My Around the World Adventure: Bangkok, Temple of the Dawn

The Temple of the Dawn is on the opposite side of the river from the Royal Palace and the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. The only way to get there is by ferry. I was reminded of the Staten Island Ferry because it cost the equivalent of a nickel to take the ferry across the river. It was all of a 5 minute trip.

I will show you the stairs of the Temple of the Dawn. You can climb to 2 levels of the temple. If you are acorophobic, don't attempt the climb. I have never been on stairs with as steep an incline as these. It was practically a vertical ascent which was OK. Going down was an adventure! You will see someone in one of the photos clutching the rope along the side of the stairs for dear life! What made the trip both up and down even more arduous was the fact that it was about 98 degrees with humidity equally in that range! As Roseanne Roseannadanna used to say, "I thought I was going to die." But what an experience to have gone up and down the stairs of the Temple of the Dawn. Many people younger than I turned away when they saw the stairs!

Taken from the ferry as we were crossing the river.

Some sort of memorial garden area in front of a Buddhist shrine.

The entrance to a Buddhist shrine next to the Temple of the Dawn.

Temple of the Dawn

Billboard size portrait of the current king.

You can get a glimpse of the stairway on the left side of the photo.

There he is holding on for dear life with a look of fright on his face!

View from the first upper level of the temple.

View from the second upper level.

Looking straight up to the top most part of the temple from the second upper level.

Back on terra firma at the base of the temple.

View from the river on the ferry ride back to the other side.

This golf course is in the middle of Bangkok! I took this photo from the elevated train station near my hotel. The "Skytrain" was a very convenient way to get to the Central Pier to catch the ferries on the river.

Interior courtyard of hotel I was at.

The remaining random photos were taken from inside the car while Dr. John Constable's friend, Terry, was giving me a tour of Bangkok. Given the heat and humidity of the day I was grateful to be inside a car with A/C.

Pictures of the royal family were prominent throughout Bangkok. These are photos of the king and queen on the main road leading to the Marble Palace.

The Marble Palace, home of the royal family since the 19th century, was built by the then king who wanted Thailand to be "Westernized." The same king who is depicted in "Anna and the King of Siam" and "The King and I."