A black and white Bangkok morning

An early morning walk around Bangkok's Wat Saket, Chinatown and Hua Lamphong

By Grant Cameron

September 10^th, 2017

Wat Ratchanatdharam

The story began before dawn, when a bunch of photography friends met for a morning shoot at the "metal castle", a Buddhist temple in the form of a Loha Prasat, and which is known as โลหะปราสาท Wat Ratchanatdharam. Adjacent to this is the Royal Pavilion Mahajetsadabadin พลับพลามหาเจษฎาบดินทร์, pictured below.

The spire of the "metal castle".

Beneath the tower there is a labyrinthine corridor environment, supported by many columns, some of which were installed in late 2007. The story goes that the Loha Prasat Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. It was submitted to UNESCO to be a World Heritage Site in 2005.

Wat Saket, the "Golden Mount"

Leaving Wat Ratchanatdharam we headed to Bangkok's Golden Mount, or to give it its full name: Wat Saket Ratcha Wora Maha Wihan (วัดสระเกศราชวรมหาวิหาร), the building of which was initiated during the reign of King Rama III (1787–1851).

WAT SAKET, from the air

Almost at the top of the steps to the Chedi.

From below, looking up at the Chedi, this young woman decided to have a view over the city. At 58 metres high, almost 20 stories, the views over the city are magnificent.

Chinatown

Back down on the ground we continued our walk through Chinatown and some local markets. It was still early morning, and while the markets were open, some shopkeepers were just beginning to open theirs shops.

Hua Lamphong Railway station

Our walk concluded at Hua Lamphong railways station. We had no idea what was going on, but many people, mostly men were getting their hair cut; was it for charity, was it a competition? We don't know, but there were certainly many interesting characters.

Many of our photowalks have concluded at Hua Lamphong, but sadly, while it has been Bangkok's central railway station for a hundred years, it is set to close in 2019 when the SRT (State Railway of Thailand) relocates the city's central station to Bang Sue. Since things never seem to complete on time in Thailand, it is likely that Hua Lamphong may well continue long after it's scheduled "sell by" date.