Inday Clara travels Solo #35 - Man-made Hill, the Golden Chedi, and Vultures? - The Golden Mount at Bangkok, Thailand

My last stop for my solo trip to Bangkok was the Wat Phu Khao Thong or simply Wat Saket or in english THE GOLDEN MOUNT. Another famous landmark in Bangkok. As usual, my friend Ace couldn't go with me on this one because of his other commitments. I happily went on my own. Getting there from my friends place was for me easy. I mostly relied on google map and the bus transport system in Bangkok which was so easy to navigate. 30 minutes and I was there.

Once I arrived at the spot, I knew I was in the right place because of this obvious golden sign. I'm now expecting to be gold everywhere I go from this point forward. Also, they have this board that shows the map or directory of the place which is practically useful.

The Tourist Ticket Admission costs 50 baht per person. The Golden Mount opens from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm. I like their ticket by the way, already serves as my souvenir of the place.

Anyways, I proceeded with my adventure and found this small replica at the bottom of the stairs to which I asked a lady to take a shot of me. One of the challenges being a solo traveler is having someone to take a photo of you.

I started my ascend around this circular stairs going to the top which has more than 300 steps! However, I just knew that when I reached the top and asked someone. However it was not tiring as I thought it would be. The stairway was surrounded with lush plants and too many things along the way caught my attention like this cute stature or a variety of bells and a gong which you can drum at.

As I was nearing the top, there was a part were a dozen of bells were lined up. Children and Adults were ringing the bells. It was said to bring good luck. So I chimed in as well.

I reached the top of this "man-made" hill and had this view before entering the temple. And yes. you read it right, the Golden Mountain is artificially made. King Rama III commissioned a chedi to built on the area unfortunately collapsed because of the soil structure. The place was left for decades which then the debris took the form of a hill. By which then King Rama IV constructed another chedi on top of the "hill"

Before reaching the top most part where the golden stupa could be found, I was greeted with these several Buddha statues placed at every corner. I also notice that the interior was already modern.

This specific Buddha image was enclosed in a circular hallway which I'm not sure about its distinction.

After checking out the unique Buddha images, students were lining in a corner which apparently was a narrow way going to the top. Since they were not moving, I overtook them and found my way on the topmost of the mountain.

Found the famous golden chedi! And its huge by the way. Not sure if this one was gold plated like the Pha That Luang in Ventianne, Laos or this was just gold paint. A statue of what seemed to be a goddess is found on the four corners of the chedi. The floor was covered with an artificial grass too.

Besides me and a few tourists, there were also locals praying here despite the direct exposure to the sun. I had to find some shade at one point because the sun's heat was starting to build up. From here you could see Bangkok with a 360 view.

During the month of November when the Loy Krathong festival is celebrated throughout Thailand, a candlelit procession is also done on the evening while climbing up the hill of the Golden Mountain or Wat Saket. Many locals would gather and join such celebration.

The students who I saw earlier emerged from the entrance. They were to do a prayer ritual lead by two monks in bright orange robs. They circled the golden chedi a few times after which they settled and sat down ono side where the altar was located.

After witnessing that, I decided that my time at the top was done. I started my descend on the winding stairs on the other side of the mountain which gave the view of the Ordination Hall, the Cremation Hall and the Buddha Image Hall.

I also passed by these statues of man and vultures. This representation was called THE VULTURES OF SRAKET TEMPLE.

The 1820, during the reign of King Rama II (1809-1824), cholera disease spread from the Penang (an island in today's Northern Malaysia) to Bangkok leading to more than 30,000 deaths in the capital. At the time, the practice was not to cremate the dead bodies inside the old city. the bodies were transported through the only city gate that was allowed for this purpose. This gate happened to be the closest to Sraket Temple (known in Thai as Wat Sraket). As a result, the temple became the main receiving ground for the many dead bodies which came in every day. However, the temple was unable to cope with the large number of dead, some bodies ad to be left out in the open area of the monastery as they could not be cremated or buried in time.
Vultures began coming to the temple to devour the dead bodies. The communicable disease kept spreading every dry season in Bangkok until the early reign of Kung Rama V )1868-1910). The temple became the main food court for vultures. The most severe epidemic was in 1849, during the reign og King Rama III. (1824-1851), when one out of every ten people in Bangkok and the surrounding areas were killed by the disease. The last spread of the disease took place in 1881. At that time, hundreds were dying each day. The massive pile of dead bodies attracted famous meditation monks, notable Somdej Phra Phutthachan (Toh Bhramarangsi), who came to obserbe the impermanent nature of existence.
During the six decades in which the cholera spread, Sraket Temple was full of vultures, be it on tree branches, temple walls and even on the resident compound of monks. The vultures would spread their wings and compete with each other for meals, creating a gruesome scene, which is remembered in the legend of the "Vultures of Sraket Temple" that continues to be told until today.

I continued to head down and saw this huge gong with the Asean countries' flags including the Philippines. Ofcourse, I rang the gong. A buddha image and foot were also found along the way.

As time did not anymore permit me to visit the Ordination Hall and the Buddha Image Hall, I ended my trip with this shot of the Golden Mountain. This place is definitely worth seeing in Bangkok, Thailand.

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Thank you for dropping by. Sending you love and light.

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Clara Pilca

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