Temples of  Thailand - a photographic journey

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Located along the busy Ploen Chit Road , in between shopping malls and in the shadow of the sky train nests Wat Pathumwanaram Rajaworavihara or Wat Srapathum with it’s beautiful white chedi. Most tourists probably never even realize that there is a temple in this location. Especially in the heat of the day this is a good place to get some rest and find some shade under the trees in the temples garden. It was built at the same time as Srapathum Palace during the reign of King Rama IV. The Viharn of the temple houses important Buddha images, which were brought from Vientiane , Phra Serm and Phra Saen. The temple was built in 1853 and was surrounded by rice fields. Today, the temple is sandwiched between the Siam Paragon shopping complex and the Central World Plaza .  We go to Wat Pathumwanaram everytime when we are in Bangkok, like on the 5th of December 2008 for the morning prayer with the monks, which included a special birthday prayer for H.M. The King.  

The temple was right in the middle of the political unrest in 2010 and was also undergoing renovation work when we visited in March and September 2010. The occupation by so many protesters has obviously left it's marks on the temple grounds, however it is always a good place for a meditation in the large hall behind the main temple buildings.

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