Madame Tussauds Bangkok

This newly-opened museum gives visitors a chance to get up-close and personal with wax version of Hollywood superstars, sports legends, world leaders and other celebrities.

The 500-million baht attraction is located in downtown Bangkok’s famous shopping strip. It features 10 rooms of about 80 wax figures. Locals will be pleased to hear that about 30% of them are Thai personalities.

Whilst not all the wax figures resemble their real-life counterparts, e.g. the wax Beyonce is way off, it’s still a lot of fun to see Oprah, Serena Williams, Jim Carey, Madoona, Angelina Jolie, Yao Ming, Jackie Chan, Michael Jackson, Julia Roberts, Nicholas Cage, David Beckham, Britney Spears, Queen Elizabeth, Will Smith, Kate Winslet, Nicole Kidman, Barak and Michelle Obama, Captain Jack Sparrow (aka Johnny Depp), etc in semi realdom.

Bring a camera and a friend of two so you can take turns snapping pictures with your favourite celebrity crush. Have fun and try to use the costumes and accessories provided.

A surreal experience with the wax incarnations of celebrities past and present; this museum certainly provides a fun day out for all.

Price: Bht 800 adults, Bht 600 children (under 12)

Times: 10:00 to 21:00 daily

Contact: 026-580-060, www.madametussauds.com/bangkok/en/

Location: Siam Discovery shopping complex, 6^th floor

Wat Suthat: A Diamond in the Rough

Wat Suthat, located across the street from the Giant Swing, is, to say the very least, beautiful! When I found out how close it is to the Giant Swing I thought that I really should have visited Wat Suthat at the same time but my daylight had already started to fade. When I did go though, I was glad to have waited, visiting a wat isn’t something you want to be rushed in. As I walked through the gates I was, as at the Golden Mount, struck by the calmness and serenity of the place. Right on the main road you would expect the noise from Bangkok’s traffic to overflow into the temple but somehow the walls managed to keep out the sound, either that or I was so mesmerized by the beautifully structured roofs and Buddha-lined walkways that I just failed to notice it.

The temple seemed to be a mix of Chinese and Thai architecture, I don’t know what made me think Chinese but it entered my mind like a lightning bolt when I saw the temple. There were what looked to be sandstone statues in front of the entrance and they seemed to be of Chinese design and multi tiered spirit houses, or pagodas, lining the sides of the temple and bronze horses dotted around the corners. The pagodas, statues and horses are all of Chinese origin.

The compound is a large square, with the temple in the center and covered cloisters lining the outer perimeter. Before going into the temple I wandered around the perimeter and saw as people laid down thin rattan mattresses and lay down to rest in front of one of the 150-odd Buddha statues that line the walls. How wonderful! I thought, to sleep under the protective gaze of Buddha, had I more time I would have like to doze there myself. Later on when I did my research I discovered that these statues are ‘adopted’ by patrons in memory of loved ones who have passed away and who may be entombed in the base of the wall near the statues.

The marble floors of the cloisters and main square were pristine and clearly reflected the Buddhas and the temple, like looking into a marbled mirror. I walked around the cloisters, admiring the delicately painted doors and the statues that were placed around the temple. I entered the temple from the back door and as I made my way to the front of the main hall my eyes were drawn upwards to the towering gold Buddha, which dominated the room, it must have been 10 meters high! I was hesitant to take photos though because the room was full of people in prayer and I was worried that the chirp and click of the camera as it turns on and takes photos would disturb their silent reverie, so as discretely as possible I pulled out the camera, trying to muffle it as it switched on and, standing in a far corner, took a few cautious photos. 

It was then that I noticed something that I was surprised I’d missed, although with a giant golden Buddha taking up most of the room perhaps its not so surprising. The walls of the temple were covered in paintings depicting Jataka Tales, that is to say the 24 previous lives of the Buddha (although this fact I didn’t find out until I later went and did my research). These paintings are perhaps the most extensive and most important of their kind and went through extensive and costly restorations in the 1980’s, money well spent if I may say so. 

Before leaving I stopped for a while to sit and sketch one of the roofs, which are of traditional Thai styling with the horned corners and green and orange tiles as well as the Chinese pagodas, I don’t know how long I was sitting there, it’s easy to lose track of time in a place as ageless as Wat Suthat.

Wat Ratchanadda and the Giant Swing

Following my visit to the Golden Mount, I still had plenty of daylight left, surprisingly it doesn’t get dark until quite late, it’s almost as if it’s a European summer. So, from the Golden Mount I made my way down the road with no real direction in mind, I knew there were a few nice places in the area because I’d seen the needle-tipped points of wats from the street as I was walking. As you walk down the street you’ll find yourself on the main road at a large junction, behind you, you have the Golden Mount and in front there’s a monument of King Rama III, which stands in a nice little square in front of Wat Ratchanaddara, which stands out from others because of its black roof and multi-tiered structure.

 

The temple was either being renovated or repaired and there was scaffolding along one side but as a result, was completely empty, aside form a few sleepy looking laborers who lazily looked up as I walked past. I got the impression I wasn’t really meant to be there but also that no one really cared to tell me so I wandered around at my own leisure. I couldn’t go in unfortunately but the outside was beautiful enough.

Have you ever walked to get lost? I did. I knew roughly where I was and that was too much, so what did I do? I found the narrowest alley, running parallel to the narrowest aqueduct, and walked down it, only to come out bang in front of the Giant Swing, or Sao Ching Cha, which is in the center of a busy street. I’d seen the Swing from taxis to and from the office and I’d actually not heard of it before, or not to my recollection at least. It looks as though it should be somewhere in Japan or China and seemed oddly out of place, impressive though it was.

The Swing wasn’t always where it is today, it was moved to its current location in 1920 to make room for a gas plant, which I wont write about because lets face it, who wants to hear about a gas plant. The Swing isn’t just a pretty construct though, it was initially used in one of the 12 royal ceremonies, which are held in each of the 12 months of the Thai lunar calendar to bring in the Brahmin new year, the ceremony lasted for 10 days and was a re-enactment of an ancient Hindu tale of how Brahma and Shiva first created and cared for the Earth. The ceremony was also to thank Shiva for a bountiful rice harvest and pray for the god’s blessing in the next.

The thought of people swinging from it is outlandish and the ceremony was actually discontinued in 1932 due to injuries and deaths, which I cant say surprises me, although I’m sure that it must have been awesome to swing from, provided you weren’t one of the unlucky ones.   -- By Tarka Rose (PR intern at Siam Hotels & Resorts)