About Wat Traimit and the Golden Buddha
For a long time, this statue passed for an ordinary plaster image. On May 25, 1955, during a move, the ropes snapped, it fell and the plaster chipped: underneath was gold, and plenty of it. It weighs about 5.5 tons and stands 3 meters tall, and Guinness recognizes it as the largest solid gold sculpture in the world.
The most commonly cited explanation is that the coating was meant to protect it from theft, probably before the destruction of Ayutthaya in 1767. Today it sits at the top of its own building, the Phra Maha Mondop, which also houses a Chinatown history center, a good way to understand the neighborhood before heading out to eat your way through it.
