Tips when visiting Buddhist temples in Thailand

In all Buddhist temples, shorts and sleeveless tops are forbidden, dress appropriately by covering your shoulders and knees. You must take off your shoes before entering a temple, although you can wear them in the yard. Women are not allowed to touch monks or novices but can freely speak with them. Most Buddhist temples in Bangkok have a small admission fee for foreigners (usually 40 baht unless there’s a museum or an important relic inside).

Wat Pho – the Temple of the Reclining Buddha

Wat Pho in Bangkok

This huge Buddha statue (46 m/150 feet long) needs a huge complex to house it. Wat Pho is one of the main Bangkok attractions and it’s first on the list of first-rank royal temples in Thailand (only six temples are on the list). It comprises 91 small and 4 large chedis (Thai stupas), a central shrine, and many other buildings. The biggest collection of images of the Buddha in Thailand, more than 1000, is kept here. The Reclining Buddha statue itself is squeezed in one of the smaller temples. We recommend you get a guide or download some history about Wat Pho as there is so much to decipher.

A Thai massage school is situated in Wat Pho, which means that if the day has been too long and tiring, you can spend a little more time in the temple area and spoil yourself with a Thai massage (30 minutes – 260 baht). It’s worth it as Wat Pho temple is considered the birthplace of Thai massage. More information here.

Plan at least an hour to see the complex, 2 hours if you are into Buddhism and Buddhist architecture.

Wat Pho temple opening hours: every day 8:00 – 17:00

Wat Pho temple entrance ticket: 100 baht (the ticket includes 2 free bottles of water)

Wat Pho temple address: 2 Sanamchai Road, Grand Palace, Pranakorn, Bangkok

Wat Phra Kaew – the Temple of the Emerald Buddha

Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok

The Emerald Buddha is a statue that has been around Asia for more than 2000 years and is considered the protective image of Thailand and Thai people. You might be surprised that such an important figurine is only 66 cm (2 feet) tall. It’s made of semi-precious green stone (jasper or jade rather than emerald) and wears gold clothes. Fun fact: the king of Thailand changes the clothes of the Emerald Buddha three times a year (March, August and November).

Legend has it that the Emerald Buddha was crafted in 43 BC in India and moved through the centuries from Sri Lanka to Laos and Thailand. Wat Phra Kaew temple, where the statue can be seen today, is the most sacred and important temple in Thailand.

Wat Phra Kaew temple opening hours: 8:30 – 15:30

Wat Phra Kaew temple entrance ticket: 500 baht (there’s no separate ticket for Wat Phra Kaew, this is a general price to enter the Grand Palace).

Wat Phra Kaew temple address: Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok

Wat Arun – the Temple of Dawn

Wat Arun – the Temple of Dawn, Bangkok | © Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Although Wat Arun means the Temple of Dawn, for the most amazing views you’d better see it at sunset… and from the other side of the river. Wat Arun is located on the west bank of Chao Phraya river and usually you have to take a boat to get there. Just go to the nearest river pier and take a look at the public boat transportation maps to see what boat number you need to hop on.

If Wat Arun looks familiar to you even before you’ve visited it, that’s because it’s on the back of the 10-baht coin. However, the coin can’t capture the delicate tiny Chinese ceramic pieces that cover the towers of the temple named after the Hindu god Aruna.

Wat Arun opening hours: 8:00 – 17:00

Wat Arun temple entrance ticket: 50 baht

Wat Arun temple address: 34 Arun Amarin Road, Kwang Wat Arun, Khet Bangkok Yai. If you are on the other side of the river, the easiest way to get there is to get a cross-river boat from Tha Thien Pier).

Wat Saket – The Temple of the Golden Mount

Wat Saket – The Temple of the Golden Mount, Bangkok

This glittering temple on top of an artificial hill is one of the best spots to see Bangkok from above without having to pay for expensive beer and cocktails in high-end bars in skyscrapers. Its peculiar story starts in the 18^th century where the first attempt to build a temple was made by king Rama III. The marshy ground couldn’t support a heavy structure, though, and it collapsed before it was finished. Several stories like this were repeated over the years with new attempts to solidify the mound. Today it has a concrete cap on top but the base still consists of bricks. You have 300 spiraling steps to climb but it’s not a strenuous walk and part of it is under the shade of trees. The view from the top is worth it. Wat Saket, also known as Phu Khao Thong or the Golden Mount, is quite far from other attractions in Bangkok and far from convenient public transportation, so you might need to take a taxi. There’s a large temple fair every year in November.

Wat Saket temple opening hours: 9:00 – 17:00

Wat Saket temple entrance ticket: 20 baht

Wat Saket temple address: Pom Prap Sattru Phai, Bangkok, Thailand

Wat Traimit – the Temple of the Golden Buddha

Wat Traimit – the Temple of the Golden Buddha in Bangkok

If you have always dreamed of seeing the biggest solid gold seated Buddha statue in the world, today is your lucky day. Head for Bangkok’s Chinatown to meet the 15-foot/5-meter, 5.5-ton figure and hear its amazing story. The Golden Buddha was crafted in the 13^th century and, at some point later, it was covered in plaster, probably to hide it from thieves. Centuries passed and obviously, everyone forgot what was inside the cover until 1955 when the statue was moved to Wat Traimit temple. The workers accidentally dropped it and part of the plaster cracked and revealed the precious content.

Wat Traimit temple opening hours: 8:00 – 17:00

Wat Traimit temple entrance ticket: 40 baht

Wat Traimit temple address: Traimit Road, Bangkok

The post The 5 best Bangkok temples to visit if you’re short of time appeared first on 203Challenges.

