Wat Kalayanamit

Wat Kalayanamit

This temple - Wat Kalayna, for short - is in the neighborhood where Kade's friend grew up.  Luckily, she was in Bangkok and wanted to show it to us.  The Buddha in this temple sure seemed larger than any we saw.  The one at Wat Mahathat is likely the sole exception.

 

We didn't arrive at the temple via the Chao Phraya River, which is the stunning view you'd have in the above image.  We actually drove up in a taxi, and then walked down to the river for a scenic view before going into the temple. I just remember it being very hot!

 

Outside the temple gate and wall (and even just inside the wall), there were various people hanging around.  There were some selling turtles that you could release in the river for good luck.  Unlike other temples we'd visited, these vendors were really pushing a sale, which was a turnoff to me.  The turtles didn't seem to be kept in a proper manner, and I remember it bothered us.  They were in buckets with no water, and the afternoon heat was intense.  We wondered who was in charge of the operation!!  There were also a number of beggars - mostly older women - sitting near the entrance to the temple gate.  And they had their hands out hoping for some money.  There were even a few that would walk up to you in a friendly, non-threatening way requesting some charity.  Once we had finished the temple "tour" and were walking back to the parking lot, I handed out 50 Baht bills to a few of the ladies.  They smiled, and I smiled back.