Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
One of the most heartening conservation developments in Bangkok recently has been
the opening of boutique hotels in a number of different locations, reviving ancient build-
ings that were previously looking very sad. Tucked into the lanes immediately behind Tha
Tian are a couple of outstanding examples. A four-storey warehouse has been turned into
a twelve-room hotel named Aurum The River Place, while an eighty-year-old Sino-Por-
tuguese style wooden house, painted beige, yellow and green, and standing on land owned
by Wat Pho, has been transformed into a six-room hotel named Arun Residence. Both
of these offer the prospect of waking up to the sight of the Temple of the Dawn, directly
across the river.
A few metres further down Maharat Road is an even more surprising development.
Chakrabongse House, a palatial residence built in 1908 for Prince Chakrabongse and, ex-
cept for its three-storey timber tower, formerly invisible behind a high wall, has had three
villas in its gardens converted into luxury suites for guests, who also have their own swim-
ming pool. Branded Chakrabongse Villas, it would be difficult to image a more exotic
place in which to stay. The prince had been born in 1883, the fortieth child of Rama
V
, and
had been invited by Tsar Nicolas
II
, a close friend of the king, to study in Russia. He was
later appointed a colonel in the Hussar Regiment, and returned to Siam with a Russian
wife. In Bangkok he became Chief of the General Staff of the Royal Siamese Army, and
Minister of War, and today is remembered as the Father of the Royal Thai Air Force. The
prince's granddaughter Narisa Chakrabongse today owns the house.
The enormous temple that takes up so much space at this southern end of Inner
Rattanakosin Island is Wat Pho, aka Wat Phra Chetun, aka the Temple of the Reclining
Buddha. Covering twenty acres, the temple compound is actually bisected by Chetupon
Road, the more interesting side lying to the north while the southern side is mostly the
monastery and school buildings. There has been a temple standing on this site since
long before the days of Bangkok, 200 years before, according to some accounts. Named
Wat Phodharam (which is why the Thais use the name “Pho”, not the formal name of
“Chetupon”), it was a centre for studying traditional medicine and massage, and stone fig-
ures and carvings were created showing massage and yoga positions. The temple is con-
sidered the first public university in Thailand, teaching students in the fields of religion,
science and literature through murals and sculptures as well as ancient texts. Tradition-
al massage and medicine is taught at the Traditional Medical Practitioners Association
Centre, a hall just outside the temple. There is an enormous Reclining Buddha image at
Ayutthaya, and Rama
I
decided to have another of similar dimensions made when he en-
larged Wat Pho in 1788. At 45.7 metres (150 ft) long and 15.4 metres (50 ft) high, the Re-
