This morning we ate our last buffet-style breakfast at our hotel in Ho Chi Minh City. We caught the same airport bus (route 109) to the airport for 20,000 dong per person (less than $1 USD)! We flew into Dan Mueang Airport in Bangkok, and arrived around 11am. We knew we wanted to see Wat Phra Dhammakaya, but also knew that taxis at Don Mueang Airport always upcharge (not sure if there is an airport surcharge or they take advantage of travelers, but either way the upcharge is inevitable). We found a way around this by walking about 250ft north from the airport (once you exit the arrivals, make a right). There is an exit from the airport which links you to the buses or taxis heading south…remember Thailand drives on the left, so southbound vehicles will be right there!
We needed to head north, so we walked across an overpass, which brought us to a little taxi station (also near the train station if you need that connection). We asked the driver to roll the window down to make sure he was going to use the meter, which is something you should always insist on (also, don’t just get into the car as they’ll try to insist on not using the meter).
We took the taxi north to Wat Phra Dhammakaya for about 20 minutes, which cost just over 150 baht (approximately $5 USD). We weren’t really sure what to expect to see or how we would be greeted (being that we were both laypersons there on a Saturday), but boy were we surprised. For those of you that have not heard of the Dhammakaya movement within the Buddhism, take a second and Google it (for those of you that do not know much about Buddhism, you’ll have do more research first).
We only really planned to walk around and take some pictures, but we were greeted like we were practicing members, given snacks and drinks, and even a personal tour with meditation sessions. We actually ended up spending over three hours there! Everyone was beyond open and welcoming, so we accepted their generosity, as we wanted to learn more about this relatively new movement within the Buddhist faith (which has controversy of its own if you’ve done that research).
When we arrived, we were given all white clothes and asked to put them over our current garb, even though we had appropriate clothing on (long pants and modest shirts). We then watched a 15-minute informational video/presentation that gave a brief history of the Dhammakaya movement, which was started in the early 20th century by Luang Pu Wat Paknam and focuses extensively on the practice of meditation. After our informational video, we were picked up in a golf cart and had two guides accompany us for the remainder of our extensive tour.
We were brought to their immense dining space that is used, twice a day, to offer food to all the practicing and novice Dhammakaya monks, and their nearby office space for executives (which looked like a massive Epcot ball).
We then boarded the cart again and had casual conversation about what brought us to Wat Phra Dhammakaya on the way past their massive exhibition center. We then approached the main worship area, which has a covered space where chanting of the Lord Buddha’s first prayer is repeated for 24-hours per day and 7-days per week. This prayer was the first prayer given once Buddha reached enlightenment. The prayer is quite extensive (over 30 pages in a booklet), but after each conclusion, two practicing monks ring a large bell and they repeat the prayer.
While listening to the chant, we were offered lotus flowers to give and enjoyed the spirituality of this gift, though some of the meaning was absent for us. We then walked to the open space where the main temple lies (Memorial Hall). This area is over one kilometer wide and pictures do not do it justice. The structure itself has 300,000 identical seated golden Buddha images on the outside and 700,000 identical seated Buddha images on the inside to make it the Pagoda of 1 million Lord Buddhas! There’s even a solid golden replica of their founding master inside as well.
We were then brought to one corner of this enormous gathering space where the meditation room for international guests is located. Once inside, a practicing Dhammakaya monk led us in a 40+ minute meditation teaching, in which we learned about our body’s center and practices undergone during meditation by the Dhammakaya Buddhists specifically.
I think it’s worth mentioning that throughout our entire time at Wat Phra Dhammakaya, money was not mentioned once. The only mention of money was in response to one of our questions regarding government funding versus private donation. We were not asked to donate anything or to pay for any services, yet each member that we encountered greeted us with a smiling face and treated us like we were family.
After our personal meditation session was over, we headed back to the main information center (where we started our tour) and our guides called us a taxi back to Dan Mueang Airport. This cost another 150 baht (approximately $5 USD) From the airport we caught a city bus to Khaosan Road for only 23 baht (less than $1 USD)! The #59 bus with a blue sign in the front windshield brings directly to the party road from the airport. We aren’t doing much partying in Bangkok tonight, but this is the location where we will catch our overnight bus and connecting ferry to Koh Tao through the Lomprayah Company.
We arrived to Khaosan Road around 6pm and our check-in wasn’t until 7:30pm, so we had a quick bite to eat at Peeps Thai Eatery. We ordered a mango beer, vegetable spring rolls and black pepper BBQ chicken…both were absolutely delicious!
We kept seeing google mentioning “Mother’s Day might affect these hours” and we were confused because it’s the middle of August. It wasn’t until our Lomprayah check-in that we heard a staff member mention that it was a long weekend because of the Queen’s birthday, which is celebrated as Mother’s Day here in Thailand.
Around 7:15pm we headed back to Lomprayah for the 7:30pm check-in, walked a few blocks to the bus around 8:15pm, and boarded the luxury coach at 9pm for the eight hour overnight bus!
We have a big ride ahead of us, but tomorrow we should arrive around 5am in Chumphon National Park to take a ferry over to paradise, also known as Koh Tao…so stay posted!