In this episode of the Attempt Adventure Podcast, hosts James Barrett and Michael Desrosiers discuss their nine favorite Buddhist temples in Bangkok, Thailand. Having a cultural adventure can be difficult, and sometimes even scary. It can be even more challenging when the adventure involves visiting a place of worship for a religion other than your own.

In this episode, Michael, a long-term expat in Bangkok, Thailand lists his nine favorite Buddhist temples in the Thai capital. Nine is a lucky number in Thai culture, and visiting nine temples in one day is a sort of pilgrimage, or act of good karma. James, who has visited Michael in the city several times, adds his comments and commentary to Michael's list.

The hosts also discuss what to do and what not to do at a Thai temple, and chat about how generally to have a cultural adventure when traveling in a culture that is vastly different from your own.

Check out Michael’s map as well as pictures of all of the amazing Thai temples we talked about in this episode!

Adventures in the News

In this week's Adventures in the News segment, James has an announcement about how the world-famous Inca Trail is opening for reservations for the very first time since the COVID-19 Pandemic began, and the hosts get off on a tangent about which vaccinations they have had in their lives.

https://www.inca-trail.com.pe/covid

Monthly Challenge

This month's challenge is to share your favorite local food. We have listeners from all around the world, and we'd love to learn about the cuisine and dishes that you love! Send a photo and / or description of your favorite local dish to us at our email hello@attemptadventure.com with the subject line "challenge".

Get in Touch

Find us on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, or on our official website, AttemptAdventure.com, where you can also find links, pictures, and detailed show notes from this episode!

You can always email us at hello@attemptadventure.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Stuff we talked about in the episode

1:10 James goes to a nature trail (last week’s episode)

https://www.attemptadventure.com/episodes/s1e17-road-tripping-in-ireland-with-adam-ryan

6:11 Michael’s guest episode on Amateur Traveler Podcast

https://www.attemptadventure.com/blog-/travel-to-kanchanaburi-thailand-michaels-interview-on-the-amateur-traveler-podcast-7dz5h

6:44 Michael’s brother’s cultural experiences in Israel

https://www.attemptadventure.com/episodes/s1e3-kyle-desrosiers-on-cultural-adventure

https://www.attemptadventure.com/episodes/s1e15-camping-culture-and-holidays-in-israel-with-kyle-desrosiers

7:32 Michael’s 9 Favorite Buddhist Temples Map

7:54 Wat Phra Kaew - The Temple of the Emerald Buddha

https://www.royalgrandpalace.th/en/discover/architecture

7:55 Michael and James’ first travel vlog featuring some of these temples

https://www.attemptadventure.com/blog-/thailand-travel-vlogs-1-3

8:37 Thai temple dress code

https://thaiest.com/blog/etiquette-for-visiting-temples-in-thailand#:~:text=When%20you%20visit%20Thai%20temples,women%20should%20cover%20their%20shoulders.

9:22 Wat Pho - The Temple of the Reclining Buddha

http://www.watpho.com/th

10:35 Wat Pho Massage School

https://www.watpomassage.com/EN/home

10:50 Wat Arun - The Temple of the Dawn

https://www.tourismthailand.org/Attraction/wat-arun-temple-of-dawn

11:46 Porcelain designs at Wat Arun

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/wat-arun

12:52 Wat Saket - The Temple of the Golden Mount

https://www.tourismthailand.org/Attraction/wat-saket-and-the-golden-mount

13:27 Golden Mount Coffee

https://foursquare.com/v/golden-mount-coffee/54f9fcfe498ec6be00e5fa93

14:28 Wat Mangkon - Bangkok Chinese Temple

https://www.tourismthailand.org/Attraction/wat-mangkon-buppharam

15:19 Wat Traimit - The Temple of the Golden Buddha

https://www.tourismthailand.org/Attraction/wat-traimit-wittayaram

17:07 Wat Intharawihan - The Temple of the Standing Buddha

https://www.tourismthailand.org/Attraction/wat-indharawihan

17:25 Wat Benchamabophit - The Marble Temple

https://www.tourismthailand.org/Attraction/wat-benchamabophit

18:58 Wat Suthat and the Giant Swing

https://theculturetrip.com/asia/thailand/articles/a-brief-history-of-the-giant-swing-in-bangkok/

19:45 Devasthan - Thailand’s headquarters of the Royal Court Brahmins

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devasathan

https://www.timeout.com/bangkok/attractions/devasathan-bosth-brahmana

26:30 monk chat in Bangkok

https://thailandinsider.com/experience/monk-chats/

28:50 Pink Mosque of Putrajaya, Malaysia

https://www.malaysia-traveller.com/putra-mosque.html

Photos from the episode

9 Favorite Temples in Bangkok, Thailand

Wat Phra Kaew; Wat Pho; Wat Arun

Wat Saket; Wat Mangkon; Wat Traimit

Wat Bencha; Wat Intharawihan; Wat Suthat

4 strings giving as blessings by Buddhist monks on New Year’s Day

Check out our map and post about visiting the 9 top temples in Bangkok, Thailand right HERE on the official Attempt Adventure Blog!

Help us out

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t forget to subscribe and maybe leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or your podcast player of choice. It really helps us out, and we appreciate it a ton!