Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
into two rooms, one with the Buddha image from which it takes its name, brought here
by Rama
IV
, the other housing Phra Phuttha Saiya, a Reclining Buddha brought here by
the king from Sukhothai because he felt it was the most beautiful reclining Buddha he had
ever seen. The mural behind the Buddha is also of interest, placing traditional flat-image
Siamese groups of monks against a background of Western-perspective trees. Within the
part of the compound where the monks live there is a Rama
VI
era building named Phra
Tamnak Phet, Royal Diamond Residence, an audience hall designed in a glorious blend-
ing of Siamese and European styles and which once housed one of Bangkok's first printing
presses. Flowing through the compound is the old canal that originally divided the two
temples, and this is a tranquil place indeed after the madness of Khao San Road.
Opposite Wat Bowon, on Phra Sumen Road, are two very handsome buildings that
were erected in 1912 for the Maha Makut Royal College, built as a school for the temple,
and a few metres away is the last remaining city gate, from what had been a total of sixteen
gates, together with a fragment of the city wall. Where the compound of Wat Bowon ends,
Tanao Road begins, a long thoroughfare that leads into the heart of Rattanakosin Island
and which is one of the best-preserved streets of shophouses in Bangkok. The road takes
its name from Ban Tanao, the name of the settlement around the temple, having its ori-
gins in the time of Rama
I
, who in his campaign to keep the menacing Burmese at bay
subdued the strategic frontier town of Tanao Sri, on the border of Siam and Burma. The
population was transported to Bangkok and allowed to settle here. They were Mons and
Burmese, and many of them had earned their living by lapidary, which is why there are
so many jewellery and silverware shops here. Possibly by association, this has also evolved
as a street for wedding wear, and shopfront after shopfront displays romantic white bridal
gowns. The shops themselves date from the reign of Rama
V
, being built to a European
style with the sensible precaution of firebreaks at regular intervals. This section of Tanao
Road is a brief one, consisting of little more than the elegant curve to align the road at
its beginning and then a short, straight burst to reach the intriguing wing-like shapes that
have already been glimpsed hovering over the rooftops.
When Rama
V
built Dusit Palace at the beginning of the twentieth century, he decided
to connect Dusit and the Grand Palace with a grand procession route, which he named
Ratchadamnoen, which means “royal way”. Having toured Europe in 1897 and returned
with plans for many gracious European-style buildings and palaces, the king decided to
model his new route on the boulevards of Paris. his is a long road, for the Grand Palace
is the very heart of the old city, while Suan Dusit, the parkland-like district laid out by the
king with many palaces for the royal family, lies on the other side of the third and final