Yesterday I went down to see the new Wat Trimit.

Quite impressive. The new ubosot (?) that houses the Golden Buddha is one of the most impressive I have seen in Thailand. Beautifully designed and decorated. It even has modern bathrooms! Oddly, now that it is in a towering room, the Buddha seems so much smaller.

On a lower floor is a very interesting and well-done museum about the Chinese in Bangkok and Siam/Thailand.

For some the price may be an issue -- 140 baht if you do both the Buddha and the museum. I thought it was fine...building the new structures was a mammoth undertaking. Of course, if it were free I would probably put 100 baht in a collection box, anyways. It did not even occur to me to notice if it was two-tier pricing, so I can't respond to that...didn't occur to me until later.

We were there last week, my wife, son and myself. It is impressive, although i liked the old setting better. We decided to skip the museum. I don't think that there is a 2 tier pricing scheme. My wife and son did not have to pay, but non Thais are required to, no different than the Grand palace or Wat Po.

The price should not be too much of an issue. I know many farangs get pissed, having to pay at all, but I think that the assumption is a Thai is there to pay respect and worship, and will make monetary merit therefore it is free. Non Thais are there simply as tourists, curiosity seekers and it is assumed that they will not be making merit therefore the "merit" you make is paying the entrance fee.