Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok: Guanyin & White Temple
Having seen the Emerald Buddha I was looking forward to the most, I slowly made my way toward the Grand Palace. On the way, two things left a deep impression on me.
The first was this statue of a Chinese figure. I wondered who this woman was—why carve a Chinese person instead of a Thai one, and even put up an English sign saying "Kuan Im"? I pondered it for a while and eventually looked it up after returning to my accommodation.
"Guanyin" (the Goddess of Mercy).
I don't know much about Buddhism, so I had no idea Guanyin was a deity associated with mercy, but I learned that through my search. I also finally understood why people were praying so earnestly.
The second cool thing was the white temple. The weather that day was beyond just "nice"—the sunlight was so intense, and since I hadn't brought my sunglasses, it was hard to even keep my eyes open. I managed to appreciate the other sights to some extent, but it was impossible to look directly at this temple. If it had been a cloudy or rainy day, I probably would have just thought, "Oh, there's a building," and walked past. But because the sun was so strong that day, it drew me into the temple even more. The problem, of course, is that you can't really get that vibe from the photos I took...