Bangkok temple of the emerald Buddha

---

Bangkok has a lot of everything, temples, traffic, tacky shops, street food, scams, tourists etc. There are plenty of gems to find in amongst the mayhem. The temple of the emerald Buddha is one of the gems. It is a complex of buildings, not just one temple. As you walk towards it there is a view from afar across the royal field with the gold glinting and winking at you in the morning sun. The emerald Buddha is made of jade, not emerald. It is surrounded by legend and much revered by the Thai people. Interestingly this jade Buddha was in Laos for a long time in Luang Prubang until Vientiane was captured by Thailand in 1778. The emerald Buddha has different costumes for different seasons. Although all the surrounding buildings are not open to the public there is still plenty to see. This includes bronzes of sacred white elephants, Chinese style guardian figures, gold chedi (stupa), prangs (towers), a belfrey, libraries, and a model of the temple at Ankor Wat. The buildings of the grand palace next door were suitably palatial, but not as visually exciting - a collection of gold thrones and similar inside. I escaped the lunchtime thunderstorm in three different museums within the complex. One of the museums is new and dedicated to the current Queen Sirikit. It has a collection of her dresses from the 1960s onwards. At the time she was a pin up in fashion magazines for her distinctive style. She moved away from European dress to a style closer to nineteenth century Thai dress that was worn by royals for formal occasions.

---