a noticeable tourism initiative found in bangkok are these brown panels on practically every block, informing you in a terse & disjointed manner (at least the english translations) the historical significance of whatever street corner you happen to be standing on.
though as a friend pointed out, sometimes if you actually read the whole thing it can be quite entertaining.
BANG LAMPHU CANAL: The canal is a part of the northern city moat. It links Chao Phraya River and Mahanak Canal. In early Bangkok period, the area along the canal was covered with Lamphu trees (sonneratia caseolaris) which the canal name derived from. There were five temples in the area. Two of them were inside the city wall, I.E. Wat Bowonniwetwiharn and Wat Rangsi Sutthawat (later, merged to Wat Bowonniwetwiharn). Other three temples I.E. Wat Phromsurin (Wat Prarinavok), Wat Trithotsathep, Wat Bang Lamphu (Wat Sangwet Witsayaram) were outside the city wall. In King Rama V’s reign, the area was covered with mass of lalangs. One passed Wat Trithotsathep would see dead bodies floating in the canal, while passed Wat Saket one could see dead bodies abandoned on the temple’s ground.
A CHRONOLOGICAL RECORD on construction of the Golden Mount. In the Royal Chronicle of King Rama III, Chao Phraya Thiphakornwongse writes on record that a great Prang (Pagoda), 50 fathoms in dimension. Further, when the king went to offer Kathina Robes to the monks at this temple, he asked for donation of timber logs for laying down as its foundation member of royal family, noblemen and goverment officials who accompanied him. It is said that several thousand of logs were therein buried in manner of raft.
From the above record we learn that King Rama III ordered the construction of the Golden Mount and King Rama IV and V continued to its completion as it appears today.
Therefore, the Golden Mount is the most precious property of Wat Srakes and also of the Thai Nation as a whole.
I always forget whether its the golden mount or mound, because it is really the latter that best describes it. the advantage of having such an insanely flat city such as bangkok is that even at 5-storeys or whatever this mound is, you get great views of the city. (but evidently I thought this picture was more interesting than those??)
