Wat Phitchaya Yatikaram

The royal temple Wat Phitchaya Yatikaram is located on the Thonburi side of the river, not far from the crossing of the Chaophraya Skypark bridge. The main chedi at the temple is a prang built in a Khmer style, similar to that of the famous Wat Arun but in a stunning white and gold.

It was my first time visiting this beautiful temple, built in the iconic white and red Chinese-Thai style that is the hallmark of the Rama III era. As a matter of fact, this temple was constructed by the king's own viceroy, Lord Bunnag, giving it its royal distinction.

Learn more about Rama III's royal temple architecture:

https://michaeldesrosiers.blogspot.com/2020/06/the-venice-of-orient-kayaking-khlong.html

https://michaeldesrosiers.blogspot.com/2020/07/a-long-tail-boat-to-mon-island.html

The main temple hall was dark and quiet, with a beautiful golden seated Buddha statue. The walls were decorated in traditional Thai patterns. A few Buddhists were praying inside the wat, and as I quietly stepped inside for a photo, a large grandfather clock next to the golden seated Buddha statue struck ten.

Many temples have clocks, but they seem to be nearly ubiquitous inside temples with Chinese influence.

The temple hall was quiet and peaceful. As a royal-grade temple, Wat Phitchaya Yatikaram is managed by the Ministry of Fine Arts, and receives plenty of attention to keep it as beautiful as possible. The most interesting parts to me, however, were outside of the main temple hall.

The huge white chedi towered over the temple grounds. We had to remove our shoes to climb the steps into the chedi, and the sunbaked marble scalded my feet as I climbed up to the welcome shade inside the chedi. There, four golden Buddha statues face out at the four cardinal directions, and you are given beautiful views across the grounds of the temple and the nearby neighborhood.

The top level of the chedi featured a large Buddha footprint. Buddha footprints are stylistic (and huge) representations of a human footprint covered in symbology. These are meant to be reminders to follow in the path of Buddha's teachings. 

In Thailand, there is a belief that if you can balance a coin in the grooves of a Buddha footprint, a wish you make might come true. It's not easy to do, though, as the engraved patterns on the footprints tend to be worn and uneven. It takes a bit of skill!

Balancing the coin looked difficult, so I made a wish that I could get a coin to stand on its edge, and after several failed attempts, my wish did indeed come true.

In hindsight, I could have wished for something a bit more impressive.

The design of the central prang was really reminiscent of the one at Wat Arun. Even the ogre statues that guarded the chedi looked like they had come right off of Rattanakosin Island.

We spent a half hour or so at the temple, but it was still early and there was more to see. This was a neighborhood I had never visited before. Like every trip with Mr. Noi, I found myself discovering parts of Bangkok that - even after seven years - I had no idea even existed!