There is no shortage of reasons to party in Thailand, with 3 New Years to celebrate ! This week is of course the Chinese New Year, and all roads lead to Chinatown ….

It’s the Year of the Dog now, and there were a few dogs dressed to party yesterday !

But for those of Chinese descent it is also time for attending the temple, and the temples of Chinatown were of course busy. One of the most atmospheric temples in Bangkok, IMHO, is Wat Mangkon Kamalawat in the middle of Chinatown but not seen by many tourists. During Chinese New Year Wat Mangkon Kamalawat is packed with worshippers lighting candles and incense, and many chanting monks.

Wat Traimit is more famous because of the “Golden Buddha” :

Incidentally, there is usually a hefty admission fee for tourists to see the Golden Buddha, but if you are a ‘Cheap Charlie” it’s free on Chinese New Years Day. The catch is you can only go in after HRH Princess Sirindhorn has been and paid her respects during the afternoon. She is heavily involved every year, and in the evening the main road is cleared so she can visit one of the many gold shops and buy a trinket or two, accompanied by about 50 aides and a couple of hundred police. 🙂

Some more photos, click to see a larger version :

The “Bangkok Photographers” Facebook group is having it’s monthly photowalk in Chinatown this weekend, so I’ll be heading back there tomorrow. Hope my feet are not so sore by the morning !