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The Temple of the Golden Buddha contains a solid gold Buddha image that weighs 5.5 tonnes and is 3m high.
The story goes that it was covered with plaster to stop it being stolen by the Burmese in the Sukhothai period. The statue was forgotten about for a long time but moved with a crane in the mid part of the 20th century. While being moved it was knocked and some of the plaster came off, revealing the gold underneath.
It is quite impressive but even more impressive, in this 1987 photo, is me with a 28" waist, not an ounce of fat and no grey hair. Leave a Comment Phone: 623 1226Directions: Near Hualamphong Station
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The Wat Traimit temple is nothing special from the outside, but is famous for the big Golden Buddha statue.
The statue itself is 800 years old and maybe it is not a masterwork, but.. yes, it is solid gold: more than 5 tons. The world largest golden statue.
For a few centuries the statue was covered with white stucco and maybe for this reason (besides its weight) it did not disappear during the Burmese invasion. Leave a Comment Directions: Not far from Hualamphong main railway station
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The Sukhothai Trimitr Golden Buddha is the largest solid gold Buddha image in the world, Made of pure gold, it is 16 feet high and weighs 5 tons. It was made more than 700 years ago. Following the Burmese invasion, it was hidden by covering it in stucco and remained for almost 100 years. During a move, the covering was chipped revealing the gold underneath. In a beautiful setting, this is a visit not to be missed. Leave a Comment Phone: 623 1226Directions: Near Hualamphong Station
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In the middle of a bustling neighbourhood stands Wat Traimit, a small complex of fairly plain, unadorned buildings dominated by one thing - a 3 metre tall, 5 or 6 tonne image of the Buddha made from solid gold.
The Buddha, made in the Sukhothai period (mid 13th to mid 14th Century), was later covered in plaster to protect it from Burmese invaders. It remained in this state for a couple of centuries until in the mid 1950's when, upon moving the statue, the plaster started to crack and the its true nature literally shone though.
It’s a very impressive image - the gleaming colour of the statute surrounded by candles and offerings –-although it somehow seems a little constricted by the small pavilion it is placed on. But then I suppose 5 tonnes of gold is going to overwhelm most things! Leave a Comment Phone: 623 1226Directions: Near Hualamphong Station
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Being a Catholic and a first time traveller abroad, I haven't had much opportunity to visit other temples or places of worship.
The Buddha image in Wat Traimitr is very impressive. According to our guide, this one is made up of pure gold. It has always been believed to be made up of cement and the real treasure was only discovered incidentally while transferring the Buddha from its former location.
Very nice experience but I think the whole tourism stuff is making this place less serene than it ought to be.
Note:
This is from my first Bangkok trip in March 2004.
Part of our packaged City Tour. Leave a Comment Phone: 623 1226Directions: Near Hualamphong Station
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This is a cool Buddha statue as it is 5? tons of solid Gold! There is a neat story behind the "discovery" of the Buddha image too. Sometime in the last few hundred years it was hidden under a plaster covering to hide it from invaders and it was apparently forgotten about. I don't know how would forget about your 5? ton solid Gold Buddha but it was. Then sometime in the 1960's the plaster covered Buddha was being moved and the outer covering fell off to reveal what was insided!! Finders Keepers??? Better to arrive here early before the tour buses show up. The first visitors are allowed in at 9:00 am.
This Temple is kind of a weird place in my opinion. Because there is a Money Changer right on the grounds of the Temple. What for? Maybe so you can give donations? On most of my visits the other tourists are very aware of the smallness of the room that houses the Buddha. Everyone seems to stand to the side and everyone takes turns snapping their photos. It has always seemed to work out pretty good.
Wat Traimit is quite easy to find as it is near the Hualamphong train station. It is good to combine a visit to Wat Traimit with Chinatown as they are quite close together. Leave a Comment Phone: 623-1226Directions: It's pretty close to the Hualompong Railway station.
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Wat Trai Mit or Temple of the Gold Buddha (wow we love gold buddhas in the philippines since Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita brought golden buddha's in the philippines during world war 2 as war booty hence the fabled Yamashita Treasure!) is Located at the end of Chinatown's Yaowarat Road near Hualamphong Railway Station, this temple houses an ancient solid gold seated Buddha image of the Sukhothai Period. It is reputed to be the world's largest solid gold Buddha image. Weighing in at five and a half tons and three meters in height, the 15-foot tall seated image is worth in the neighborhood of US$14 Million.
The Golden Buddha was cast sometime in the 13th century and is an excellent example of the gracious Sukhothai style that is still very much in favor to this day. At some point, it was covered in plaster, most likely in an attempt to hide the valuable icon from thieves or looters. The true nature of the Golden Buddha wasn't discovered until it was moved to its present location at Wat Traimit in 1955. When the image was being prepared for its move, some of the plaster was chipped off, revealing the gold underneath. Bits of the plaster can be seen in a case to the left of the statue.
The statue sits in a plain building just barely big enough to hold it within the temple compound. On the terrace outside of the room housing the Golden Buddha are some interesting fortune-telling machines. You drop a coin in the slot and a sequence of lights indicating numbers flash around in a circle, wheel of fortune style, eventually stopping on a number. You can retrieve your fortune from the marked boxes below the machine. The fortune slips are in English as well as Thai and Chinese.
Entrance is 20 Baht, payable at a booth near the wiharn housing the image. There is also a currency exchange in the same kiosk. Phone: 0-2623 1226Directions: The temple is also a very short distance from Hualamphong railway station, with its many food courts and easy transportation access.Website: www.thailandguidebook.com/wattraimit
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he Temple of the Golden Buddha is considered as one of the must see temples in Bangkok. It is known for its famous Golden Buddha, now more than 700 years old.
At the entrance, there is a big temple in the middle and the ticket office is on your left. We bought the ticket for 20B but is seems like nobody was controlling the entrance. Climbed a flight of stairs at the left up to the small pavillion where the Golden Buddha is kept.
Inside the temple lies the HUGE statue of Buddha which is made of pure, solid gold and is 12 feet 5 inches in diameter and a height of 15 feet 9 inches and weighs approximately 5 and a 1/2 tons...
It was undiscovered until the 1950s, but then an outer layer of plaster began to peel away, exposing the solid gold icon beneath! Apparently, after this discovery, lots of other Buddha icons had their outer layers peeled away, but no others were found to be hiding solid gold figures. The temple itself has nothing special to look at from the outside. It's rather a small temple.
As well as the large and impressive centerpiece, there is also a host of smaller Buddhas with fake gold coverings in the pavilion. Next to the golden Buddha there is a counter selling postcards and other golden Buddha related souvenirs. Phone: 623 1226Directions: Near Hualamphong Station
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Wat Traimit
One of the famous temple in Bangkok. Famous for the Golden Buddha.
Information
Name: Wat Traimit
Attraction Type: Wat, Buddha image
Location: Near Hua Lampong Railway station
City: Bangkok
Pictures in the web: Bangkok
My Photos
First Photo: Outiside Wat Traimit
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This is a stunning wat. This wat holds the largest golden Buddha image. It weighs 5.5 tons and is around 3 meters high. For the longest time, no one knew about the golden Buddha. Instead the golden Buddha was encased in plaster. When workers were moving the image in 1955-they accidently dropped the image breaking the plaster. Supposedly, it was quite common to cover important or richly decorated Buddhas due to the threat of a Burmese invasion. Leave a Comment Phone: 623 1226Directions: Near Hualamphong Station
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