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Tour the turtle temple in Bangkok

When visiting the bustling Thai capital, the common tourist advice for viewing the City of Angels is: if you’ve seen one temple, you’ve seen ’em all. But not this one. The Temple of the Turtles (called ‘Wat Prayun Wongsawat’ in Thai) stands out. Built in the mid-1800s, the temple was commissioned by the reigning monarch of the time, Rama III, whose diary reveals that he was moved and inspired by the shapes formed by melting wax. Locals who know this obscure story sometimes joke (when they dare) that the architect must have been burning way too many candles when he designed this temple.

It actually looks like it’s melting. Even the gilded Buddha is housed in a small cave, the roof of which slopes so steeply that one has to stoop even to enter. Inside, look for urns shaped like farm animals, cacti and even ranch estates. But, most importantly, watch out for the turtles. There are hundreds meandering the grounds. Local belief is that feeding them will earn you extra merit, but beware – they bite. The Temple of the Turtles is undoubtedly an unusual place, but it’s not the first time this location has seen oddities. Before the temple was built, this same site was where British businessman Robert Hunter spotted Chang and Eng, the first internationally known pair of Siamese twins. After their ‘discovery’, the pair left Thailand (then called Siam) for the US, where they married two American sisters, with whom they had – wait for it – 21 children. Imagine the nappies.
Nina-Noelle Hall

Get There

From UAE: Fly Qatar Airways (www.qatarairways.com) to Bangkok. Prices start from Dhs1,029 return, including taxes. From there, take a taxi out to Thetsaban, Soi 1. The temple is open daily from 9am-6pm.