While he wondered how to tackle the issue back in 1972, the Bhutanese king Jigme Singye Wangchuck decided to start a development project in his country (which at the time was still somewhat medieval) in a more gentle way, preserving as much as possible of the ancient traditions of Bhutan. He introduced a batch of measures, including famously focusing on the Gross Domestic Happiness of the nation rather than using economic indicators to measure the country’s success.

How is Bhutan’s Gross Domestic Happiness measured?

Measuring the happiness of a nation is a subjective matter and is highly debatable, according to many economists. In Bhutan, they calculate it using indicators such as sustainable development, environmental protection, effective government, social justice and the preservation of traditions.

Still sound vague? Here are a few specific measures introduced in Bhutan over the past 40 years to help paint a picture of this small but bold Himalayan kingdom.

Göran Höglund (Kartläsarn)/Flickr

1. Every Thursday is a traffic-free day, promoting a lower reliance on cars and less pollution.

2. Until 1999, television was forbidden in Bhutan out of a concern it would be a channel for negative Western influence.

3. Bhutan has a Minister of Happiness.

4. Bhutanese people are asked “Are you happy?” during every census. At the last one, 45.2% answered “Very happy”, while 51.6% said they were “Happy” and merely 3.3% defined themselves as “Not very happy”.

5. There used to be a strict etiquette system requiring, for example, people to bow low to the ground when they meet the king or a high-ranking official. Most of these rules have been abolished.

6. The streets are clean, with flowers in bloom everywhere.

7. Buddhism, the main religion in Bhutan, is one of the major reasons why Bhutanese people feel happy and balanced. After it was discovered that people are meditating less and less, the government introduced obligatory meditation in schools, for 10 minutes every day.

Göran Höglund (Kartläsarn)/Flickr

8. In Buddhist monasteries, they take special care of elderly people.

9. English classes are obligatory for all, with foreign volunteers teaching across the country.

10. More than 50% of Bhutan’s territory is protected as a national park.

11. Hunting is forbidden and most people are vegetarians.

12. Many Bhutanese people still wear their national costume.

13. In 2012, Bhutan announced its desire to become the first country in the world to achieve 100% bio agriculture.

14. Visiting Bhutan is not among the easiest feats in the world. Every visitor should pay a daily fee ($200 in low season, $250 in high season) and the number of tourists per year is limited.

The post The Gross Domestic Happiness of Bhutan – 14 inspiring examples appeared first on 203Challenges.

Buddhism is an essential part of what Thailand is and you can’t get to know the country without knowing Buddhism. You can read books or articles on the internet (like this one) but still, the best way is to go to the source.

If you want to talk to a Buddhist monk, you should learn Thai. There is an easier way, though. Just find a friendly English-speaking monk. Here is our guide how to do it.  

Monks chanting in Wat Phra Singh Temple, Chiang Mai © Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Monk chats in Chiang Mai and Bangkok

Some temples in Thailand offer foreigners the chance to join monk chats where monks will willingly answer all your questions. Usually, these are young students from a Buddhist school who practice their English while giving you an insight to their life.

One of the most popular places to join a monk chat is in Chiang Mai. Go to Wat Chedi Luang Temple (from 9 to 18) or Wat Suan Dok (from 17 to 19) and look for the benches with monks waiting to talk to foreigners. You can ask them anything – from the basics of Buddhism to general questions about life in Thailand. Your satisfaction from the conversation will depend on the monk’s level of English (and yours, too). Even though monks are not allowed to touch or approach women, gender is not an issue if you want to speak with them. 

As of 2017, there are no monk chats in Bangkok.

Monk chat at Wat Chedi Luang Temple, Chiang Mai © Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Friendly monks

Many of the Thai Buddhist monks know a little English (often very basic, though) and most of them will be happy to talk to you.

I saw an elderly Buddhist monk taking photos in the Chiang Mai Wat Pra That Doi Suthep temple (or simply Doi Suthep) and I approached him wanting to show him a beautiful angle to shoot the building. He smiled at me and asked me in broken English where I was from. That’s how we started chatting and he tried to squeeze the essence of Buddhism in three sentences for me. We are calm inside, he said, but distractions coming through our eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and mind sabotage our innate serenity. That’s where suffering comes from. So we should always follow the middle way – neither too much positivity, nor too much negativity.

“But you seem really happy,” my Western mind insisted. “Yes, yes, true. Sometimes it is possible to be happy,” he answered.

In the end, we took a selfie together and he gave me his email address to send him the photo (in case you are curious, he did reply to my email a few weeks later).

As there are no designated monk chats in Bangkok, finding an English-speaking monk at a temple is your only chance to get answers to your questions.

To make it easier, here is a list of the 5 best temples to visit in Bangkok (especially if you are short of time).

Detail from Wat Phra That Doi Suthep Temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand © Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Live with monks in a Buddhist temple

One of the main obstacles preventing you from staying at any temple or monastery in Thailand is the language barrier. Not the rules, as Buddhism is open to every religion. Since more and more foreigners are interested in getting a deeper knowledge of Buddhism, there are now some temples that organize retreats and meditation sessions in English. When choosing one make sure it is a temple with monks, not a retreat wellness center so that you have an authentic experience.

Your stay could vary from a few hours (meditation only) to months. A nice two-week stay is offered by Wat Sriboonruang Temple in Chiang Mai (website here).

Read more: Unusual and amazing places to stay in Thailand.

The post Monk chats: How to find a friendly Buddhist monk to talk to in Thailand appeared first on 203Challenges.