church's long history.

the church has Portuguese features

In 1785, the church opened its doors to some 500 Khmer refugees who were fleeing an ongoing civil war in Cambodia. The refugees joined the community and helped grow the church and congregation. The church was given a nickname: Bot Baan Khmen, the Cambodian Village Church.

Later, the church's association with refugees continued. In 1832, a large number of Vietnamese refugees fled religious persecution in their country and joined the congregation at Immaculate Conception. It gained yet another nickname: Bot Ban Yuan, the Vietnamese Village Church.

Soi Conception

Such a long history brings with it lots and lots of stories. Now, both the Cambodian and Vietnamese refugees from long ago have integrated into Thai society, bringing with them a unique culture to this neighborhood of Dusit District (called Soi Conception).

old tombs at the cemetery

Behind the church there's a very old cemetery. A caretaker opened the gates for us and allowed us to explore.

crucifix at the cemetery

It's a peaceful place; small, yet well cared for. The cemetery was originally founded for Portuguese Christians in Bangkok, but now is also the resting place for the Thai congregations of several Catholic churches in the area.

the cemetery dates back hundreds of years

This is one of Bangkok's majority Christian enclaves! Nearby, just down the road from Immaculate Conception, is another Catholic Church, this one named after Asia's most famous saint: St. Francis Xavier.

statue of Jesus healing the blind man at St. Francis Xavier

St. Francis Xavier was a Spanish priest, missionary, and scholar who traveled and preached extensively in Asia in the 16th century. His ministry took him to Malacca, Macau, Goa, Japan, Borneo, and China. There are churches named after the Spanish saint all across Asia. He's also the founder of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit Order), to which Pope Francis belongs.

St. Francis Xavier Church

The "Apostle to the Orient" died in China in 1552, but his influence endures to this day. He has to be one of the most influential saints in modern history. St. Francis Xavier is venerated by the Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, and Lutheran World Federation, and hundreds of churches, especially in Asia, are named after him.

beautiful sanctuary at the church

As more Vietnamese refugees arrived in Thailand in the 1800s, the congregation at Immaculate Conception outgrew their building. In 1834, King Rama III donated land and funds for a second Catholic church just down the road.

the altar at St. Francis Xavier

The interior of the church is bright and cheerful, with white and gold decorations and a star-studded ceiling above. In place of a crucifix, a statue of the community's patron saint stands behind the altar.

Thailand is excitedly awaiting an upcoming visit by Pope Francis! It will be the first time a Pope has come to Thailand since John Paul II visited and met with King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit in 1984.

Pope Francis is coming to Thailand as part of a pilgrimage throughout Asia which he hopes will foster interfaith dialogue in the region.

the Pope is coming to Bangkok!

Before ending our tour, we stopped in at the Artist's House.

This beautiful neo-Renaissance home once belonged to Mr. Silpa Bhirasri, the Italian-born National Artist of Thailand who founded Silpakorn University. An artist named Corrado Feroci was invited to teach art in Thailand during the reign of King Rama V. During the Second World War, he took the Thai name Silpa, not wanting to associate with Fascist Italy.

A few weeks back, I visited the Museum of Contemporary Art, a modern art museum in Bangkok which is also dedicated to Mr. Silpa.

The Artist's House

Today, his home had been preserved as a museum. It houses a cafe and an art gallery. When we visited, the gallery was exhibiting a series of black and white photography.

Mr. Silpa

More than any other walking tour I've taken lately, this one really showed me how much of Bangkok there still is to explore! All of these sights were right down the road from the school where I spent nearly every day for five years, and yet I had no idea any of these places even existed! I'm so happy to be getting out more.