Description
What should I expect on this TRIP?
Day 1
We meet today at 6pm in Bangkok at the
Children’s Discovery Museum near Chatuchak Park where you will meet your fellow Expedition team. Typically the drive to Wat Bang Phra takes 1.5 hours but in Friday afternoon traffic it is likely that we will be delayed, and could take up to 2.5 hours.
Arriving into the area we will be able to stop for dinner and check into the hotel, before heading out to the temple. On the day before the tattoo festival the ajarns remain awake for 24 hours giving followers the opportunity to be blessed with an enchanted sak yant.
Arriving at the temple we ask that everyone be appropriately dressed with covered shoulders and covered knees. As we roam through the temple grounds we will often be invited into the private rooms of the ajarns. Our Travel Guru (expert guide) will give you information on various tattoos and the way they are branded on the skin, as well as placing the yantra in historical context. You will the chance to photograph some of the masters, but only once we have been granted permission explicitly.
We will retire to our hotel this evening, not too far away from the temple.
Day 2
Waking early this morning we will return to the temple for a unique festival. Visiting this festival requires caution and we ask that throughout the day you follow the instructions of our guide. You need to be alert at all times as in the past people have been injured.
As monks chant throughout the day people over 10,000 people gather, mostly to recharge their sacred tattoos and regenerate their power. For some, the sak yant may take control of their body, eyes will roll back in their head and often they will charge at the stage. People standing in their way are usually not accounted for!!
For more information on the festival please refer to the Where Sidewalks End post: Wai Kru Festival
At the end of the festival, we will join the hoards of people leaving and return to Bangkok. Once again the length of the return drive is completely dependent on the traffic.
What is included?
This 2 day Cultural Experience includes the following:
- 2+ Star Accommodation in Nakhon Pathom – clean, comfortable and convenient
- Transportation to/from central Bangkok to your Nakhon Pathom hotel and the temple
- An experienced guide knowledgeable in the Sak Yant Festival at Wat Bang Phra
- Any entrance fees associated with the Wai Kru Sak Yant Festival at Wat Bang Phra
What is NOT included?
- Travel Insurance (Compulsory)
- International flights or transportation to/from the itinerary’s start point
- Additional activities not listed in the itinerary
- Meals not listed in the activity itineraries
- Gratuities and tips for local guides
- Spending Money
Supporting Local Projects
Every TRIP that you go on with WSE Travel, we will donate $1 USD per day, per person, to an environmental project and another dollar-a-day to a community based project in the country you’re visiting. For information on the projects for this TRIP, please click on the link: Thailand TRiP Foundation Projects
Nada Blanusa (verified owner) –
Very unique experience! Very well organized, super friendly WSE stuff made me feel safe. They explained local culture with knowledge. Would recommend to my friends. Indeed worth seeing!