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| Thai taxi drivers banner their ID’s for passenger’s info |
he next morning after checking in a new hotel in Nana, the cab we chose took us to the swirls and loops of the skyway.
These skyways are designed as fast-track routes going to the district of Bang Sue where we are commissioned to find the school.
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A Thai dad accosts the son to Wat Soi Thong Public School
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Just in time for the flag ceremony, we made it inside the vicinity of what was apparently a compound with a school facility, office buildings, towering pointed temples, and ornated arch façade. After getting instructions from the Thai faculty team, we went ahead to the holding room passing the corridors of the Wat Soi Thong Elementary School. Shoes aligned outside each classroom while classes were conducted inside.
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Kids workbook pile up in the faculty
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Inside Thai public school classroom, attention is the first order
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Wall postings show ASEAN camaraderie and identity
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Thai kids are encouraged to speak and participate, English only, please
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In the following moments, I was already sitting in one class where my sister started talking and teaching the Thai Matthayom class some basics in English words. There’s a Thai teacher wearing a girl scout uniform looking commanding and ready to pounce on any student who makes a noise. The class behaved during the period and went on participating. English, after all, is necessary for the next Thai generation so they would be able to keep up with globalization.
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Temples adoring facades are looming from the school corridors
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This building office inside the Wat Soi Thong compound
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Expect a monk inside the sanctuary
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Artistry is the best friend of tranquility
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Incense and flowers offerings to the altar by temple visitors
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I excused myself in the next class to explore what’s more inside the temple school. That afternoon the temples look inviting enough to take me further into extreme parts. After seeing a statue, I noticed some Thais snooping something in one structure corner. Inside was an elderly monk and prayers were whispered by the visiting Thais and they put something in a donation box in gratuity. I saw the monk for the first time and in templed cities like Bangkok, they are most revered and given due respect for I guess they chose the life devoted to studying and preserving Buddhism. It’s no mistake that religion has its deep foundation and roots in Thailand.
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Awe-inspiring Buddhas in various forms
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Elephant figures are ever-present in Buddhist practice
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Understanding the magnificence and distinction of Thai art with those roof panels.
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Temples from different sides with roofs as if a handclasp were all alluring but only one was open to those who want to pay homage. So I took my first taste of what it's like to be inside the temple by taking some incense and kneeling on the altar to deliver a request barefooted. There’s a monk who continuously chants undisturbed and it was a very fascinating yet inspiring affair. One could tell from the solemnity of the reverence and sacredness of the place.
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| The temple is also a mausoleum where the ashes are kept and visited by loved ones |
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Exquisite and intricate temple roofing panels adorn one temple entrance
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| Unmistakably a labor of detail and love |
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| Knee-dropping grandeur of Wat Soi Thong temples gives one a goosebump |
In another temple with more intricate symbols and column designs, more dramatic Buddha variations turned up, and behold a mausoleum where the ashes of the dead laid in compartments. There were people who put flowers as offerings for their departed ones in ash vessels entombed inside the structures. I made an exit to a river system that connects to the bigger source so I searched for the pier.
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River at the bank of the temple is tributary to Chao Phraya
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| The boardwalk of Wat Soi Thong Station with a lone passenger and a flock of doves by Chao Phraya |
From another passage, there’s a dead-end to the river with a pier. Entering it you could see the flock of doves either clinging to the railings or the boardwalk. The sun was at its peak at 4 pm, and there was a passenger waiting in a corner for an incoming boat ride. But that time the doves were taking it as a playground and it was a sight to behold in summarizing Thailand facing a temple on the bank of the famous Chao Phraya river. That moment was empowering, entangling, and intimate like a portal to a sanctuary that cradles a special place in one's memory.
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Free-range doves empower intimate moments with the river
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