Exploring another area of the Thonburi riverside.

Jee Jin Foundation in Thonburi

Bangkok has a countless number of attractions. Sometimes, they are real hidden gems.

Today, I decided to explore a Chinese area of Thonburi, on the right bank of the Chao Phraya River.

I had passed by this section of town while riding the river taxi-boat. There is a tall Chinese pagoda I

Shop entrance

had wanted to see for many years. The easiest way to reach this area was to use the BTS line from Silom to Krung Thon Buri station and then hop into a taxi to get there. As it was on a Sunday, the traffic was loose and it was quick to reach a first sight on Soi Chiang Mai.

A restored Chinese entrepôt.

At the end of the alley, a few feet away from the riverbank, there is an old Chinese entrepôt that has been turned into a lovely community center

Hanging garnment

preserving the Chinese culture. There are many lovely shops and cafés around a U-shaped courtyard. There is a Chinese shrine, a lovely antique shop, a series of stalls on the courtyard and a huge restaurant/coffeeshop by the river, facing a big exhibition hall featuring contemporary creations. Being on a weekend, many people were attending the premises.

Actually, this was a bit of a surprise as it was not my main objective. I thought there would be a way to cross over to the Chinese Temple I wanted to visit. But the two places are separate, so I had to walk all the way to Chiang Mai Road and find another left turn to get to the temple.

Building architectural style

Jee Jin Foundation for the Moral Teachings.

This all area is essentially an old Chinese community. It was fun walking through a maze of sois, some along small khlongs.

Jee Jin Pagoda

Actually there are a few other Thai temples and shrines in the vicinity.

Once you reach the premises, there is a massive Taoist temple on the left side, a tall pagoda on the right hand side and a path leading to the river ending on a Chinese gate and a dock for boats.

Interestingly enough, if you walk towards the Chao Phraya, there is a huge banyan-tree on the left with a head enshrined among branches a bit like the one you see at Ayutthaya. Also, on the riverbank, there is a huge Chinese mansion on the right side that unfortunately looks abandoned.

The Chinese pagoda is quite tall. It is circular in shape and has 8 tiers. The yin & yang sign is everywhere. And of course, I wanted to climb it all the way up!

I was curious to see what was inside and for what purpose it was meant to

Tree trunk with head effigy

be. I wondered why it was made of 8 floors and not 9, which is a sacred number all over in the Far East.

Once you reach the 7^th F, which is already symbolic, there are 3 little sitting Chinese Buddhas. Then on the 8^th F, there is a big blank circle. It is not the black-and-white sign of the Yin & Yang anymore. And because we are in Thailand, there is a bronze statue of a lying Thai Buddha.

So, my idea is that the pagoda symbolizes the 8 steps to reach the final stage of self-knowledge in order to reach the Enlightenment on the highest 9^th level. It is missing because it does not belong to our earthly life. We can only imagine it in the afterlife.

But this is only my own account of the story!

Yin & Yang Taoist sign

After this interesting two visits, I decided to keep on walking as far as the Peninsula in order to rest there for a while.

At the Peninsula Hotel.

At the Peninsula's

It is always a great pleasure to be back to this impeccable institution. I sat at the River Coffeeshop and ordered a coffee. It was my 4 o'clock breaking time today!

Then, I took their water shuttle to be back to Saphan Taksin, on the Bangkok side of the river.

Christian Sorand

 Chao Phraya view from the Peninsula Hotel.