Temple of the Dawn

With a catchy name, the Temple of the dawn resides along the Chao Phraya River. At dawn the temple is spectacular in sight. A pearly iridescence is created as the morning light reflects off the temple, creating a wonderful picture perfect image that could well be taken out of a movie. The temple also known as Wat Arun and more officially known as Wat Arunratchawararam Ratchaworamahavihara, was built when the capital of Thailand was at Ayutthaya.

The temple was intitally called Wat Makok (The Olive Temple). During the Thonburi period, King Taskin changed its name to Wat Chaeng. IN 1784, the Wat, played host to the Emerald Buddha for some time. King Rama II changed its name to Wat Arunratchatharam,and he renovated the temple and expanded the central prang. King Rama IVgave the current name Wat Arunratchawararam.

The temple consists of steep steps that go towards two terraces. The edges are enclosed with four smaller prangs. The prangs have been ornamented with seashells and pieces of porcelain. At the summit of the central prang is seven point trident that symbolises the trident of Shiva. The bases of the prangs are surrounded by statue of ancient Chinese soldiers and animals. The second terrace hosts four statue of the Hindu god Indra riding on his vehicle Erawan.

Wat Run is the main tourist attraction at Thonburi and is the most published image of Thailand. The image Wat Arun has been seen on numerous postcards. A must see place if one travels to Bangkok. For stay, Bangkok serviced apartments can be arranged at the Bangkok Royal President.

About the Author:

Naveen Marasinghe is an Online Marketing Executive at eMarketingEye which is a search engine marketing company that offers integrated Internet marketing services and specializes in serving the online travel and hospitality industry.