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Published: July 30th 2014
Phra Phuttha outside Emerald Buddha Monastery
One of a pair...Emerald Buddha is within the grounds of the Grand Palace.Time to see just a few of Bangkok's over 400 temples!!! My guide, Ya, arrived at 9am with the lovely air conditioned car and driver. I looked slightly less dorky...photo later...as I had to be sure my skirt went past my knees and my shoulders were covered for visiting temples. First stop ... the Grand Palace...that's a misnomer...it should be called the Grand Palace block, or maybe region...it's 218,000 square meters (I have no idea what that translates to...). It was built in 1782 and has probably 20 buildings, surrounded by a huge wall. Several of the buildings are MASSIVE...and they are all fantastically ornate...a level of detail that is astonishing. Apparently all or at least most of the complex was built in 3 years...must have taken thousands of workers. Virtually every surface inside and out has mosaics and/or detailed paintings, often with gold leaf applied. (By the way...disclaimer here...this is my travel blog...not a Wiki entry or a tour book...so I am trying to be reasonably accurate, but can't guarantee my facts are 100%!). Everywhere you look it's another reason to snap a photo and be amazed.
I'm here during the 'low' season - since it's rainy season...and OMG...thank
goodness (nice tip Tricia) - would not have been able to even move during 'high' season -cannot imagine.
We went first to the Royal Monastery of the Emerald Buddha. The building inside and out is amazing. I'm sure the Buddha is too - and when you consider that he is carved out of a single solid piece of jade (yes jade, not emerald) he's huge - I think it's about two feet high...but viewed from down below and the Buddha is placed WAY WAY atop all kinds of carvings and ornate decorative stuff (that's the technical term), he looks tiny. One interesting tidbit...he has OUTFITS!!! No kidding...he has a distinct outfit - changes three times a year, one for the summer, one for the rainy season (which is now) and one for winter. The King of Thailand (or now the Prince as the King is 86 years old and not well) attends the 'changing ceremony.' Ya showed me pictures of each outfit...not sure they'd make it down the catwalk, but they are essentially all gold...or look gold anyhow. All kidding aside, the Emerald Buddha is the most sacred sites in Thailand. (FYI...the sleep socks they give you in business
class on the airplane are perfect for wearing in the temples where you cannot wear shoes).
I don't even know what buildings we went to next...but wandered around for awhile with Ya telling me all kinds of facts that I promptly forgot - so much for short term memory. Then she called the driver to come get us (awesome!) and he arrived...and I just loved this - he pops open the trunk of the car and hands me an ice cold bottled water and even better an ice cold, sealed for cleanliness, wash cloth...that was heaven!
Next Stop -
Fried bananas and Wat Arun
After some distance in the car our driver let us out and we said goodbye...I followed Ya down an alley filled with street food vendors. Just as I am thinking, geez, no way am I eating any of this, Ya asks me if it's okay if I eat street food...I said I wasn't hungry, (which was actually true), but she said she really wanted me to try fried bananas. I figured...she would know if it would kill me or not, wouldn't be good for business...so I shared a bag with her - delicious!
Close up...sort of...
of a temple - still can't really see the detail - it's amazing! Bananas are good for you - right?
Then we boarded a little boat...went right across the canal to Wat Arun. (by the way...took me awhile to figure it out, but Wat means Temple. And - for those of you who know that my most recent boss at ETW was named Arun...there's no connection here...!). This is a pretty cool temple because unlike I gather almost all other temples in town, the pattern and detail on these temples are made with broken ceramics or porcelain. It's somewhere between 250 and 300 feet tall, buit in mid 1800's. A distinctive feature, aside from the ceramics, is its steepness. Well - at least that's my official take...wow...you can climb a long way up it..and boy are those steps steep. I went up part way...may half? not really sure, but the messages from my legs when I got back down made me glad I had stopped where I did. Ya only went up the first flight! Of course she probably visits the place twice a week. Going back down was harder than going up. In any case...it was beautiful...and some nice views too.
River Tour
Next up...Ya and I perilously climb
into the wackiest boat...there are hundreds of them...it looks kind of like a gondola, maybe twice as long, but with a GIANT outboard motor mounted on the back...they are all done exactly the same way...we toured the river and various canals for maybe half an hour or more...the canals might have been serene, but for the jet engine like sound of our boat, and all the others passing by! The river - same one as from my hotel window - is really central to life in Bangkok. The canals are amazing...fascinating, not necessarily beautiful...everything from more temples with gold Buddhas (in this case I'm guessing it's gold paint, not gold leaf, but who knows), to abandoned shanties, to habitable shanties, giant homes, and some local wildlife. Make sure to scroll further down for all the pix!!!
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claudia Demonte
non-member comment
missing bankgok
we lived in Bangkok a total of a year in early 90s.. MISS IT< even w the humidity. LOVEyou have good guide, makes the world of difference! arent you glad you added another day there? Can you feel /see political unrest at all?