Travels in Thailand - Part 4

..a visit from cutenekko's brother and girlfriend continues....

This day, we took a tuk tuk tour of the lesser known/ hidden tourist places. We started the tour in Old Siam, near the backpacker's center of Kao San Road.

Our two tuk tuk's took us to a park along the Chao Phraya river. We could enjoy the view here of a beautiful bridge:

This park contained part of the old wall, which used to surround Bangkok. A fortified tower can still be seen:

We next moved to the Golden Mount -- a large golden pagoda which rests at the top of 318 steps. The steps are meant to represent the stairs to heaven. At the bottom, a happy Buddha:

We began the climb to heaven ^_^ :

While climbing, we could constantly enjoy the sound of flowing water, from waterfalls and more beautiful statues of Buddha.

One statue and water:

Another waterfall with white pagoda:

Halfway up, I got a photo:

Further up, we reached a flat section filled with bells. These were placed by believers. To ring them, God would hear your wish/ prayer. Our guide rang many of the bells.^_^

 Bells: 

Close up of one bell and others:

More bells:

In one corner, there was a huge gong, likely placed there by a Chinese-Thai family. We all enjoyed taking turns ringing the huge gong!

cutenekko gets ready....

...strike!

Near the top, we could enjoy a beautiful view of the city below. This view, our guide explained, was used in a James Bond film!

Inside, we could observe some Buddhist statues-- a replica of the Emerald Buddha, dressed for all 3 seasons -- were on display:

Another Buddha was ornately decorated. Our guide explained they were donated by believers:

At the very top, inside, was a special pagoda, which is said to hold a relic of Buddha. One believer was walking around the center while praying. After she finished, I snapped a photo of the gold-leaf covered pagoda:

We headed back down all those stairs and I stopped to get a photo of a miniature version of The Golden Mount, to give readers a sense of the structure:

At the very bottom, two stone lions were guarding the stairs:

To showcase the stone carvers' skill, you can see inside one lion's mouth, a stone ball!

We climbed aboard our Tuk Tuk's to move to the next location.....

Check back tomorrow to see where we'll travel next. ^_^

Old Siam is located near Chinatown. Best access, via taxi or tuk tuk. Just say: "Yaowarat". Information about what to see or do in this area, can be found HERE. The Golden Mount is not often visited by tourists, so it's a great place to enjoy views of the city in a quiet location. Information on the temple is HERE.