"Thai" Will Always Love You (Part 2): Temples of Nakhon Pathom, and Markets of Bangkok

- July 20, 2024, Saturday.

- Bangkok's neighboring provinces are easy to access. Nakhon Pathom, to the east of Bangkok, may be accessible by metro or train, but it is best to hire a car to see its popular landmarks as transportation can be challenging the further out of the city one goes. I was fortunate enough to befriend the Grab taxi driver who drove me from the airport to my hotel when I arrived in Bangkok, and hired him to be my half-day driver for this day. I hired him for 2000 Baht for around 6 hours, which I think was fine after I checked rates online. Well, my Bangkok trip was also quite last minute since I really had so much on my plate these days and couldn't search for car hires more thoroughly. This was probably one of the risky things I did abroad, but I'm glad this particular driver was dependable.

- My first agenda for the morning was to visit Wat Sam Phran, fondly called the "Dragon Temple". I saw this temple in viral posts in social media, and never thought I would be able to visit it myself! It is notable for its main building, a pink cylindrical one with a giant dragon going around it. It opened in 1985. The temple grounds has interesting features, such as having a giant white elephant, a peacock leading to prayer halls. It also has a big golden Buddha.

Giant elephant. You can see the temple behind.

Giant peacock.

Photo of around 2/3 of the main temple, from the Golden Buddha area.

Golden Buddha.

It was a Buddhist holiday, so it was my first time to witness monks going around getting donations from people.

Nice kid.

- The main temple has 17 floors. The building itself is arranged in a spiral, and visitors can go up the spiral to reach the top floor. I took the elevator, a convenient choice that cost 10 Baht as donation to the temple. At the top, one can see a few more Buddhas the view of Nakhon Pathom (and Bangkok in the distance), as well as the dragon's giant colorful head.

This Buddha has seen things.

Giant dragon head.

Photo of the main building from the ground. The dragon honestly looks realistic.

- I went down the spiral just to see how long the walk was. I honestly think that because the spiral hallway in the building is compact, the climb up wouldn't be too difficult despite being 17 floors. Despite the temple being unusual, and has gained some attention online, it is not as visited by tourists. Some websites even say that it is easy to have the temple to oneself as locals usually visit the temples, and during special Buddhist occasions (which was when I went). Considering it was a crowded day because of the holiday, I was still able to get photos of myself without the crowd.

- Next, I hopped to Wat Pathom Chedi, completed in 1870. It is made in the Thai style with some Chinese influences. It is one of the tallest stupas in the world, and is one of the busiest in Nakon Pathom. It also has a small museum at the stupa grounds (no photos allowed), showing artefacts related to the temple. I also just found out that there was a bigger, more proper museum at the carpark, but wasn't able to visit because we were parked at the other side of the parking area. (I would have visited had I known!) This temple/stupa is easier to access by communing as it is close to the Nakhon Pathom train station.

It....really is very big!

Considering this was an extremely busy day, I was able to get a photo like this.

One of the main Buddha statues of the temple.

At the inner circle.

I realized how much I matched the stupa. I love it.

- I had some hours to spare and asked my driver for suggestions in case he knew of museums or other temples to see in Nakhon Pathom. He suggested that I visit Phutthamonthon Park, a 400-hectare Buddhist theme park that also acts as a temple. It is known for its towering Buddha, one of the world's tallest. The park was so big I only got to see the Buddha statue, and a marble temple at the back. It would have been nice to have more time to explore the whole place!

Giant Buddha.

It looks at lot bigger than the photo makes it seem.

The marble temple showing Buddha's life.

- The drive to Bangkok from Nakhon Pathom was around an hour, and with moderate traffic. I got off at my new hostel, Diff Hostel (click here). I love my new hostel because it is so close to Phaya Thai train station (one of the most convenient train stations for sightseeing and going to the airport). I'm so glad I took the private room (albeit slightly more expensive than a bed in a dorm room), because I just had so many things and I needed the perfect environment whenever I'd work with my laptop at night.

My room. It looks used because I was actually about to leave my room when I took this photo.

- Anyway, I took a mid-day shower from all my morning walking, and headed towards Chatujak Market (Mo Chi BTS Station / Chatujak Park Metro Station). Chatujak Market only opens on weekends. Besides the rows of stores, there is also a mall beside it for indoor (and airconditioned!) shopping. Not sure why but I wasn't really able to buy anything from one of the world's largest markets. I guess it was because I felt many stores sold the same things (elephant shirts and pants), or the usual tourist souvenirs (keychains, pens, candies). And for some reason, it was really hard to find a stall that sold traditional clothes (there was one, or maybe two, but had limited and expensive stocks. Phahurat or Sampeng Market would've been better for what I needed I guess.)

With the Chatujak clocktower.

- That evening, I visited Pratunam Market (Ratchaprarop, Chit Lom, or Siam BTS stations). It was a lot closer to my hostel (walkable, but a long walk.) Pratunam is memorable to me because I stayed in this area the first time I went to Thailand in 2011. It is also a nice place to do some shopping. I know that it should have a vibrant night market, but not sure why it was a bit quiet (but it had stalls). I did manage to get a few things though. From the market I walked towards Platinum Mall, the first of my daily trips to Platinum Mall. I had a nice seafood dinner there.

Pratunam night market. You also see the Baiyoke Tower, Bangkok's former tallest tower, and one of the tallest in Southeast Asia.

Saw this seafood stall outside Platinum.

Dinner....at least part of it. HAHA.

- Moving from Nakhon Pathom to Bangkok really made me feel the difference between the east and west of the Chao Phraya River. In Nakhon Pathom, west of the river, things were quiet and less overwhelming, while in the east, where Bangkok is, everything was just happening at the same time. Although I prefer Bangkok because I love having my senses stimulated, I was still happy to have seen some of the best that Nakhon Pathom has to offer!

- Check out my other adventures for this Thailand trip!

Part 1 (Phahurat and Mahidol University): here

Part 3 (Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun, Kudeejeen): here

Part 4 (Chinatown, Wat Saket, Giant Swing): here

Part 5 (Ancient City, Erawan Museum, Terminal 21): here