SALON

Sunday, Nov 18, 2012 1:45 PM UTC

Obama gets taste of Thailand at Buddhist temple

By

Topics: From the Wires,

Obama gets taste of Thailand at Buddhist templeU.S. President Barack Obama, left, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, center, tour the Wat Pho Royal Monastery with Chaokun Suthee Thammanuwat, Dean, Faculty of Buddhism Assistant to the Abbot of Wat Phra Chetuphon, in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) (Credit: Carolyn Kaster)

BANGKOK (AP) — Leaving behind chants of “Obama, Obama” by adoring crowds on the streets, the president of the United States stepped into the serenity of Thailand’s most famous temple compound to marvel at its centerpiece — a gigantic, golden statue of a reclining Buddha propped up on one elbow before passing into nirvana.

The Temple of Reclining Buddha, formally known as Wat Pho, was the first stop on President Barack Obama’s Asian tour that will also take him to Myanmar and Cambodia. Obama arrived at the temple, one of Bangkok’s most famous tourist sites, straight from the airport after landing in Bangkok on Sunday. Visits to see the king and the Thai prime minister were saved for later.

Observing traditional custom, Obama took off his shoes as a saffron-robed monk led him and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton through the 18th century temple’s stoned paved compound of multi-colored spires and chapels with hundreds of gilded Buddha images.

But the main attraction is the reclining Buddha statue that at 46 meters (150 feet) long, and 15 meters (50 feet) high, stretches half the length of a football field. The statue is made of bricks and plaster and covered in gold leaf with mother-of-pearl inlay decorating the feet.

The visit was meant to give Obama a taste of Bangkok. But one thing Obama did not get to see as he sped through Bangkok was the city’s infamous traffic jams. All roads leading to Wat Pho and his other destinations were blocked and cleared of cars as part of security measures that included bomb squads and shutting the temple to the public hours in advance.

Camera-clad tourists who came to visit the temple or glimpse the American leader were initially dismayed. They were kept hundreds of meters (yards) away as his armored Cadillac pulled to a stop inside a white tent erected at the temple’s entrance, which obscured him from sight.

But those who waited an hour for his temple tour to end were elated. A smiling Obama waved from the backseat of his car, which drove slowly alongside cheering crowds as he headed to a royal audience with Thailand’s revered, ailing monarch, 84-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

“Yes! I saw him! And he was waving at us!” said 72-year-old American tourist Elizabeth Simon visiting Thailand with her 74-year-old sister. They were at the beach in Pattaya two hours away but rushed to Bangkok just to see him. “I’m so thrilled that he won the election. When we heard he was coming, we decided to get here.”

Parts of the temple date to Thai King Rama I in the 1700s. The king’s ashes are kept beneath the pedestal of one of the huge seated Buddha statues in the complex, which is located along the banks of the Chao Phraya river near the Grand Palace. It is in the quiet, historic old quarter of Bangkok, outside the skyscraper-and-traffic clogged downtown.

“It’s meaningful that Obama came straight to Wat Pho,” said Pradab Supradit, a 67-year-old Thai grandmother who took a bus, a river ferry and then walked up roads closed for security hoping to glimpse the man or just see his convoy. “It will bring him blessings because temples are at the center of Thai people’s hearts.”

“I want to see him with my own eyes,” she said. “I like Obama because of his charisma and personality. He’s a smart guy. I love the way he talks.”

___

Associated Press Writers Jocelyn Gecker and Todd Pitman contributed to this report.

Thanyarat Doksone

More Thanyarat Doksone.

Next Article

You Might Also Like

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

  • In Gezi Park since March 31st, this protester, originally caught off-guard by the Government’s teargas and water cannons, went out and bought a Russian army mask from WWII, preparing for what was to come.

  • This rambunctious boy seems to be enjoying the chaos. After taking this picture he threw a stone at the already destroyed building in the background.

  • Forming a line, the police face off directly with protesters in Taksim Square. After a while, they retreated and there was a general cheer – a back-and-forth dance that has been common since the beginning of this protest.

  • An elderly woman in Gezi Park reads the news. The tent community occupying the park was violently destroyed on June 16th.

  • Many different groups had set up booths to promote their cause in Taksim Square and Gezi Park. Standing in front of one, this man waves his flag while posing with conviction.

  • Many home-remedies are used to minimize the effects of tear gas. This woman has put a milky solution on her face, removing her mask after the tear gas dissipated. Before sunrise, the police came again for another round of teargasing.

  • People capitalize on the uprising -- selling flags, beer, gas masks, sky lanterns and spray paint to name just a few of the popular items.

  • On Monday morning, June 11, the police execute a strong offensive. Many plain-clothed police officers, like the ones seen here, clash with protesters in the side streets away from the main stand-off in Taksim.

  • The authorities seem to be most aggressive in the night, pushing protesters away from the square and park. After being teargassed this young woman catches her breath with other protesters on Siraselviler Street.

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

More Related Stories

Comments

 0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username ( settings | log out )

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves": Growing up primate

Recommendations