Thailand - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 711

notably hai massage: a massage on the
compound's east side costs B420 per hour
(daily 8am-6pm). he reclining Buddha
itself is housed in a chapel in the
northwest corner of the courtyard.
Forty-five metres long, the gilded statue
depicts the Buddha entering nirvana.
he beaming smile is 5m wide, and the
vast black feet are beautifully inlaid with
mother-of-pearl showing the 108
lakshanas or auspicious signs that
distinguish the true Buddha. he
remainder of the temple compound is
quieter but still striking, especially the
main sanctuary or bot.

instruments. he Phra Sihing Buddha,
the second holiest image in hailand after
the Emerald Buddha, is housed in the
beautifully ornate Buddhaisawan Chapel,
the vast, muralled hall in front of the
entrance to the Wang Na. Elaborate teak
funeral chariots belonging to the royal
family are stored in a large garage behind
the chapel. 10

Chinatown
he sprawl of narrow alleyways, temples
and shops packed between Charoen Krung
(New Road) and the river is Bangkok's
Chinatown (Sampeng). Easiest access is by
Chao Phraya Express boat to ha
Rachavongse (Rajawong) at the southern
end of hanon Rajawong, by subway to
Hualamphong Station, or by
Hualamphong-bound bus #53 or #507.
he ethnic Chinese started arriving in
Bangkok in large numbers in the early
nineteenth century and since then have
played a fundamental role in the economic
and commercial life of the kingdom. Spend
some time in Sampeng Lane (also
signposted as Soi Wanit 1), a kilometre-
long alley off hanon Songsawat that's
packed with tiny, bargain-basement shops
grouped together according to their
merchandise. About halfway down
Sampeng Lane on the right, Soi
Issaranuphap (also signed in places as Soi
16) is good for more unusual fare such as
ginseng roots, fish heads and cockroach-
killer chalk. Soi Issaranuphap ends at the
hanon Plaplachai intersection with a knot
of shops specializing in paper funeral art:
Chinese people buy miniature paper
replicas of necessities (like houses, cars,
suits and money) to be burned with the
body. Aim to be here in the early evening
when Thanon Yaowarat explodes into life
and street stalls are set up selling delicious
and cheap Chinese-influenced food,
especially around Soi 11; fish is a speciality.

Museum of Siam (National Discovery
Museum)
he high-tech and mostly bilingual
Museum of Siam (Tues-Sun 10am-6pm;
B300, free after 4pm; W museumsiam
.com) is an excellent, recently developed
attraction that occupies the century-old,
European-style former Ministry of
Commerce on hanon Sanam Chai, on
the south side of Wat Pho. It looks at
what it is to be hai, with lots of
humorous short films and imaginative
touches such as shadow-puppet cartoons
and war video games.

The National Museum
he National Museum (Wed-Sun
9am-4pm, some rooms may close at
lunchtime; B200), at the northwestern
corner of Sanam Luang, the park near the
Grand Palace, houses a colossal collection
of hailand's artistic riches, and offers free
guided tours in English (Wed & hurs
9.30am). Among its highlights is King
Ramkhamhaeng's stele, a thirteenth-
century black stone inscription that is the
earliest record of the hai alphabet. he
main collection boasts a chronological
survey of religious sculpture in hailand,
from Dvaravati-era (sixth to eleventh
centuries) stone and terracotta Buddhas
through to the modern Bangkok era.
Elsewhere in the museum compound,
a former palace called the Wang Na
contains a fascinating array of hai objets
d'art, including an intricately carved
ivory howdah, theatrical masks, and a
collection of traditional musical

The Golden Buddha
Wat Traimit , 250m west of Hualamphong
Station on hanon Tri Mit (daily
8am-5pm; B40), houses the world's
largest solid-gold Buddha. More than
3m tall and weighing five and a half
tonnes, the Golden Buddha was cast in