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Published: April 24th 2010
Temple of the Golden Buddha
The first stop with our guide today was Wat Traimit, or the Temple of the Golden Buddha.After a great day yesterday, today we have chosen to utilize two of our ½ day Cruise Specialists cars. The driver and guide were picking us up at the hotel about 9:00am. As we were eating breakfast, Susan came to our table and said there was a little mix-up, and that the driver thought they only had us for the morning. So, she got that cleared up and they met us in the lobby. The decision was made that rather than bring us back to the hotel, they would drive us the 90-minute ride back to the ship rather than returning us to the hotel at 3:00 for the coach ride back with everyone else. Not sure our guide was crazy about that.
We had emphasized that we wanted to get to the Grand Palace early before the rush and the heat of the day, and we’d like to see something of the demonstration. Well, we hopped into the mini-van and off we went. Our first stop was Wat Traimit, the Temple of the Golden Buddha. In a small chapel is the world’s largest solid-gold Buddha, cast about nine centuries ago in the Sukhothai style. It weighs 5 ½ tons
and stands 10 feet high. It is a symbol of strength and power that can inspire even the most jaded person. It’s believed that the statue was first brought to Ayutthaya and when the Burmese were about to attack the city, it was covered in plaster to disguise it. Two centuries later, still in plaster, it was thought to be worth very little. When it was moved to a new Bangkok temple in the 1950’s it slipped from the crane and was simply left in the mud by the workmen. In the morning, a temple monk who had dreamed that the statue was divinely inspired went to see the Buddha image. Through a crack in the plaster he saw a glint of yellow, and soon discovered that the statue was pure gold.
We asked him about the Grand Palace again, but he then took us to the street market, which we walked through. It seemed that along the way he would stop and pick up a few things…for himself. He got a couple of fresh buns for his breakfast and found an old photo of the Royal family that he liked. From there we walked through the wholesale flower
Doug at the Temple
Annette cathes Doug on the upper deck. a market…amazing. We saw how they make and store huge orders for hotels or weddings. Then we went through the fruit and vegetable market, and once again he would stop to make a couple purchases. It is now getting to be about 1:00 o’clock and we reminded him that we wanted to get to the Grand Palace early.
So, we finally headed to the Palace...It is huge! One could spend the whole day there and not see it all. And unfortunately, it’s crowded and hot! It is the most visited spot in Bangkok. This walled city was built in 1782 by King Rama I. The complex consists of not only the royal residence and throne halls, but also a number of government offices as well as the renowned Royal Monastery of the Emerald Buddha. We were able to access the monastery, but no photos were allowed inside. The Emerald Buddha was carved from a block of green jade and was first discovered in 1434 in a stupa (dome) in Chiang Rai. This is another antiquity that was covered in plaster and thought to be an ordinary Buddha, however, an abbot who found the image noticed that the plaster on the
The Golden Buddha
In a small chapel next to the temple is the world's largest solid-gold Buddha, cast about 9 centuries ago, weighing 5 1/2 tons and stands 10 feet high. nose had flaked off revealing the green stone. He first thought it was emerald and thus the legend of the Emerald Buddha.
The palace grounds cover an area of 218,000 square meters (about 660,000 square feet) and surrounded by four walls, 1,900 meters in length (just less than 6,000 feet). Before this one was built, the original royal palace was located across the Chao Phraya River. It has been enlarged and gotten more opulent as subsequent monarchs added their own touches. The grounds are open to visitors, but not most of the buildings. Our guide showed us a building behind a tall fence and guard at the gate where President Clinton stayed during his visit.
It was getting even hotter and we decided to leave. From here we went to Wat Po, or, Temple of the Reclining Buddha, the city’s largest temple. It is the most unusual representation of the Buddha in Bangkok. The 150-foot sculpture, covered with gold, is so large it fills an entire temple assembly hall.
From here, it was definitely time to do some lunch. We agreed to go to Jim Thompson’s House, a National Treasure, where we could also eat lunch. Thompson
His Head
A close-up shot of his head. was an American born in Delaware in 1906. He was a practicing architect prior to WWII. He volunteered for service in the U.S. Army, spent some time in Europe and was then sent to Bangkok, which he fell in love with. After the war, he returned to live there permanently. He re-energized the hand weaving of silk industry there and became very renown. He also became famous as a result of the building of his house combining six teak buildings. Most of those were at least two centuries old. Interestingly enough, this was the celebration of his birthday. On March 26, 1967, Thompson disappeared while on a visit to the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. Not a single clue has ever turned up regarding his disappearance. His house is a major tourist attraction in Bangkok.
Annette and I stopped at the open-air restaurant and had a very nice Thai lunch. We had a 1:50 time to do the tour, but Annette was really feeling the heat and she decided to rest in the shade outside and watch the birthday celebration that was commencing. The home was very interesting and unique. He had a lot of very old art objects throughout
Mom and Daughter
They were posing for dad, so Doug took the opportunity share the shot. the house. So, following that we decided to have them take us back to the ship. We asked him again if we could drive by the demonstrations and he said that we couldn’t get close enough because the streets were barricaded. We don’t think he wanted to risk the possibility of a problem with two American tourists. Again, at this later date, the problems there have gotten very serious and dangerous! They have invaded the major shopping malls, large buildings, and the military is on full ready. Many have already died and been injured. Many of the major hotels have either sent their guests to another hotel or have simply closed during this time of national crisis. We are certain that this very nice event, and our stop in Bangkok would not have happened had it been several weeks later.
Upon arrival at the ship, we had gotten there about 10 minutes before the buses and we were the first to be greeted by the staff. The band was playing, welcome back signs were displayed on Deck 5 and people were cheering and applauding. A royal welcome home!
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