Sawadeekob – Hello  (Had to learn some Thai)

Our first full day of touring with Bangkok Joe will be to the Grand Palace complex. Because we are just across the river, we only need to take the 2-minute bus boat to the other side for a whopping 3.5THB (called-Baht) or .10 cents. But before we go to the Palace, we asked for Joe to arrange an alm offering to the monks.  We were in luck, with the market just outside our hotel, we were able to make the offering and receive a blessing.

Food offering to a Monk

Getting ready to receive our blessing

Once on the other side, Joe described the area as we walked to the Palace.

Clear, concise instructions for using the ferry

Dat ferry

Yes, they are everywhere

It was a Sunday morning so not a lot of traffic but the line going into the Palace was never-ending. The Thai people had lined up to pay their respect for their King, King Bhumibol or Rama IX, who past away 13 October 2016. The King’s body will be on display to the Thai people and dignitaries until 13 October 2017. King Bhumibol had reined Thailand for 70 years as was very much loved by the people. Joe explained that the line of people that disappeared around the block is there every day and that people start lining up as early as 3am for a chance to pay their respects.

Along with the locals visiting the Palace were a few busloads of Chinese tourists. Lots of people coming to visit but this complex is massive so we should be able to avoid most of the crowds. Besides, Joe knows his way around so dodging the crowd shouldn’t be an issue.

A little about the Palace and grounds. The Palace was started on 6 Apr 1782 and first occupied on 10 Jun 1782 by King Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I) founder of the Chakri Dynasty.

Yep, didn’t take long for the first building to be completed so the King could move in. However, since this was going to be “the” capitol, every king thereafter would need to add something to the complex thus the now existing complex takes up some 2.4 million sq.ft.

Demons guarding the entrance to keep evil spirits out

Chedi

The Horde

Looks plain until you realize the entire structure is covered in glass mosaic

Demons holding up a chedi

Today the Grand Palace is made up of several buildings and pavilions along with numerous open courtyards and gardens. Other additions to the original building include the Outer Court, The Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew), the Central Court containing Throne Halls and the Inner Court with residential quarters for the Royal family, ceremonial halls and reception halls. There are also 12 entrance gates, numerous forts, and Buddhist “stupas” or commemorative monuments where a small amount of ashes from deceased kings are enshrined.  Sorry for the brief description but describing in detail would take pages and far exceeds my research.

Palace entrance

The Grand Palace (reflects Western architecture)

Elephants Room

Next stop, the Emerald Buddha! Sorry, no photos allowed. Wat Phra Kaew is the most sacred temple in Thailand, and is home to the Emerald Buddha. The Buddha is carved from a single piece of jadite stone and was brought to Bangkok by King Rama I around 1778. The temple only houses the Buddha and does not have facilities for monks.

The image is called “emerald” because of its green color, not because it’s actually carved from emerald. It stands 26” high, 19” wide (across the lap) and is adorned with different costumes depending on the season. Legend has it that the Buddha was created in India around 43 BC. In 457 BC it was moved to Burma until 1432 when the Thai’s captured Angkor Wat and took the image to Ayutthaya then later to Chiang Rai. More than you wanted to know, I know.

So, to finish up on our tour of the Palace grounds, there were just too many absolutely beautiful sites to detail. It would be like seeing a museum of Picasso paintings and trying to describe each one.  The buildings alone are amazing, the architecture, designs, adornments, styles, etc. are unbelievable. Guess we should be thankful for the invention of digital film. Processing film from this site alone would have made Kodak a million dollars!

Enjoy the pics!

A blessing made with lotus flowers and sacred water for good luck!