The gates were locked. Peering though the cracks, we could see the gardens being tended by Thai people, bent over on their knees in a tranquil silence, working in unison. In the centre of the perfectly balanced ground, we caught glimpses of a small Thai-style temple. Moving our bodies every so slightly, we were offered new perspectives of the peaceful temple grounds we so wished to enter, after the madness at Wat Phra Kaew where hundreds of tourists had hounded us in the heat for hours.
We took a step back in search of another entrance to the grounds. Then, a stranger approached. Immediately my mind said “Here we go again…” Bangkok is infamous for its scammers all seeking to trick you into seeing something else. A favourite was to tell tourists that the temple is closed and they will drive you to another temple, and on the way stop off to do something quickly and encourage you to enter various gem stores. After less than 24 hours in the city, I had been dismayed to find I could not trust any locals to provide information on a city I was growing to love and with this stranger’s approach I braced myself for yet another profit-inspired ambush.
“The temple is closed,” the stranger said. That all too familiar phrase I heard daily. Rolling my eyes, I made an effort to move away. But in this case the temple really did actually seem to be closed to the public so I slowed my escape. Preparing to edge around him, still pessimistic about his intentions and not wanting to get stuck by a long spiel, I continued my exit. “It opens again in one hour, you should come back then and entry is free,” the stranger said. That was different. I thanked him for the information and headed towards the busy street. “What else do you want to see in Bangkok? You should really go Wat Arun, steep, very steep stairs and my favourite.” Now I was curious. This local genuinely seemed to love his city and wanted to give real advice. Still pessimistic, I listened and waited for the spiel he was surely going to begin to pitch, now he had our attention. It never came.
Standing in the entrance to the temple grounds, bemused and curious, I decided to dig for that agenda I sadly assumed he had. I asked for directions to Wat Arun. Quickly the stranger rattled off very easy instructions, including a ten-minute walk to the pier, which involved only two simple turns and then a ferry across the river. I thought we had him here and that he was surely going to sell us something now. “Only 3 baht to cross each way, also from there you can catch ferries to floating market. Very good floating market. You should see it while you in Bangkok,” he said. Astounded that this stranger had not tried to sell something or hustle us we said our goodbyes and I headed off in the direction he pointed us in.
Still unsure and speculative about some kind of scam or con behind the kind stranger in the temple, and with my imagination running wild, I quickly dropped into a tourist information booth. The lady gave the exact same information about Wat Arun, the pier, the ferry and prices. Feeling horrible about doubting the kind stranger, we continued the journey to Wat Arun. The directions led us through a market that lined almost the whole strip to the pier with a whole array of goods and the aromas of street food wafting towards us, tempting us forwards.
Without any problems, we were soon at the pier paying 3 baht each for the ferry to cross the river. From here, we could see the magnificence of Wat Arun with people struggling to make the climb up the steep steps. Many of the people looked like the monkeys who in Thai myth protect and guard the people of Thailand. The visit to the temple itself was surreal. I definitely wished I was in long pants rather than a full length skirt, climbing up and down the steps. At the top, we were blessed with a great view of Bangkok, one that I feel was better than that of Skybar. With the place almost to ourselves at 2pm, the peace and tranquillity of the temple and this side of the river was surreal compared to the chaos of Bangkok that we had left on the other side. Standing there, I was extremely grateful to our kind stranger in the temple. When we left I was in a peaceful reverence as we weaved through the freshly arrived crowds and I was very content with our afternoon adventure.