Wat culture?

Feb. 3, 2009

After several hazy weeks in the islands, I retreated back north to Bangkok to reconnect with my friend Julie, an American I met while trekking in Nepal in December. She had flown in from Delhi and was supposed to meet me in the islands but got stuck in the Thai capital after coming down with a walking flu.

I arrived in Bangkok with my tail between my legs, baked by the sun and borderline brain dead from too much bucket diving. I needed some detox. I needed some culture.

Julie and I joined up with two of her friends who she met while volunteering in Nepal, Martha, from Columbia, and Haley from Nova Scotia, Canada. The four of us spent an afternoon at the Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn located on the bank of the Chao Phraya River in the Thon Buri section of the city. The Thai Buddhist temple is an impressive sight, its facade completely constructed of seashells and crushed pieces of china.

Pretty pictures are about all I got out of the experience. I spent half an hour by myself sitting on a green patch of grass near the temple staring into space. My brain needed a bit of a rest.