For 4 Centurys Ayutthaya city was a major power and trading centre in the world.

A visit to Wihan Phra Mongkhon

Entering this Wat I was immediaelty struck but the atmosphere It was quite noisy, there were many people jostling and moving around and we could hear prayers being broadcast over a load speaker deep inside the temple. The air was thick with heavy smells from incense sticks and flowers. We lit three candles, said our prayers, made an offering of some flowers, then stuck gold leaf onto Buddha statues. We then moved deeper inside the wat to an inner chamber where we were presented with a huge Buddha statue.

One of Thailands largest bronze Buddha images dating from 15 Century.

The scale of this Buddha is enormous as you can see from the men standing on the Buddhas lap.

Great long orange throws were launched up to the men on the Buddhas lap, these were then draped around the Buddha and then passed back down to the crowds below who covered them selves in the cloth before prayers were said.

 

Buhhda stautes lined up all dressed up in orange robes, each one with an offering of water