August 13, 2014
It was off to Chinatown and to see the Golden Buddha – the worlds largest golden statue. The history of it is somewhat a mystery. It dates back to either the 13th and 14th century. The statue was created and then later completely covered with plaster. Scholars believe this was done in order to prevent the Burmese from stealing the statue when Ayutthaya fell to the Burmese in 1767. It remained in the ruins of Ayutthaya until it was moved to Bangkok.
It wasn’t until 1955 until they discovered that beneath the plastered Buddha was a solid gold Buddha. The story goes that the workman were trying to place it on a pedestal and the ropes broke which caused the Buddha to crash, exposing the sold gold statue beneath the plaster.
It is currently located at the top of the temple Wat Traimit in Chinatown. The statue weighs over 5 tons and has an estimated value over 250 Million US dollars.
There was one floor of the temple dedicated to the history of Chinatown. It looks like it was done very recently and it was very interesting. Another floor of the temple is dedicated to how the Golden Buddha was made and the history of it.
Is it me or does he look like C3PO? Just a little?
Pictures of the temple that housed the golden Buddha – Wat Traimit
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